Latest news with #Wazoku
Arabian Post
03-05-2025
- Business
- Arabian Post
EDGE Group teams up with Wazoku to unveil global ‘Drone in a Box' innovation challenge
EDGE Group, the UAE-based defence conglomerate, has partnered with innovation platform Wazoku to launch a global challenge aimed at discovering the next generation of autonomous drone systems. The initiative seeks to identify breakthrough technologies for the deployment of unmanned aerial vehicles in defence and security environments. The challenge, officially known as the 'Drone in a Box' competition, invites innovators and tech developers from around the world to submit solutions for autonomous drone systems that can be quickly deployed and operated with minimal human intervention. The goal is to harness cutting-edge capabilities that can be integrated into defence operations, as well as security and surveillance missions in various high-risk settings. The rapid advancement of drone technology has increasingly become a focal point for military and security agencies, with UAVs providing unique advantages in surveillance, reconnaissance, and tactical operations. The 'Drone in a Box' challenge aligns with the growing demand for autonomous, all-weather drone systems that can perform a wide range of operations with ease. These systems are designed to operate within a 'box' – a compact, secure, and mobile station that facilitates quick deployment, launch, and retrieval of drones in the field. One of the core objectives of the competition is to enhance the versatility and autonomy of drones. While drones have been used for military applications for years, the ability to operate without a human operator nearby, coupled with the rapid deployment feature, marks a significant step forward in unmanned aviation technology. The challenge will focus on the development of UAVs that can autonomously take off, carry out surveillance or reconnaissance missions, return to their base, and self-dock with minimal human interaction. The EDGE Group, through its various subsidiaries, has been at the forefront of autonomous defence systems and is committed to advancing technological solutions that address contemporary defence needs. The collaboration with Wazoku brings together expertise from the private sector, academia, and the defence industry, tapping into global ingenuity to push the boundaries of what autonomous UAV systems can achieve. Wazoku, a leading provider of open innovation and crowdsourcing platforms, has facilitated similar challenges for other industries, allowing a global pool of innovators to collaborate on solving complex technological problems. With its established expertise in running innovation challenges, Wazoku is set to provide a framework for the competition that will allow the best and most viable solutions to be identified and potentially implemented by EDGE Group and its partners. The competition is structured to attract submissions from a diverse range of organisations, including small tech startups, academic researchers, and larger technology companies. By opening up the challenge to a global audience, EDGE Group and Wazoku aim to tap into a wide array of ideas and designs that could help revolutionise the way UAVs are deployed in critical military and security operations. The 'Drone in a Box' challenge is part of EDGE Group's broader strategy to modernise and innovate within the defence sector. The company has made significant investments in AI-driven technologies, autonomous systems, and digital transformation to meet the evolving needs of modern warfare. With a focus on operational efficiency and rapid decision-making, EDGE Group's collaboration with Wazoku further strengthens its commitment to pioneering new technologies that enhance the operational capabilities of armed forces. See also US Stock Market Surges as Tariff Pause Sparks Investor Optimism Drone systems that require minimal human intervention, yet offer high reliability and durability, are increasingly seen as a solution to challenges such as high operational costs, limited personnel availability, and the need for faster response times in security operations. The versatility of UAVs, particularly in hostile or difficult-to-reach environments, allows for surveillance of vast areas, monitoring of high-risk locations, and even providing immediate tactical support during military operations. As governments and security agencies around the world seek to enhance their technological capabilities, autonomous UAV systems like the ones envisioned by the 'Drone in a Box' challenge are expected to play an integral role. These systems could be used for border patrols, disaster response, counterterrorism, and a wide range of other operations where traditional manpower may be limited or too costly to deploy. The global nature of the competition reflects the increasingly international landscape of the defence sector, where collaboration between countries, organisations, and industries is key to staying ahead of emerging threats. By reaching out to innovators worldwide, EDGE Group hopes to source solutions that are not only technologically advanced but also adaptable to the diverse and dynamic environments faced by security forces worldwide. Experts believe that autonomous drones, if successfully integrated into military and security operations, could drastically reduce the risk to human personnel while simultaneously enhancing the capabilities of defence systems. These unmanned aerial vehicles have the potential to carry out missions in environments that may be too dangerous or inaccessible for traditional human-led operations, such as conflict zones, disaster sites, or areas with hazardous conditions.
Mid East Info
02-05-2025
- Business
- Mid East Info
EDGE Group Partners with Wazoku to Launch Global ‘Drone in a Box' Innovation Challenge - Middle East Business News and Information
New open innovation challenge seeks cutting-edge, autonomous UAV deployment systems for real-world defence and security applications Abu Dhabi, UAE:May 2025 – EDGE, one of the world's leading advanced technology and defence groups, has announced a strategic partnership with innovation scale-up Wazoku. Their first collaboration launches a global open innovation challenge via the Wazoku Crowd platform to identify next-generation 'Drone in a Box' solutions. Open to innovators, start-ups, universities, and established organisations worldwide, the challenge seeks fully integrated systems that combine a drone, docking and charging station, ground control platform, and operational software into a single, scalable unit. EDGE is offering a total prize fund of USD 20,000—awarding USD 15,000 to the winning entry and USD 5,000 for the runner-up. Finalists will be invited to EDGE to demonstrate their solutions, with the potential for further development or acquisition. The challenge addresses rising global demand for autonomous UAV systems that are cost-effective, rapidly deployable, and resilient in harsh environments. EDGE is particularly interested in solutions requiring minimal human intervention and featuring AI-driven autonomy, predictive maintenance, advanced navigation, and mobile or remote deployment. 'This challenge represents a significant opportunity to help shape the future of defence technology,' said Ahmed Al Khoori, SVP – Strategy & Excellence, EDGE Group. 'By partnering with Wazoku, we're engaging a global community of problem-solvers to define the next evolution of unmanned systems—solutions that could transform ISR, logistics, perimeter security, and more.' The initiative has been led and coordinated by the EDGE Innovation team, reflecting the Group's commitment to open collaboration and rapid capability development. It supports EDGE's Learning & Innovation Factory (LIF) strategy, which invests in advanced technologies, fosters innovation, and builds national capacity. LIF aims to strengthen collaboration across the UAE's advanced technology ecosystem and establish EDGE as a centre of excellence and innovation within the wider community. Wazoku Crowd connects more than 700,000 solvers worldwide, including engineers, scientists, technologists, start-ups, and academic institutions. It has previously delivered successful outcomes for NASA, the UK Ministry of Defence, and the US Navy. 'EDGE is one of the most forward-thinking defence and advanced technology groups, and we're proud to partner with them on this and future challenges,' said Simon Hill, CEO of Wazoku. ''Drone in a Box' solutions are critical enablers for autonomous operations, and we're confident the Wazoku Crowd will surface bold, innovative solutions that meet EDGE's ambitions.' The challenge closes on 7 July 2025. Submissions must include a detailed technical proposal and supporting video demonstration. Finalists will retain intellectual property rights and may enter negotiations with EDGE for further development or acquisition of their solutions. About EDGE: Launched in November 2019, the UAE's EDGE is one of the world's leading advanced technology groups, established to develop agile, bold and disruptive solutions for defence and beyond, and to be a catalyst for change and transformation. It is dedicated to bringing breakthrough innovations, products, and services to market with greater speed and efficiency, to position the UAE as a leading global hub for future industries, and to creating clear paths within the sector for the next generation of highly-skilled talent to thrive. With a focus on the adoption of 4IR technologies, EDGE is driving the development of sovereign capabilities for global export and for the preservation of national security, working with front-line operators, international partners, and adopting advanced technologies such as autonomous capabilities, cyber-physical systems, advanced propulsion systems, robotics and smart materials. EDGE converges R&D, emerging technologies, digital transformation, and commercial market innovations with military capabilities to develop disruptive solutions tailored to the specific requirements of its customers. Headquartered in Abu Dhabi, capital of the UAE, EDGE consolidates more than 35 entities into six core clusters: Platforms & Systems, Missiles & Weapons, Space & Cyber Technologies, Trading & Mission Support, Technology & Innovation, and Homeland Security.
Al Etihad
02-05-2025
- Business
- Al Etihad
EDGE Group partners with Wazoku to launch global ‘Drone in a Box' innovation challenge
2 May 2025 15:21 ABU DHABI (ALETIHAD) EDGE, one of the world's leading advanced technology and defence groups, has announced a strategic partnership with innovation scale-up Wazoku. Their first collaboration launches a global open innovation challenge via the Wazoku Crowd platform to identify next-generation 'Drone in a Box' to innovators, start-ups, universities, and established organisations worldwide, the challenge seeks fully integrated systems that combine a drone, docking and charging station, ground control platform, and operational software into a single, scalable is offering a total prize fund of $20,000 – awarding $15,000 to the winning entry and $5,000 for the runner-up. Finalists will be invited to EDGE to demonstrate their solutions, with the potential for further development or challenge addresses rising global demand for autonomous UAV systems that are cost-effective, rapidly deployable, and resilient in harsh environments. EDGE is particularly interested in solutions requiring minimal human intervention and featuring AI-driven autonomy, predictive maintenance, advanced navigation, and mobile or remote Al Khoori, SVP – Strategy & Excellence, EDGE Group, said, 'This challenge represents a significant opportunity to help shape the future of defence technology. By partnering with Wazoku, we're engaging a global community of problem-solvers to define the next evolution of unmanned systems—solutions that could transform ISR, logistics, perimeter security, and more.'The initiative has been led and coordinated by the EDGE Innovation team, reflecting the Group's commitment to open collaboration and rapid capability development. It supports EDGE's Learning & Innovation Factory (LIF) strategy, which invests in advanced technologies, fosters innovation, and builds national Crowd connects more than 700,000 solvers worldwide, including engineers, scientists, technologists, start-ups, and academic institutions. It has previously delivered successful outcomes for NASA, the UK Ministry of Defence, and the US Hill, CEO of Wazoku, added, 'EDGE is one of the most forward-thinking defence and advanced technology groups, and we're proud to partner with them on this and future challenges. 'Drone in a Box' solutions are critical enablers for autonomous operations, and we're confident the Wazoku Crowd will surface bold, innovative solutions that meet EDGE's ambitions.'The challenge closes on July 7, 2025. Submissions must include a detailed technical proposal and supporting video demonstration. Finalists will retain intellectual property rights and may enter negotiations with EDGE for further development or acquisition of their solutions.
Zawya
02-05-2025
- Business
- Zawya
EDGE Group partners with Wazoku to launch global ‘Drone in a Box' innovation challenge
Abu Dhabi, UAE: EDGE, one of the world's leading advanced technology and defence groups, has announced a strategic partnership with innovation scale-up Wazoku. Their first collaboration launches a global open innovation challenge via the Wazoku Crowd platform to identify next-generation 'Drone in a Box' solutions. Open to innovators, start-ups, universities, and established organisations worldwide, the challenge seeks fully integrated systems that combine a drone, docking and charging station, ground control platform, and operational software into a single, scalable unit. EDGE is offering a total prize fund of USD 20,000—awarding USD 15,000 to the winning entry and USD 5,000 for the runner-up. Finalists will be invited to EDGE to demonstrate their solutions, with the potential for further development or acquisition. The challenge addresses rising global demand for autonomous UAV systems that are cost-effective, rapidly deployable, and resilient in harsh environments. EDGE is particularly interested in solutions requiring minimal human intervention and featuring AI-driven autonomy, predictive maintenance, advanced navigation, and mobile or remote deployment. 'This challenge represents a significant opportunity to help shape the future of defence technology,' said Ahmed Al Khoori, SVP – Strategy & Excellence, EDGE Group. 'By partnering with Wazoku, we're engaging a global community of problem-solvers to define the next evolution of unmanned systems—solutions that could transform ISR, logistics, perimeter security, and more.' The initiative has been led and coordinated by the EDGE Innovation team, reflecting the Group's commitment to open collaboration and rapid capability development. It supports EDGE's Learning & Innovation Factory (LIF) strategy, which invests in advanced technologies, fosters innovation, and builds national capacity. LIF aims to strengthen collaboration across the UAE's advanced technology ecosystem and establish EDGE as a centre of excellence and innovation within the wider community. Wazoku Crowd connects more than 700,000 solvers worldwide, including engineers, scientists, technologists, start-ups, and academic institutions. It has previously delivered successful outcomes for NASA, the UK Ministry of Defence, and the US Navy. 'EDGE is one of the most forward-thinking defence and advanced technology groups, and we're proud to partner with them on this and future challenges,' said Simon Hill, CEO of Wazoku. ''Drone in a Box' solutions are critical enablers for autonomous operations, and we're confident the Wazoku Crowd will surface bold, innovative solutions that meet EDGE's ambitions.' The challenge closes on 7 July 2025. Submissions must include a detailed technical proposal and supporting video demonstration. Finalists will retain intellectual property rights and may enter negotiations with EDGE for further development or acquisition of their solutions. About EDGE Launched in November 2019, the UAE's EDGE is one of the world's leading advanced technology groups, established to develop agile, bold and disruptive solutions for defence and beyond, and to be a catalyst for change and transformation. It is dedicated to bringing breakthrough innovations, products, and services to market with greater speed and efficiency, to position the UAE as a leading global hub for future industries, and to creating clear paths within the sector for the next generation of highly-skilled talent to thrive. With a focus on the adoption of 4IR technologies, EDGE is driving the development of sovereign capabilities for global export and for the preservation of national security, working with front-line operators, international partners, and adopting advanced technologies such as autonomous capabilities, cyber-physical systems, advanced propulsion systems, robotics and smart materials. EDGE converges R&D, emerging technologies, digital transformation, and commercial market innovations with military capabilities to develop disruptive solutions tailored to the specific requirements of its customers. Headquartered in Abu Dhabi, capital of the UAE, EDGE consolidates more than 35 entities into six core clusters: Platforms & Systems, Missiles & Weapons, Space & Cyber Technologies, Trading & Mission Support, Technology & Innovation, and Homeland Security.
Forbes
25-03-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Crowdsourced Wisdom: How AI Labs Are Tapping Contest Data To Build Smarter Models
AI labs are using crowdsourced contest data to infuse human creativity into smarter, more adaptable ... More models. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is evolving at a breakneck pace, fueled by large language models (LLMs) that devour vast amounts of text and code from across the internet. Yet, as AI Labs search for the next competitive edge, they've begun to realize something remarkable: the most transformative insights come directly from the nuanced, creative, and often untapped depths of human problem-solving. Rather than relying solely on curated repositories or scraping the internet at scale, forward-looking organizations are turning to crowdsourcing platforms such as Wazoku's Data as a Service (DaaS), Codewars (part of Andela), and Topcoder. These platforms host historical contest data—real human-generated solutions to real problems—and provide a treasure trove of 'in-the-wild' problem statements and solutions. This data captures the very essence of human intelligence at work: creativity, collaboration, and iterative Crowdsourced Data Matters AI models depend on high-quality training data. If the only information we feed them is static or generalized, we risk producing static, generalized models. Instead, when LLMs learn from dynamic human interactions, through solutions crafted by global teams of expert solvers, they can capture the diversity of thought and resourcefulness that only humans can deliver. Simon Hill, CEO of Wazoku, has seen this phenomenon firsthand: 'As we get to the next evolution of language models, the data we need to start bringing in to train the machine better is just data that's harder to find. Whether it's tacit data that isn't yet codified or analog data that we don't even know exists, that's where you need a globally diverse but highly skilled network of people. That is exactly where crowdsourcing plays.' What Hill points to is a fundamental shift: AI Labs aren't just mining readily available digital text; they are seeking expert, experience-based, and context-rich data. The Power of Human Iteration The Codewars platform, part of Andela, exemplifies how contests can surface world-class coding solutions. It invites developers of all skill levels to solve programming challenges in multiple ways, and then upvotes the most effective approaches. Carrol Chang of Andela, which oversees Codewars, puts it succinctly: 'The ironic thing about synthetic intelligence is that the best kind is built on the best human intelligence, and that's what the Codewars platform was built to draw out. People come to Codewars because they want to improve their mastery of coding. Our slogan is mastery through challenge. You have human coders answering the same coding challenge in hundreds of different ways, and the community votes up the best answers… all of that is a gold mine.' Chang's insight underscores that these solutions aren't just theoretical examples—they're dynamic, tested, and vetted by other practitioners. This style of iterative improvement mimics how real innovation occurs in the wild: through trial, feedback, and refinement. Traditional training sets—like static text or curated code repos—lack that valuable, iterative community input. Surfacing Hidden Insights One of the most significant hurdles in AI is finding data that represents a breadth of perspectives, cultures, and creative approaches. According to Hill, 'most of the world's data is still locked inside human minds.' Even if extensive text archives exist, not all best practices or novel ideas make it into neatly formatted repositories. Often, it's only through competition or collaboration that these nuanced insights emerge. That's where platforms like Wazoku's DaaS come in. By connecting organizations with diverse, global solvers, Wazoku can unearth latent information. AI Labs can then harness that data to train models capable of performing specialized tasks, from designing innovative products to improving coding efficiency. How Crowdsourced Data Stacks Up Against RLHF Increasingly, developers of large language models turn to Reinforcement Learning from Human Feedback (RLHF) to fine-tune and align their models. Yet crowdsourced data can sometimes be even more valuable than RLHF, because it originates from broader, more organic interactions rather than feedback from a smaller, curated group of annotators. This broader lens on real-world problem-solving captures a richness of creativity, debate, and iteration that helps models learn more versatile and context-sensitive solutions. The Future of Contest Data While historical datasets are already proving invaluable, Tony Jefts of Topcoder highlights the growing value of future contest data: 'Every new challenge that goes live generates a set of fresh ideas, codes, and approaches, and these 'in-the-moment' solutions are just as important, if not more than, the archived solutions,' Jefts explains. 'It's a continuous process of problem-solving, and each competition becomes another building block for training more adaptable, future-proof AI models.' In other words, the competitions themselves—not just the archived solutions—will produce new training sets that will be just as (if not more) important than what's been gathered so far. The continuous loop of 'challenge → diverse solutions → refined data → updated LLM' fosters a positive feedback cycle that keeps AI relevant and continuously improving. It's not just about unlocking old data; it's about co-creating new data that captures the evolving frontier of human knowledge. A Human-Machine Symbiosis We often think of AI and humans in opposition—one replacing the other. But as these crowdsourcing platforms prove, the most significant AI models may be the ones that most effectively leverage human creativity. In this hybrid model, humans provide the experimentation, variety, and real-world insights; the AI aggregates these solutions, learns patterns, and refines capabilities. 'Human plus machine is where the real value is,' Hill reminds us. 'Why not use the human to accelerate the training of the algorithm and achieve better outcomes for everyone involved?' Strategic Considerations for Organizations Crowdsourced data from historically rich contest platforms offers AI Labs a potent way to train more adaptive, creative, and reliable LLMs. By capturing the dynamic and diverse nature of human problem-solving, these platforms provide a steady stream of high-impact insights that traditional data sources simply can't replicate. Crowdsourced platforms such as Codewars, Topcoder, and Wazoku's DaaS are poised to fuel the next wave of AI innovation, reminding us that, ultimately, people remain the most crucial input in the AI equation.
