US technology company FotaHub, Inc, chaired by the entrepreneur of Moroccan origin, Abdelghani El Kacimi, will invest in the first Moroccan humanoid robot, Shama. Shama will be developed at the Cadi Ayyad University in Marrakech.
Moroccan State media reported that Morocco’s expertise in artificial intelligence (AI) attracted the American company, which picked up the Shama project developed by the team of Hajar Al Moussanif, a professor at the Cadi Ayyad University in Marrakech.
According to the Thursday, January 14th, 2021 edition of the L’Economiste which categorizes a “rare event; university research is arousing little interest from industry.” FotaHub intends to provide researcher Hajar Mousannif, at the helm of the project, one million dirhams to design a 2.0 version of Shama.
The L’Economiste confirmed, “an agreement was signed for this purpose. The collaboration will make it possible to initiate projects aimed at accelerating the convergence between the world of connected objects and that of Artificial Intelligence.” El Kacimi announced that FotaHub “also plans to settle in the city of Marrakech, renowned for innovation.
El Kacimi also noted that Hajar Mousannif has been among a handful of academic and industrial specialists and speakers who have had the opportunity to preview powerful remote update services, known under the technical term of Firmware update over the Air-Fota. “We built Shama, the Moroccan robot, out of almost nothing, and now Shama will gracefully move to Shama 2.0 thanks to FotaHub Inc. an exceptional young company in the United States,” said Hajar Mousannif.
Moroccan Made Robot ‘Shama’ Financed by USA Company
Hajar Mousannif is an expert at Artificial Intelligence and scientific research. Last year, WomenTech Global Awards 2020 announced Hajar Mousannif as the golden winner of the WomenTech Global AI Inclusion Award. The award is one of the most prestigious recognitions for women in the field of advanced technology. Mousannif surpassed five nominees in the AI category, including researchers, CEOs, and professors. He is also a winner of the 2014 L’Oreal-Unesco For Women in Science International Awards, which annually recognizes “five outstanding women scientists.”