Salem AlMarri, the first Emirati Ph.D. graduate from MBZUAI, developed a video anomaly detection (VAD) system for his thesis. The VAD system can detect subtle anomalies in video, such as suspicious interactions, to help police prevent crimes and save lives. AlMarri's work was carried out under the guidance of Karthik Nandakumar, Affiliated Associate Professor of Computer Vision at MBZUAI. Why it matters: This research showcases the potential of AI in enhancing public safety and security in the UAE, demonstrating practical applications of computer vision in law enforcement.
MBZUAI PhD student Salem AlMarri, also a Dubai Police officer, has been appointed to the Dubai Youth Council for 2023-2025. AlMarri's research focuses on using AI to combat crime and improve emergency response times, aiming to contribute to the UAE's AI strategy. In 2019, he was recognized as one of the UAE’s up and coming scientist at the Her Highness Sheikha Fatima Bint Mubarak Program for Excellence and Community Intelligence. Why it matters: This appointment highlights the UAE's focus on empowering young talent in AI to drive innovation and address local challenges in public safety and smart city development.
KAUST highlights postdoctoral fellows Yi Jin Liew, Isabelle Schulz, Maren Ziegler and Neus Garcias Bonet outside the University Library. The article mentions King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud (1924 – 2015). It encourages applications to KAUST's Discovery Postdoctoral program. Why it matters: This brief announcement signals KAUST's ongoing investment in attracting international research talent to Saudi Arabia.
KAUST Professors Hussein Hoteit and Satoshi Habuchi are collaborating to optimize hydrocarbon extraction using polymers. Hoteit's expertise in energy resources and petroleum engineering combines with Habuchi's molecular imaging tools. Their approach, known as polymer flooding, reduces costs and environmental impact by using less water. Why it matters: This interdisciplinary collaboration highlights KAUST's role in fostering innovative solutions for enhanced oil recovery, a critical area for Saudi Arabia's energy sector.
A KAUST research team is using cellphone mobility data, Google searches, and social media to model and predict COVID-19 spread. The models aim to forecast cases in the coming weeks and inform resource allocation, including hospital beds and medical staff. The team is using aggregated and anonymized data from cellphone companies to respect people's privacy. Why it matters: Integrating real-time digital data with epidemiological modeling can improve the speed and effectiveness of public health responses in the region and globally.
The paper introduces ILION, a deterministic execution gate designed to ensure the safety of autonomous AI agents by classifying proposed actions as either BLOCK or ALLOW. ILION uses a five-component cascade architecture that operates without statistical training, API dependencies, or labeled data. Evaluation against existing text-safety infrastructures demonstrates ILION's superior performance in preventing unauthorized actions, achieving an F1 score of 0.8515 with sub-millisecond latency.
KAUST Professor Peter Markowich discusses the role of mathematics in football, describing a match as a random process with a drift. The randomness stems from player conditions, referee decisions, weather, and more, while the drift represents the higher probability of the better team winning. He notes that the complexity arising from 11 players on each side increases the randomness compared to sports like tennis. Why it matters: This perspective highlights the interplay of chance and skill in sports, offering a mathematical lens for understanding game dynamics.
Pong C Yuen from Hong Kong Baptist University will present a talk on remote photoplethysmography (rPPG) detection. The talk will review the development of rPPG detection, share recent research, and discuss future directions. rPPG is a technology for non-contact computer vision and healthcare applications like heart rate estimation. Why it matters: Advancements in rPPG could enable new remote patient monitoring and diagnostic tools in the region, reducing the need for physical contact.