JEDDAH: A Saudi woman has been honored by a regional innovators initiative launched last July by Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed Al-Maktoum, the crown prince of Dubai and chairman of the board of trustees of Dubai Future Foundation.
Sadeem Rashed Al-Marri was a winner in the Innovators Under 35 competition at the EmTech MENA emerging technology conference. With her partners, she used 3D-printing technology to create a mechanical hand that can translate Arabic text entered in a specially designed mobile application into sign language. The device has the potential to help millions of deaf people in the Arab world and can also be used to help teach sign language.
EmTech, a leading international event dedicated to emerging technologies, was founded in 1999 and the regional edition was held in Dubai for the first time on Sept. 23 and 24, hosted by the Dubai Future Foundation in cooperation with Haykal Media. It attracted 300 participants, including scientists, researchers, industry experts, spokespersons and specialists in a variety of emerging technologies from around the world.
The Innovators Under 35 winners also included Taki Hinai and Issa Basaid from the United Arab Emirates, Munther Abu Rumaila and Abdul Mohsin Al-Husseini from Jordan, Marwan Abu Deeb from Lebanon, Abdelkader Nasr El-Din Belkacem from Algeria, Feras Khalifa from Syria, Emad Masoudi from Yemen and Derya Baran from Turkey.
The conference showcased the winners in interactive sessions during which they presented their inventions and shared their stories, visions and future aspirations. They have achieved excellence in a range of fields, including biomedicine, computing, energy, communication, software development, infrastructure, and the internet, all of which help contribute to the development of smart cities. The young entrepreneurs will now have a chance to present their innovative ideas to officials, decision-makers and corporate leaders in the region.
EmTech and the Innovators Under 35 contest are organized globally by American magazine the MIT Technology Review. The regional edition of the contest received more than 400 nominations, from which 54 were shortlisted and judged by a jury of officials and experts.
The first Innovators Under 35 list was published in 1999 in the MIT Technology Review, featuring young innovators making contributions that were expected to play important roles in the development of smart cities. The first day of the Dubai conference featured the launch of an Arabic version of the journal, aimed at those interested in emerging technologies in the Middle East and North Africa region.
EmTech is one of the most important annual international technology events, with a number of regional editions around the world that showcase the latest inventions and developments. They bring together technology pioneers and businesses to network, share their experiences, learn about innovative technologies and discuss how they might affect communities in the future.
Al-Marri told Arab News that the invention was part of four students’ graduation project at the College of Computer Information and Sciences in the Imam Mohammed Ibn Saudi Islamic University. She said that the title of the project was “Designing a Robotic Hand for Arabic Sign Language Teaching and Translation.”
The participants in the project were Ebtsam Aqeel Al-Shammari, Faten Abdulmajeed Al-Sunaid, Hessa Saad Al-Monif and Sadeem Al-Marri. The project was supervised by Dr. Maha Sulaiman Al-Rabiah
Describing the project, Al-Marri said that deaf and deaf-blind persons face many challenges in communicating with others and understanding the world surrounding them.
“Although they use sign language or tactile sign language in an attempt to overcome their isolation, they experience difficulties connecting with their community because not all individuals are familiar with sign language or are comfortable with the tactile approach,” Al-Marri said.
She added that they attempted, in that project, to solve this problem by designing and building a robotic hand that translates Arabic texts entered in the mobile application into the equivalent Arabic sign language alphabet gestures, that acts as a mean of communication between the deaf/deaf-blind person and the world.
Al-Marri told Arab News that a TV interview was the spark that ignited their invention.
“A deaf-blind person introduced the challenges that he was facing while communicating with others and understanding the people around him. During that interview, he said that although he used tactile sign language in an attempt to overcome his isolation, he experienced difficulties connecting with his community because not all individuals are familiar with sign language or are comfortable with the tactile approach,” she recalled.
Explaining how their invention. works, Al-Marri said that the robotic hand parts are printed using a 3D printer and are connected with servo-motors that act as joints of the hand and attached with strings that act like tendons. “When a user enters a word in the mobile application, a microprocessor sends the appropriate command to the servo-motors causing them to move to pull the attached strings and performing the corresponding sign language gesture,” she said.
Al-Marri believes what makes their invention special is that their robotic hand is the first robotic hand that has been used in translating and teaching Arabic Sign Language. “It can be used as an effective 3-dimensional educational tool to teach Arabic Sign Language either for deaf or non-deaf people,” she said.
Al-Marri added that in the future they would focus on enhancing the system by making it consist of left and right hands to be able to perform the Arabic Sign Language words. Moreover, she said, the robot can be developed to adapt to any other language.
Al-Marri said that she is proud to be one of the young active members of her community in education, technology, and business, where she was chosen by Google to work as a liaison between Google and her university and other organizations.
“Furthermore, I was a member of different initiatives that targeted youth technology; in addition, I played a role in startups that worked in innovation and the manufacturing industry and I started my startup in the field of e-learning to contribute to raising student achievement and scientific performance to reach the highest level of his/her aspiring career position using the latest methods in education,” she concluded.
Saudi woman honored at technology conference
Saudi woman honored at technology conference
- Dubai conference featured the launch of an Arabic version of the journal, aimed at those interested in emerging technologies in the Middle East and North Africa region
Excavators held for violating water system
- The discovery was made during field tours carried out by the water department
TUBARJAL: The Al-Jouf branch of the Saudi Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture has apprehended three excavators who were found to be violating the water system in Tubarjal.
The discovery was made during field tours carried out by the water department, in cooperation with the competent authorities in the governorate.
Separately, authorities in Addayer in the Jazan region have arrested seven Ethiopians for smuggling 105 kg of hashish. Legal procedures have been completed against the offenders who were handed over, along with the seized items, to the competent authority.
Border guard patrols in the Al-Harth area of Jazan have also foiled an attempt to smuggle 71 kg of hashish, with initial legal procedures completed and the find handed over to the competent authority.
Security authorities have reiterated their appeal for citizens and residents to report any information regarding drug smuggling or selling by calling 911 in Makkah, Riyadh, and the Eastern Region, and 999 in the rest of the Kingdom’s regions.
Those with information may also contact the General Directorate of Narcotics Control at 995 or at [email protected].
Direct KSA to Iraq flight routes announced
- These flights, along with flights to Baghdad and Irbil, will commence from June 1.
RIYADH: The Saudi General Authority of Civil Aviation announced the launch of direct flights from Dammam to Najaf, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Friday.
The decision is in line with the Kingdom’s national aviation sector strategy, aimed at doubling capacity to accommodate over 330 million passengers annually, and extending services to more than 250 global destinations.
These flights, along with flights to Baghdad and Irbil, will commence from June 1.
Ministry of Hajj and Umrah praises Iraqi authorities for arresting fraudsters touting fake Hajj trips
- A ministry source in the statement also warned prospective pilgrims to beware of unauthorized Hajj offers being promoted this year
- The ministry made it clear that visas for Umrah, tourism, work, family visits, transit, and other categories do not grant eligibility to perform Hajj
RIYADH: The Ministry of Hajj and Umrah expressed its gratitude for actions taken by the Supreme Commission for Hajj and Umrah in the Republic of Iraq that resulted in the prosecution of more than 25 companies fraudulently engaged in commercial Hajj operations.
A ministry source in the statement also warned prospective pilgrims to beware of unauthorized Hajj offers being promoted this year, primarily through social media.
Participation in Hajj requires pilgrims to obtain a legitimate Hajj visa issued by the authorities in the Kingdom in coordination with Hajj affairs offices in their respective countries, or via the Nusuk Hajj platform for those countries that do not have an official Hajj office.
The source said that the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah is monitoring advertisements from companies and campaigns, as well as identifying fake accounts on social networks allegedly offering Hajj packages at enticing prices.
The ministry made it clear that visas for Umrah, tourism, work, family visits, transit, and other categories do not grant eligibility to perform Hajj. It urged pilgrims to be careful not to fall victim to companies and others claiming to offer commercial Hajj campaigns or other misleading initiatives.
“Regulations must be followed and legally documented permits, as represented by the official Hajj visa, must be issued, so a safe, secure, well-managed Hajj program and fair representation to all nationalities is provided,” Mohsen Tutla, head of the World Hajj and Umrah Convention, told Arab News.
“Hajj is a mega event with more than 2 million worshippers. Can one imagine, if order was not imposed and (the event) not regulated, chaos would ensue,” he added.
In the statement, the ministry calls for everyone’s cooperation to help combat and report fraudulent companies and campaigns, and to seek information only by visiting its official website and engaging with its channels on social networks.
World’s largest Arabic opera opens in Riyadh
- The opera was produced by the Saudi Theater and Performing Arts Commission
RIYADH: “Zarqa Al-Yamama,” the world’s first and largest grand opera in Arabic, made its debut at the King Fahad Cultural Center in Riyadh, taking the audience on a lyrical journey through one of the best-known folkloric tales in the Arabian Peninsula.
The opera was produced by the Saudi Theater and Performing Arts Commission, and will run until May 4, telling the story of the central character’s attempts to warn her Jadis tribe of an imminent invasion.
Saudi chemistry duo add to KSA medal haul
- Team members were selected by Mawhiba
RIYADH: Two Saudi students have added to the Kingdom’s medal haul at the 2024 Mendeleev International Chemistry Olympiad being held in China from April 20-27.
Hassan Abdul Jalil Al-Khalifa, a third-grade secondary student from the Provincial Department of Education, Eastern Province, and fellow student Ali Salah Al-Moussa claimed bronze medals at the competition, lifting the Kingdom’s overall tally to three silver and 20 bronze.
More than 150 students from 27 countries are competing at the 58th session of the Olympiad.
Saudi Arabia is represented by a team of six students from several educational institutions.
Team members were selected by the King Abdulaziz and his Companions Foundation for Giftedness and Creativity, also known as Mawhiba.
Students were chosen after attending a series of forums over the course of two years, and were trained by Mawhiba, in partnership with the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology.
