Meet the robots that can 'see, hear and feel' at Gitex 2021 in Dubai

Robots that learn what needs doing while cleaning your house and understand verbal commands will be commercially available as soon as next year, says the manufacturer.

German company Neura Robotics – which is exhibiting at the Gulf Information Technology Exhibition in Dubai for the first time – says it has improved the scope of industrial robots.

Neura Robotics has robots that can be used in a multitude of settings – from the office to shops and healthcare clinics.

Now it has created a housekeeper robot installed with artificial intelligence, said David Reger, Neura Robotics founder and chief executive.

Our robots have cognitive abilities, which means they hear, they see, they feel, and they have a brain which thinks

David Reger,
Neura Robotics

“The problem we had until now was not the ability of a robot or of AI, it was more about the pricing issue – we needed somehow to get a price down so everyone can afford it,” Mr Reger said at Gitex.

“So that's exactly what we did. We developed something which we will present very soon, which is actually affordable to have in your home, and that's only possible through AI.”

So far, home robots have only proven useful for simple tasks.

Amazon's Alexa can search the web for facts, play music or tell a pre-programmed joke; Roomba's can vacuum your house; and Google Nest automatically controls the heat, light and locks in your home.

Neura Robotics say their robots are “chalk and cheese” compared to these single-function bots.

“Our robots have cognitive abilities, which means they hear, they see, they feel, and they have a brain which thinks,” said Mr Reger.

“If it sees dishes which are dirty, it will clean them autonomously.

“Before, you had to uniquely programme a robot to get things done. Now with the new kind of robot which we offer, it is actually AI-inclusive.

"This means, they think and learn and understand things like humans do.”

In practical terms, this means a person will not have to instruct the robot to wash clothes and load the dishwasher, because it will realise what needs to be done without the need for human interaction.

However, should you wish to speak to the robot, it will respond to verbal commands, as illustrated by MAiRA, the AI-powered robot on display at the Neura Robotics stand at Gitex.

MAiRA – which stands for multi-sensing intelligent robotic assistant – has object recognition skills and can be controlled through gestures or words.

On Sunday, a constant crowd of Gitex visitors watched as MAiRA's dexterous, hinged arm and pincer-shaped hand played noughts and crosses with visitors, picked up canisters of snacks when asked, and sorted grey pipes from black.

Mr Reger described this invention as a “cobot”, because it can work collaboratively alongside humans, and do high precision, heavy-duty or monotonous tasks with minimal oversight.

The robots are also programmed not to harm humans. They are fitted with a patented 360-degree system of sensors that can distinguish people from other objects and instruct the robot to change direction, slow down or stop.

“Our robot is actually the first robot in the world to understand what is a human, and that's actually a very big advantage when it comes to safety,” Mr Reger said.

“Before, the robot could collide with a human. Our robots will never hurt a human and that's actually one of the most important rules to get robots into your home.

“And that's what we have accomplished.”

Day One at GITEX – in pictures

An exhibit at the Roads and Transport Authority stand at Gitex 2021 of the Evoteq AI technology that can detect whether cyclists are wearing helmets. All photos: Chris Whiteoak / The National
A Neolix delivery bot at the RTA stand. Gitex will this year take place from October 17-21at the Dubai World Trade Centre.
Robots dance to the Expo theme at the Dewa stand at Gitex.
A drone delivery bot on display at the Roads and Transport Authority stand.
I laser, an automated hair removal laser.
A spacesuit at the HP stand.
An employee of Neura Robotics, Rohm Menon, operates Maira, the world's first cognitive robot.
Visitors look at a model of the Mercedes Formula One car.

Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

What is a robo-adviser?

Robo-advisers use an online sign-up process to gauge an investor’s risk tolerance by feeding information such as their age, income, saving goals and investment history into an algorithm, which then assigns them an investment portfolio, ranging from more conservative to higher risk ones.

These portfolios are made up of exchange traded funds (ETFs) with exposure to indices such as US and global equities, fixed-income products like bonds, though exposure to real estate, commodity ETFs or gold is also possible.

Investing in ETFs allows robo-advisers to offer fees far lower than traditional investments, such as actively managed mutual funds bought through a bank or broker. Investors can buy ETFs directly via a brokerage, but with robo-advisers they benefit from investment portfolios matched to their risk tolerance as well as being user friendly.

Many robo-advisers charge what are called wrap fees, meaning there are no additional fees such as subscription or withdrawal fees, success fees or fees for rebalancing.

Meet the robots that can 'see, hear and feel' at Gitex 2021 in Dubai

German company Neura Robotics has developed autonomous, cognitive 'cobots' to help in our homes

Day One at GITEX – in pictures

What is a robo-adviser?