Al Yousuf plans own robotics solutions
Dubai-based company aims to set up a research and development team
Al Yousuf Robotics, a division of Al Yousuf Group, aims to set up its own research and development team in a bid to develop its own robots and solutions for the industry.
“We are building a team to develop our own robots and solutions. We have hired two engineers and will be hiring two more engineers for Internet of Things. We will have own products within a year or two,” Tamim Khalid Yousuf, division head of Al Yousuf Robotics, told Gulf News.
He said that more than 80 per cent of his focus will be on industrial robots.
“We are also looking at logistics robots which can be used at supermarkets for packing the stuff and bringing it to the buyer and indoor hydroponic robots. It will take time and for the time being, we will bring the robots from outside and sell it here,” he said.
The Dubai-based group wants to inject a new life into a new type of business as part of its diversification.
“I was chosen to lead the robotics division and we were looking for robotic solutions for business-to-business and business-to-consumer. We started looking for products in the market globally for industrial purposes. There were many good ones but they were still in prototype.
“So, we focused on the commercial cleaning field and found Canada’s Avidbot a good fit. They had a good autonomous scrubbing robot — NEO — with integrated navigation technology capable of operating in any floor space with quality cleaning and smart reporting,” he said.
Unskilled workers
When asked whether robots will eliminate the workforce, he said that they are trying to eliminate unskilled workers and they can be utilised for other purposes.
The company signed distribution deals with Avidbot and Taiwan’s Hobot to sell its products in the region.
Yousuf said the first NEO machine was sold to Berkeley Services Group for Al Ain University recently. It is priced at Dh250,000.
“We are planning to introduce robots for cleaning outside of the towers, cleaning petrol and huge water tanks by end of the year. In the consumer space, we have Hobot for glass cleaning and U-Bot for floor cleaning. These cleaner robots provide high-end cleaning services and save time as well as cut down on expenses. Then, we have programmable robots based on Lego building blocks,” he said.
Al Yousuf Robotics has an outlet at Al Barsha Mall and will be opening another one at Mall of the Emirates during Ramadan.
He said that there are advantages and disadvantages about robots in the UAE.
“The disadvantage is that the workers are still cheap in the UAE and so there is no strong need for a robot. Economically, a robot does not make sense but the good thing is that the governments in the UAE are trying to bring new technologies to stay at the forefront,” he said.
The motors division is the biggest revenue earner for the group right now but he said that robotics will become the biggest maybe after 15 or 20 years.