DUBAI, 29th March, 2023 (WAM) — Emirates Global Aluminium has announced the American University in Dubai as winner of its fifth edition of Al Robot competition. The challenge invites students from UAE universities and higher education institutions to design and construct prototype industrial robots for deployment at EGA’s aluminium smelters.
The winning team, coached by Dr. Salem Haggag, comprised Mostafa Aboelnaga, Mohammad Rashwan, Mohammad AlHadi, Yassin Abdelmeguid, and Bilal Serieh.
This year’s competition required teams to design and build a robot that can measure the thickness of materials within EGA’s reduction cells, a task that is currently performed manually.
The American University of Dubai team’s winning entry, the Robot for Anode Cover Thickness (R FACT), leverages artificial intelligence to interpret images. EGA provided funding of AED50,000 each to five shortlisted teams to design and build their robots, with three proceeding to the finals.
Abdulnasser bin Kalban, Chief Executive Officer of EGA, congratulated the American University in Dubai team for their win, saying that the skills students practice in EGA’s Al Robot competition are important for the UAE’s industrial future and the achievement of Operation 300bn. He hoped that these students will now be inspired to pursue careers in the UAE industry.
EGA collaborates with various universities including Khalifa University, the American University of Sharjah, Rochester Institute of Technology, Higher Colleges of Technology in the UAE, and the University of Auckland, through its technology and development team.
Additionally, EGA's Ambassador Programme encourages academic and industry collaboration, spearheaded by young Emirati engineers and professionals.