الدكتور راي جونسون
الرئيس التنفيذي لـ"ASPIRE"
Dr. Ray O. Johnson
CEO, ASPIRE

Enhancing robotic capabilities to adapt to real-world requirements

Over the past few years, our world has changed dramatically. The pace of development has been phenomenal, and the adoption of new technologies has added a new dimension to modern existence with robots taking over all sorts of tasks and jobs – from the mundane to the complex. The way the robotics field has evolved now defies human expectations.

Robots are everywhere – from the operating table to our living rooms, and from ocean beds to space journeys. The growth of Artificial Intelligence (AI) has increased human-robot interactions, collaboration opportunities, and the quality of output. Advances in AI have helped robots mimic human behaviour more intricately.

As things evolve, robot designers are using AI to give their creations enhanced capabilities such as computer vision to recognise and discern details; manipulation to grasp objects without disturbing the movements; motion control and navigation skills to analyse the environment and self-navigate; natural language processing and real-world perception to better understand the surroundings and comprehend data.

Despite these developments, there are still some gaps between the robotic capabilities and the requirements of future applications in the real-world, with some domains eluding attention as we race to develop the most efficient of machines and capabilities.

To bridge these gaps, the current need is to address these deficiencies, which requires vision and leadership. The UAE, with its global reputation as a hub of technological innovation, has taken the lead to become a global leader in the innovation space with technology powering its strategic growth sectors – be it healthcare, renewables, big data, or AI.

Coinciding with this strategic roadmap, ASPIRE – the program development pillar of Abu Dhabi’s Advanced Technology Research Council (ATRC), brought together universities, research institutions, and innovators from across the world to help adapt robotics innovations to real-world situations through the MBZIRC Maritime Grand Challenge.

The challenge, to be held in 2023, is the first-of-its-kind experiment that will involve a heterogeneous collaboration among unmanned aerial vehicles [UAVs] and unmanned surface vehicles [USVs] to perform complex navigation and manipulation tasks in a GNSS-denied marine environment.

As part of the challenge, innovators across the globe along will convene to find practical solutions to pressing challenges such as illegal fishing, piracy, smuggling, and human trafficking.

The MBZIRC Maritime Grand Challenge is the ideal platform to push technological boundaries to enable robots in dynamic, unstructured environments to achieve breakthrough solutions in the advanced technology space and reinforce UAE’s capabilities on a global scale.

This event represents a huge step towards helping the world find solutions with robotic capabilities to some of the pressing maritime challenges at the intersection of breakthrough technologies to create transformative impact for the years to come.

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