Robotics takes centre stage in UAE’s fight against waste

The entire universe is the classroom that everyone must be given the chance to explore, for the critical thinking and un-bias, towards a more unified and kinder progressive society.

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The entire universe is the classroom that everyone must be given the chance to explore, for the critical thinking and un-bias, towards a more unified and kinder progressive society.

Early this week and over the Main Hall and Sports Complex of the 28-year-old American University of Sharjah (AUS), III students, guided by their like-minded professors and support assistants, displayed their interpretations of gadgets that may one day be mass produced for one of the world's gripping challenges: waste management.

Imagine an assortment of moving arms, wheeled sorters and even humongous water sweepers being set up and then remotely controlled to identify objects that must be thrown into colour-coded bins.

These were out of the cleverness and open-mindedness of the crème-de-la-crème among the original two-to-six-member 100 teams representing 22 universities in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman, and Ras AI Khaimah.

According to the United Nations Environment Programme "Global Waste Management Outlook 2024," the universal $361 billion spent on waste management combined with the "hidden costs of pollution, poor health and climate change from poor waste disposal practices," in 2020 would almost double to a staggering $640.3 billion" in 2050.