Technology Innovation Institute’s Secure Systems Research Centre in Abu Dhabi Announces Launch of First Motion Capture Facility Outside United States
8.9.2021 15:29:00 EEST | Business Wire | Press release
Technology Innovation Institute (TII), the applied research pillar of Abu Dhabi’s Advanced Technology Research Council (ATRC), today announced that its Secure Systems Research Centre (SSRC) is pioneering a first-in-the-region Motion Capture (MOCAP) facility. Outside of the United States, SSRC’s unique MOCAP facility at its Masdar City premises, will enable the testing of Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) or drones in an augmented reality (AR) or mixed reality environment.
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210908005700/en/
Dr Shreekant (Ticky) Thakkar, Chief Researcher, Secure Systems Research Centre, Technology Innovation Institute (Photo: AETOSWire)
The MOCAP facility will allow SSRC to simulate flying through the city of Abu Dhabi and enable high-precision ground truth to conduct sophisticated experiments as well as virtual, augmented and mixed reality testing. The ability to simulate virtual camera images and sensors facilitates testing in environments that are too large, too dangerous, or too time consuming to construct in reality.
The high-quality motion capture system proposed for Abu Dhabi will be able to conduct passive or active tracking and enhance the communication, navigation, command, and control capabilities achieved to date. SSRC is shaping this facility in line with its ongoing collaboration with US-based Purdue University that holds the distinction for the largest indoor motion capture facility in the world.
Speaking on the breakthrough facility that will allow the modelling and operation of a cloud-based secure autonomous system of drones - as opposed to just autonomous drones - in this environment, Dr Shreekant (Ticky) Thakkar, Chief Researcher, SSRC, said: “This is a start – an ambitious one – and we are confident we will be able to arrive at technologies that could limit malicious cyber-attacks as our reliance on drones continues to increase every day. They are integral to life today – from delivering valuable organs at a hospital to conducting surveillance of high-security zones, or dispersing seeds over a field or even completing grocery deliveries.
“This unique testing facility will be leveraged by various lab groups and allow us to conduct experiments on a broad range of Unmanned Aerial Systems of various sizes while the state-of-the-art high-resolution cameras track small objects in the surrounding environment. Our aim at SSRC is to develop breakthrough security solutions to safeguard systems that may be vulnerable, such as unsecure drone systems which may pose various threats to organisational or even individual privacy and safety. Therefore, it’s essential to make drone platforms more resilient and secure.”
On the construction of the new facility, James Goppert, Managing Director of the Purdue UAS Research and Test Facility said: “Autonomous drones are already playing a key part in package delivery and infrastructure inspection. As smart cities evolve, it will be critical to ensure the safe operation of drones in an urban setting. This facility is particularly suited to the task of bringing algorithms for the security of drones from simulation to real world application by allowing a gradual transition of scenario elements from pure simulation, to virtual, to real-world.”
The testing facility will be used by both the Secure Systems Research Centre and TII’s Autonomous Robotics Research Centre to carry out experiments on a range of vehicles. As a shared space, the Motion Capture facility can accommodate micro UAS weighing less than 10 g to large UAS that are as heavy as 1,000 kg and factor in different types of UAS from multirotor to helicopters to vertical takeoff and landing vehicles (VTOLs) to fixed wing craft.
For information on Technology Innovation Institute, visit www.tii.ae
For information on Secure Systems Research Centre, visit https://securesystems.tii.ae/
*Source: AETOSWire
To view this piece of content from cts.businesswire.com, please give your consent at the top of this page.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210908005700/en/
Contact information
Technology Innovation Institute
Hanz Valbuena
comms@atrc.ae
About Business Wire
For more than 50 years, Business Wire has been the global leader in press release distribution and regulatory disclosure.
Subscribe to releases from Business Wire
Subscribe to all the latest releases from Business Wire by registering your e-mail address below. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Latest releases from Business Wire
Geoswift and SKUx Announce Strategic Partnership to Develop a First-of-Its-Kind Programmable Stablecoin Commerce Network29.6.2026 15:00:00 EEST | Press release
Geoswift and SKUx announced a groundbreaking partnership to develop a next-generation programmable stablecoin commerce network. This strategic collaboration bridges digital assets, traditional finance, and real-world commerce at a global scale, representing a "one-of-one" opportunity by combining Geoswift's global infrastructure with SKUx's specialized item-level controls directly within point-of-sale (POS) systems. While enterprise stablecoin usage continues to accelerate globally, governments, enterprises, payment networks, and AI-driven commerce platforms are increasingly seeking programmable payment infrastructure that can bridge digital assets with real-world commerce. The innovation goes far beyond treasury management or even enabling consumers to spend stablecoins at retail locations. Instead, it unlocks true "programmable money" with embedded controls, rules, and purpose-driven utility —requiring both programmable settlement and programmable spending controls. Geoswift and SKUx
Esri Sponsors Smithsonian Exhibition Showcasing Natural and Cultural Objects from All 50 States29.6.2026 15:00:00 EEST | Press release
Esri, the global leader in location intelligence, is sponsoring From These Lands: Sharing Our Natural and Cultural Heritage, a new exhibition at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History that showcases objects from all 50 states and explores the deep connections between people, place, and the natural world that unite the nation. The exhibit, which opened this June 18 and runs through 2029, brings together more than 600 specimens and cultural artifacts from across the United States, Washington, DC, and the five territories that people call home. Drawing from the museum's own collection, From These Lands shows how natural systems, cultural traditions, and geography intersect. The exhibition presents stories that span millions of years—from ancient fossils and geological formations to cultural artifacts and scientific breakthroughs—inviting visitors to reflect on their own sense of place. By pairing natural specimens with cultural objects, From These Lands demonstrates how huma
Cartilage Tissue Engineering Heads to Orbit in NSF and NASA-supported Study at the International Space Station29.6.2026 15:00:00 EEST | Press release
Researchers in the DELTAi Lab at the University of California, Irvine, working with NASA, are using Evercode Cell Fixation to preserve samples aboard the International Space Station as part of a study of cartilage tissue engineering in microgravity. The unprecedented work, part of a National Science Foundation (NSF)-funded grant led by Dr. Wendy Brown and Dr. Kyriacos Athanasiou, announced today by Parse Biosciences, aims to advance treatments for the hundreds of millions of people worldwide affected by cartilage injury. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260629548658/en/ Rachel Nordberg, PhD, from the DELTAi Lab at UC Irvine, prepping the BioServe device before it goes into orbit. Cartilage injuries cause significant pain and disability, and the need for implants that can repair or regenerate damaged tissue without harming a donor site has gone unmet for decades. Part of the difficulty is gravity itself, which m
Court Clears Biocytogen’s RenNano ® in Landmark Patent Dispute Against Harbour29.6.2026 14:55:00 EEST | Press release
Biocytogen Pharmaceuticals (Beijing) Co., Ltd. ("Biocytogen," SSE: 688796; HKEX: 02315) today announced that it has received a first-instance civil judgment from the Shanghai Intellectual Property Court. The court ruled that Biocytogen did not infringe the relevant patent rights asserted by the plaintiff, Harbour Antibodies BV ("Harbour"), and ordered the plaintiff to bear the litigation costs. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260629347368/en/ Court Clears Biocytogen’s RenNano® in Landmark Patent Dispute Against Harbour The judgment marks a significant first-instance outcome in the litigation and further affirms the independent innovation and intellectual property compliance of Biocytogen's core technology platforms. It also provides greater clarity for existing and prospective partners evaluating the RenNano® platform, reinforcing confidence in the Company's technology platforms and long-term innovation capabi
MANE Selects Kinaxis to Strengthen Global Planning Capabilities29.6.2026 14:00:00 EEST | Press release
Kinaxis®(TSX:KXS), a global leader in end-to-end supply chain planning and orchestration, today announced that MANE, one of the top five leading organizations worldwide in the flavours and fragrances industry, has selected Kinaxis to modernize its planning capabilities as it accelerates global growth as part of a broader enterprise-wide transformation initiative. Headquartered in the south of France, with a significant global footprint spanning multiple regions and customers across international markets, MANE is known for its innovation, technical expertise and strong commitment to sustainability. The company is investing in more connected, end-to-end planning capabilities to support continued growth and increasing operational complexity worldwide. Following an extensive evaluation process with major competitors in the market, MANE selected the Kinaxis Maestro platform for its proven ability to support complex, multi‑region planning environments with speed, transparency, and confidence
In our pressroom you can read all our latest releases, find our press contacts, images, documents and other relevant information about us.
Visit our pressroom