Dubai-UAE – Dubai Future Labs (DFL), an advanced applied research and development (R&D) lab established by Dubai Future Foundation (DFF), is participating for the third consecutive year at the International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS), which takes place from 14-18 October in Abu Dhabi.

Now in its 36th edition, this is the first time IROS has been hosted in the Middle East and North Africa, reflecting the region’s growing influence in the world of robotics. During the exhibition, DFL showcases some of its latest projects, including its fleet of logistics robots developed in-house by a team of researchers. The unmanned ground vehicles (UGV) include: DFL’s outdoor autonomous delivery robot, designed for reliable last-mile logistics, offering unmatched mobility and navigation on sidewalks; a robot focused on automating complex warehouse tasks through advanced AI-driven manipulation; and a specialized robot developed for autonomous search and rescue missions in emergency situations.

As well as showcasing its latest projects, DFL is set to host a workshop under its education and capacity building mandate. The workshop, “Mobile Manipulation and Embodied Intelligence: Generalization Challenges for Real-World Deployment”, will look at adaptable mobile manipulation solutions for efficient and reliable robot deployment across varied environments, from factories to homes which can adapt to novel conditions and remains a great challenge in robotics.

The Workshop is organized by, Prof. Paolo Dario, Chief Scientist- Dubai Future Labs; Dr Tarek Taha, Lead-Robotics Lab - Dubai Future Labs; Dr. Rajkumar Muthusamy - Senior Robotics Scientist (Manipulation) from Dubai Future Labs; Dr Georgia Chalvatzaki - Professor - Intelligent Autonomous Systems, Technische Universität Darmstadt; Dr Kensuke Harada Professor- Osaka University; Yuqian Jiang PhD Candidate-University of Texas at Austin; Dr Roberto Martín-Martín -Assistant Professor - Computer Science University of Texas at Austin , Dr Weiwei Wan, Professor-Osaka University

Several luminaries in robotics will participate in the workshop as panel speakers, including: Professor Druv Batra, Senior Director, Fundamental AI Research (FAIR) at Meta, and Associate Professor of School of Interactive Computing at GeorgiaTech, Tamim Asfour, Professor of Anthropomatics and Robotics at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Kris Hauser, Professor at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and Director of Coordinated Sciences Lab Robotics Group, Deepak Pathak, Assistant Professor at Carnegie Mellon University and Guyue Zhou, Associate Professor at Institute for AI Industry Research (AIR) at Tsinghua University.

Khalifa Al Qama, Director of Dubai Future Labs, said: “IROS is an important platform for strengthening international partnerships in the realm of robotics and is an opportunity for Dubai Future Labs to highlight some of its most advanced projects that are attracting talent from around the world. We hope our participation at IROS will give international delegates a glimpse into Dubai’s vision to become a leading global R&D city in line with the objectives of the Dubai Robotics and Automation Program launched by His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defence, and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Dubai Future Foundation.”

He added: “DFL is a keen participant in the world’s biggest and most influential tech events, where we connect with industry giants, research and academic institutions, entrepreneurs, and government entities to exchange ideas and learn about the latest technological developments.”

IROS is one of the largest and most impactful robotics research conferences worldwide. Established in 1988 and held annually, IROS provides a global platform for the international robotics research community to explore the frontier of science and technology in intelligent robots and smart machines. DFL first participated in IROS in 2022 in Kyoto, Japan, then in 2023 in Detroit, USA.