News

Sightec Completes First Drone Delivery Without GPS

Published

6 years ago

February 19, 2021

sightec completes first drone delivery without gps

Matrix

Some of the world’s largest retailers and e-commerce companies are actively exploring the potential of drones to deliver goods across short to medium distances. Now, Israeli startup Sightec has successfully completed its first drone delivery without GPS.

Instead of location signals provided by satellites, the drone relies on a software solution combining computer vision with artificial intelligence technologies, called NaviSight, to autonomously get to its destination.

NaviSight is compatible with all camera-equipped off-the-shelf drones. With the help of advanced video processing, the software essentially transforms the camera into a smart sensor, allowing the drone to understand its surroundings and identify its location in real-time.

“We give drones the ability to get from point A to point B safely without the need for GPS signals,” said Roy Shmuel, the CEO of Sightec. “There is no available solution today for players globally,” he added.

The test was part of a pilot program operated by Israel’s Ministry of Transport (MOT), Ayalon Highways, the Civil Aviation Authority of Israel (CAAI), and the Israel Innovation Authority. The goal of the program is to test and demonstrate the viability of autonomous drones in managed airspace.

During the test, Sightec successfully navigated the drone on five pre-determined routes near the southern city of Yeruham. “The drone completed each route safely, from take-off to full landing, over desert and construction sites,” said Shmuel.

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Not depending on GPS for navigation is important because GPS satellites can malfunction, and the signals transmitted by them can be disrupted by malicious hackers. Without an alternative navigation method, it would be safe to use drones for deliveries and other purposes in populated areas because they could lose signal and endanger people, buildings, and vehicles.

Shmuel also said that the test is an important step toward the legalization of drone delivery operations in Israel and other regions. However, more test flights still need to be conducted in other parts of the country before the technology is ready for prime time.

News

Microsoft Plans $10 Billion-Plus Gulf Expansion Despite Iran Conflict

Security is shaping Microsoft’s approach, from resilience work with governments to what it will say about how the money splits by country.

Published

4 days ago

September 24, 2026

Nour Nasir

Microsoft

Microsoft is planning more than $10 billion of investment across the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait through 2030, Vice Chair and President Brad Smith told Reuters, calling the spending schedule aggressive. The Iranian conflict that began on February 28 has not persuaded the company to scale back.

“We’re sustaining all the investments we planned to make before this conflict started, and we are in fact adding to them,” Smith said. The $10 billion-plus total does not, however, show how large those additions are.

The investment, which Smith described as part of Microsoft’s continued infrastructure expansion, is aimed at cloud and AI infrastructure and at the company’s growing regional operations. Microsoft also intends to put more than $400 million into subsea and terrestrial connectivity across the Middle East by 2030.

The spending fits the region’s own ambitions too. Gulf governments have been investing heavily in AI infrastructure as part of a push to diversify their economies beyond oil and gas and turn themselves into global technology hubs. Major cloud and AI providers have been drawn in part by the land and relatively low-cost energy on offer.

Microsoft is widening its partnerships with regional AI companies, though not on identical terms. In 2024, it invested $1.5 billion in Abu Dhabi-based G42 for a minority stake, and Smith currently sits on G42’s board. Saudi Arabia’s Humain and Qatar’s Qai are working with Microsoft on selected priority areas, but Smith said the company does not plan to make capital investments in either.

Also Read: Egypt’s Mobile Wallets Are Booming, But Cash Still Has Power

The conflict has added another strand to Microsoft’s work in the region. Since it began, Smith said, the company has supported regional partners with digital resilience assessments, and it is now working with Gulf countries through a digital resilience initiative focused on preparedness and the protection of critical data.

So far, the company has given no country-by-country breakdown of the investment, citing security among other factors. So while the headline figure is public, how Microsoft divides the spending among the four countries is not.