Emirates Global Aluminium PJSC (EGA) completed the fifth annual Al Robot competition this week, choosing a team from American University in Dubai as its winner.
The problem in this year’s competition was to construct a robot capable of measuring the thickness of materials in the potline’s reduction cells. At present the task is done by hand, but the company is seeking a method to automate the task.
The winning team of Mostafa Aboelnaga, Mohammad Rashwan, Mohammad AlHadi, Yassin Abdelmeguid, and Bilal Serieh devised Robot for Anode Cover Thickness (R FACT). The robot they developed utilizes artificial intelligence to look at pictures to determine the thickness.
The American University of Dubai’s team was one of five teams to advance to the semifinal round, which included AED50,000 (US$13,614) to build the robot. The team, which was coached by Dr. Salem Haggag, then faced Heriot-Watt University and Abu Dhabi University in the finals.
Abdulnasser Bin Kalban, Chief Executive Officer of EGA, said in a press release that the competition filled an important role for the firm.
“I congratulate the American University in Dubai team for their win. The skills students practice in EGA’s Al Robot competition are important for the UAE’s industrial future and the achievement of Operation 300bn. I hope these students will now be inspired to pursue careers in UAE industry.”
EGA has a long history of collaborating with institutions of higher learning around the world, including Khalifa University, the American University of Sharjah, Rochester Institute of Technology, and Higher Colleges of Technology in the UAE, the University of Auckland, University of New South Wales, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Based in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, Emirates Global Aluminium is an aluminium conglomerate created by the merger between Dubai Aluminium (DUBAL) and Emirates Aluminium (EMAL) in 2013. EGA had an estimated enterprise value of US$15 billion at the time the merger took place. The firm is owned equally by Mubadala Development Company of Abu Dhabi and Investment Corporation of Dubai. Emirates Global Aluminium holds interests in bauxite/alumina and primary aluminium smelting.
