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UAE-Based Drone Company Plans Wider MENA Expansion

UVL Robotics is broadening the scope of its commercial drone activities across the Middle East.

Published

3 years ago

September 1, 2023

Nour Nasir

uae-based drone company plans wider mena expansion

UVL Robotics

UVL Robotics, a UAE-based robotics startup, is the first company to provide a fully operational commercial drone delivery service in the MENA region. After winning several high-profile contracts, the company is now preparing to trial drone flights in Abu Dhabi — an Emirate with over 200 islands.

“It all depends on the graders,” explains CEO Eugene Grankin. “If they rate us well, we could soon get the permission to fly in Abu Dhabi.” Grankin has good reason to be confident. In 2021, after a tropical cyclone hit Oman, UVL drones were successfully deployed to deliver supplies. “We could deliver medicine to remote areas where it took a long time to reach by car,” the CEO explained.

uvl robotics 1

Today, UVL Robotics is focused on inventory management as well as delivery. In Europe, UVL drones can scan 300-750 pallets in under five seconds. The company now uses drones to perform stocktaking at more than 50 warehouse locations, with global companies like PepsiCo utilizing the service.

uvl robotics 2

In the Middle East, sustainability and CO₂ reduction are the primary drivers of drone adoption. Saudi Arabia plans to cut carbon emissions by 278 million tonnes per year, while the UAE has plans to reduce its own output by 31%. Research conducted by UVL found that drones produce 36% fewer emissions than moving the equivalent load volume by truck, despite each UAV having a payload of just 10kg.

As well as reducing CO₂, drones can also improve operational efficiency. In Oman, coastlines and rugged terrain mean that food deliveries typically take 30-60 minutes by human courier. With drones, that time is cut to a predictable 15 minutes. In addition, drones can handle over 30 orders daily, compared to just 20 when delivered by regular vehicle.

Also Read: USB-C Will Be Mandatory From 2025 For All Saudi Smart Devices

Meanwhile, at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) in Saudi Arabia, UVL Robotics is preparing to launch campus-wide smart loading stations, which the company hopes will act as a blueprint for future smart city projects across the region.

Related Topics:Drones Robotics United Arab Emirates

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Samsung’s Galaxy Watch 9 And Ultra 2 Specs Leak Ahead Of Unpacked

An 800mAh Ultra 2 battery and a switch from Exynos to Qualcomm silicon headline the expected changes for Samsung’s next smartwatches.

Published

3 days ago

July 15, 2026

Nour Nasir

samsung's galaxy watch 9 and ultra 2 specs leak ahead of unpacked

Samsung’s next smartwatches have little left to hide. A new leak reported by Android Authority has surfaced most of the remaining details about the Galaxy Watch 9 and Galaxy Watch Ultra 2, just over a week before the company’s Galaxy Unpacked event on July 22.

The biggest change is an invisible one: Samsung is expected to drop its own Exynos W1000 chip in favor of Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Wear Elite SW6100, a chipset unveiled only this year, according to the outlet.

Battery capacity looks like the other notable upgrade. Citing a report from Winfuture, Android Authority says the Watch Ultra 2 could reach 800mAh, well beyond the 590mAh cell in the current Watch Ultra. The 44mm Watch 9 reportedly gets a 445mAh cell — the same capacity as last year’s Watch 8 Classic — while the 40mm model stays at 325mAh.

The 40mm Watch 9 will reportedly feature a 438 x 438-pixel panel, with the 44mm Watch 9 and the Watch Ultra 2 sharing a larger 480 x 480-pixel screen. Samsung leaker Ice Universe has separately claimed the Ultra 2’s display could reach a peak brightness of 5,000 nits. RAM and storage vary by model, topping out at 2GB and 64GB.

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The Ultra 2 keeps its titanium case and 100-meter water resistance; the standard Watch 9 remains aluminum, rated to 5 ATM. All models are said to include Bluetooth 6.0, NFC, and dual-band WiFi, with the usual LTE variants, and ship with One UI 9 Watch running on Wear OS 7.

A separate leak puts the Galaxy Watch 9 at €409 (about $468) for the 40mm Bluetooth model, rising to €489 (about $560) for the 44mm LTE version, with the Watch Ultra 2 LTE at €749 (about $857) — figures Android Authority said were partially corroborated by Winfuture. Confirmation arrives on stage on July 22.