Muscat: The Oman Artificial Intelligence Drone Competition's final qualifiers commenced on Monday with the participation of 26 students from various universities and colleges in the Sultanate of Oman.
This event is organized by the Ministry of Transport, Communications and Information Technology in collaboration with Sultan Qaboos University, and with the support of Ooredoo Oman, OQ, the Sohar Industrial Port Company, the Omani Liquefied Natural Gas Company, and the Oman Horizon Company.
The final stage of the competition consists of two tracks. The first track, known as the "manual control" track, will have 16 participants. They will be required to control the drones using a manual remote control to perform various tasks related to inspecting industrial facilities designed as models in the "flying" arena.
The second track is called the "Autonomous Control Enhanced by Artificial Intelligence" track, and it will involve 10 participants. These participants will be tasked with using artificial intelligence tools and the programming language "Python" to program the drones to independently inspect and track industrial facilities within the flying arena, without any human intervention.
The objective of the competition is to increase public awareness about drones and their various applications and advantages. Additionally, it aims to develop and enhance participants' abilities in constructing, controlling, and piloting drones, as well as integrating them with artificial intelligence systems.
Furthermore, the competition seeks to empower young Omanis to actively engage in creating technological solutions, thereby contributing to the growth of the drone industry and generating employment opportunities. Moreover, it aims to equip participants with the necessary skills to compete in regional and international competitions.
It is important to highlight that the preparatory workshops were attended by over 120 participants, out of which 50 individuals successfully qualified for the competition's training camp. Finally, 26 contestants were chosen to proceed to the final stage of the competition.
