Khalifa University Research Center

Center for Autonomous Robotic Systems

AI-driven robotics research for autonomous cars, aerial systems, marine robotics, industrial manipulators, and intelligent systems that operate in complex real-world environments.

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4 Embodied AI themes

6 Research facilities

80+ Researchers and students

15+ Partner institutions

Research Direction

Robots that perceive, learn, reason, and act in the real world.

KUCARS advances autonomous robotic systems for transport, infrastructure inspection, ocean exploration, agriculture, and industrial manipulation. The center focuses on autonomy in unstructured environments, embodied AI, perception, prediction, planning, and safe physical interaction.

Themes

Embodied AI Platforms

Autonomous Vehicles

Autonomous vehicle research for safe operation, smart urban ecosystems, passenger-centered mobility, V2X-enabled perception, and rigorous decision making under uncertainty.

Aerial Robotics

UAV research for surveillance, inspection, sense-and-avoid, GPS-denied navigation, and operations in critical infrastructure and extreme environments.

Marine Robotics and Vision

Marine robotics research integrates underwater swarms, computer vision, multimodal AI, mapping, and monitoring for maritime safety and sustainability.

Industrial Robotics and Manipulators

Robotic manipulation research covers industrial robotics, compliant mechanisms, greenhouse automation, and embodied intelligence for physical interaction.

Facilities

Laboratories built for fielded robotics.

KUCARS facilities support autonomous cars, marine robotics, computer vision, aerial robotics, manufacturing robotics, and industrial robotic manipulation.

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Latest Highlights

News and research activity

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Gulf Time / Jan 20, 2026

Khalifa University turns spotlight on next-generation robotics, AI, UAVs at UMEX

Khalifa University is showcasing next-generation robotics, AI, UAVs, and secure systems at UMEX 2026, including e-VTOL cloud-seeding and firefighting drones, neuromorphic rovers, and airspace security platforms at stand A-025.

KUCARS / Apr 24, 2024

Khalifa University and Silal Sign Collaboration Agreement to Build UAE’s First Centre of Excellence for AgriRobotic and Automation

Joint Research Center to Accelerate Agri-Robotic and Automation Innovation in Agriculture and to Provide Training for Students and Farmers. Khalifa University of Science and Technology and UAE’s leading agri-tech food company Silal Food and Technology today announced they have signed a collaboration agreement to c...

LinkedIn / Feb 20, 2024

Our paper titled ” Aquaculture defects recognition via multi-scale semantic segmentation ” has been published in Expert Systems with Applications Elsevier Journal (IF: 8.5, Scopus Percentile: 96th (top 4%))!

We are thrilled to announce that our paper titled " Aquaculture defects recognition via multi-scale semantic segmentation " has been published in Expert Systems with Applications Elsevier Journal (IF: 8.5, Scopus Percentile: 96th (top 4%))! 🎉 Paper Link: https://lnkd.in/dESkXdKq Many Congratulations to, Dr. Waseem A...