#UAE #retail - Majid Al Futtaim has opened its first AI-powered Carrefour City+ supermarket, the region’s first check-out free store, at Mall of the Emirates in Dubai. The store uses the real-time image recognition platform developed by California-based store automation specialists AiFi Inc. (The National)

#China #Saudi #funding - Fourier Intelligence, a Chinese developer of robots used in physical therapy plans to deepen ties with Saudi Arabia and push ahead with global expansions. The startup received tens of millions of dollars from Prosperity7 Ventures, an Aramco Ventures fund, during its July funding round. (Asia Nikkei)

#UAE #environment - Disrupt-X, a UAE-based IoT startup has launched a smart monitoring service for air quality and water resources. ‘Ignite Shield’ offers a set of digital tools to monitor everything from swimming pools to water pressure and industrial equipment. (Mashable)

#Jordan #healthtech - Jordan-based healthtech startup TakalamTech is helping people combat stuttering with a new wearable device. According to the company, its anti-stuttering device helps reduce stuttering by 90 per cent. (Jordan Times)

#UAE #datalaw - The UAE will soon publish a new federal data law, according to a government announcement made in Dubai on Sunday. The law is expected to give individuals the freedom to control the way their personal information is used, stored and shared, and in a manner that supports preserving the privacy of both individuals and institutions. (Gulf Business)

#UAE #training - Abu Dhabi’s Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence (MBZUAI) will train the UAE’s government and business leaders under a new programme, equipping the country’s decision makers with practical skills and a professional network to tap into the cutting-edge technology. The 12-week executive programme begins on October 23. (The National)

#Saudi #education - Fahd Bin Sultan University (FBSU) has signed a memorandum of collaboration with Research Products Development Company (RPDC), a subsidiary of TAQNIA. RPDC will help FBSU develop new programmes including Smart Robotics and Automation labs, Fourth Industrial Revolution labs and to establish a Department of Intelligent Robotics and Mechatronics Engineering under the university’s College of Engineering. (RPDC)

#Egypt #education - Egypt’s Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT) is collaboratig with Amazon Web Services (AWS) to launch a Practical Data Scientist Academy (MCIT-PDSA). With grants from MCIT, the initiative aims to up skill 500 young Egyptians in data analytics. (MCIT)

#UAE #robotics - Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA​) has announced the launch of this year’s edition of the EGA Al Robot competition, which challenges university students to design and build industrial robots for use at EGA’s aluminium smelters. Last year’s competition was won by a robotics team from Abu Dhabi University. (Emirates News Agency)

#Egypt #smartcity - In Egypt’s new capital on the outskirts of Cairo, residents will use smart cards and apps to unlock doors and make payments, and surf the web on public WiFi beamed from lampposts. A network of at least 6,000 cameras will monitor activity on every street, tracking pedestrians and vehicles to regulate traffic and report suspicious activity. (Reuters)

#Saudi #KAUST - KAUST (King Abdullah University of Science and Technology) has appointed Professor Jürgen Schmidhuber as the director of the university’s AI Initiative. A renowned research scientist responsible for breakthrough research in artificial neural networks, he has authored more than 350 peer-reviewed papers. (Arab News)

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