Autonomous Logistics Platform Collaboration Advances UAE Sovereign AI And UGVs

The UAE is moving to expand local expertise in unmanned systems, with EDGE leading a new initiative to deploy an autonomous logistics platform that links advanced robotics, artificial intelligence, and industrial operations. The project targets automated movement of materials across factories and other sites, supporting national goals for sovereign capability in defence, technology, and smart infrastructure.

EDGE has signed a Collaboration Agreement with the Technology Innovation Institute, SteerAI, and Micropolis to pilot this autonomous logistics platform, known as ALP. The partners plan to test the system in industrial environments, focusing on reliable performance, scalability, and smooth integration with existing processes, while keeping human operators in control of mission planning and oversight.

The agreement is signed during the Unmanned Systems Exhibition and the Simulation and Training Exhibition 2026, known as UMEX and SimTEX 2026. It is described as a key step in strengthening Emirati know-how in unmanned ground vehicles, AI systems, and connected infrastructure, with EDGE providing overall orchestration and systems integration across hardware and software layers.

Under the collaboration, Micropolis is responsible for the physical elements of the autonomous logistics platform, supplying unmanned ground vehicles in at least two configurations, the M1 and M2 variants. These UGVs are tailored for different terrains and use cases. SteerAI contributes its CoreConnect system, which forms the command-and-control layer to manage autonomous fleets through one unified interface.

The autonomous logistics platform is designed to automate asset movement inside and between manufacturing sites by linking custom-built unmanned ground vehicles with AI-driven control software. Key functions include fleet management, path planning and navigation, safety mechanisms, digital twin modelling, situational awareness, operational optimisation, advanced analytics, and integration with enterprise systems.

TII adds advanced analytics and sovereign AI capabilities via its TACTICAai platform, which merges information from many sensors, domains, platforms, and systems. TACTICAai focuses on transforming raw data into operational insight for decision-makers. It is aligned with national requirements for secure, locally controlled AI that supports complex missions across industrial and defence environments.

Bader Al Jaberi, Vice President for Industrialisation Technologies, EDGE BRIDGE, said, "As a catalyst for injecting emerging technologies into the UAE’s industrial defence hub, we are partnering with the UAE’s growing autonomous ecosystem to champion the development of advanced manufacturing systems. This Collaboration Agreement marks a significant step forward in our mission to build sovereign, end-to-end autonomous capabilities, from advanced research to industrial-scale manufacturing."

Dr Najwa Aaraj, CEO of TII, said, TACTICAai reflects our vision for next-generation situational awareness, where intelligence is no longer fragmented across sensors, domains, platforms, and systems. By orchestrating data, AI agents, and decision workflows into a single operational layer, TACTICAai enables operators to move from raw information to trusted, actionable insight. It continuously optimizes operations by recommending response options that adapt to evolving conditions. In parallel, it embeds security analytics to detect anomalies and correlate threats across domains. The result is reduced decision time and operational risk, with resilient, sovereign AI that augments human judgment in complex environments, while keeping humans in the loop.

Michael Sonderby, Acting CEO, SteerAI, said, "The real power of autonomous technology lies in aggregating and coordinating individual vehicles as fleets and integrating them with companies’ core systems. CoreConnect does exactly that: It works with any autonomous robot – ground, aerial or marine – and provides operators with centralised planning, execution, and oversight of complex autonomous operations. We look forward to collaborating on this initiative and using it as a model for how autonomy can be rolled out at scale across the UAE."

Fareed Aljawhari, CEO, Micropolis, said, "This collaboration represents a significant step toward building sovereign, end-to-end autonomous logistics capabilities in the UAE. By combining Micropolis’ expertise in autonomous ground platforms and industrial robotics with EDGE’s industrialisation leadership and TII’s advanced research in AI and autonomy, we aim to deliver scalable, production-ready autonomous logistics systems that can operate reliably in complex industrial environments.

With inputs from WAM