Top 20 finalists picked for $1m drones, robotics award

A robot that rewards you for recycling, a bionic arm and a weather-proof drone are some of the inventions that made it to the finals of the UAE Drones for Good Award and the UAE AI/Robotics for Good Award. A total of 20 teams - 10 each in national and international - were shortlisted for the finals today.

The finalists gave a live demonstration of their projects during the first day of the event being held at the Dubai Internet City.

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Though, one submission in the international category that particularly stood out was an unmanned rover that could supply aid to people stranded in conflict areas. Michael Cochran, CEO and cofounder of URS Laboratories Ltd and the brain behind the invention, said: "We believe that we are ready to beat human suffering. We have to realise we have over a million people who are waiting for urgent aid. There are Yemenis and Syrians, who haven't seen relief in years."

"The images are sometimes shocking and when we try to think about how to make it better and save lives - we think about what's stopping the aid? Convoys are stopped at borders, ships are stopped at borders, air assets can't take off because of certifications or weather. We believe that if we can give urgent care today that the children are waiting for, we have to do it today. We talked about what the challenges are to getting to the last mile. If you look at our guided drone mile system, it has the ability to deliver tonnes of aid. It can be controlled through android devices."

$1m up for grabs at UAE Drones for Good Awards

A submission that also received a lot of attention was a bionic arm by the Ajman University team. The team invented a smart arm that can be controlled by the brain. It was created to help people who have lost their arm or are born with the condition.

Another team in the national category displayed a project where people can get rewarded for recycling. The invention, called Trash Berry, allows users to throw in trash in a machine, receive points in a card and then use the card in the same machine to retrieve a beverage.

The award for the national category is Dh1 million and the international category winner will receive $1 million. Winners will be announced on February 18.

sarwat@khaleejtimes.com