A UAE company with big ambitions to rival Tesla on the global stage of production of autonomous vehicles and humanoid robots unveiled its latest off-road hybrid military vehicle in Abu Dhabi.
The Eneron Magnus border patrol vehicle has been built from scratch in the UAE in under three months and is a marker for autonomous electric military vehicles of the very near future.
The concept car is the latest project from government owned Kintsugi Holding, that specialises in autonomous ground transport and the development of humanoid robots that can perform laborious, and dangerous tasks currently completed by humans.
The speciality vehicles have been developed in partnership with the UAE National Guard, and were on show at the Idex defence and security conference in Abu Dhabi on Monday, which was attended by President Sheikh Mohamed, as well as Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, and Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, Crown Prince of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence, who were briefed on a number of the defence systems on display.
What sets the Magnus aside from other autonomous transport is its sleek muscular looks, bulletproof Kevlar shell and 800km range thanks to an electric battery and on board diesel generator.
Composite panels on either side of the vehicle are engineered to pair with ballistic steel and a composite chassis, providing level two ballistic protection from landmines and other incendiary devices.
Its six-seater cabin is similar in size to the Tesla Cybertruck, which is also electric, and can be brought for about $81,000. Kintsugi would not reveal how much the Magnus cost to develop or how much it would retail at, if it becomes commercially available.
More than 20 cameras offer a 360 degree of the outside, while ladar and radar sensors have the vehicle ready for autonomous driving, and an escape hatch in the roof allows for a quick emergency exit.
A futuristic interior features a high-tech digital cockpit design, purpose-built for border patrol operations, while a multifunctional steering wheel and a 10.4-inch central touchscreen with hotkeys is designed for intuitive accessibility.
Sean Teo, managing director of Kintsugi Holding, said common problems with using electric batteries to power heavy armour plated vehicles has been the drain on power, and resulting short range.
“We wanted to completely reinvent the military vehicle,” Mr Teo, told The National. “People said it was crazy to design a vehicle like this because one of the biggest challenges was generating enough torque. When you're going uphill, after a while the electricity becomes too hot. So we’ve had to refine the entire design to overcome the heat issue by adding a diesel generator.”
Electric power
An electric motor provides 800KW of power, generating a top speed of 130kph and acceleration from a standing start to 100kph in just seven seconds.
Abu Dhabi police has commissioned a smaller version of the Magnus, the Magnum, that can be used for motorway patrols, and emergency response, while Civil Defence is also said to be interested in adding the vehicle to its fleet.
Michael Robinson, a design consultant for Kintsugi, brought his 45 years of experience in the Italian car market to develop the Magnus’s eye-catching looks.
“It's a giant vehicle, much larger than anything I've ever worked on before, so it's already in a different class,” he said. “I wanted to bring in a new architecture into this industry which tends to be very boxy, with flat, vertical windshields. The entire body is done in Kevlar, so it's very structurally robust and gives the possibility to do muscular, aggressive shapes.
"It is 100 per cent EV hybrid, with one electric engine in the front axle and one in the rear axle, but the diesel just charges the battery up so we can do 800km which is amazing in such a big beast. We did this in record time, six months to do the engineering on this thing and then three months to build it.”
Robo taxis
Kintsugi said it is in talks to fill the gap in the autonomous taxi market left behind by the issues faced with Cruise, the US self-driving vehicle manufacturer that was trialling routes for its driverless cars in Dubai.
In 2023, regulators in California ordered Cruise – a subsidiary of General Motors – to stop its driverless taxi service in San Francisco after a near fatal incident with a pedestrian who was dragged several metres by the autonomous vehicle.
Mr Teo said the failure of others to develop safe driverless vehicles had created an opportunity for robotaxis built in the UAE by Kintsugi.
“This (Cruise incident) made it all the more important to make sure that we manufacture these vehicles locally, so we can control the availability and quality of services,” he said. “By the end of June you should see about 20 of these vehicles running around the island (Abu Dhabi).”
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How to register as a donor
1) Organ donors can register on the Hayat app, run by the Ministry of Health and Prevention
2) There are about 11,000 patients in the country in need of organ transplants
3) People must be over 21. Emiratis and residents can register.
4) The campaign uses the hashtag #donate_hope
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
Is it worth it? We put cheesecake frap to the test.
The verdict from the nutritionists is damning. But does a cheesecake frappuccino taste good enough to merit the indulgence?
My advice is to only go there if you have unusually sweet tooth. I like my puddings, but this was a bit much even for me. The first hit is a winner, but it's downhill, slowly, from there. Each sip is a little less satisfying than the last, and maybe it was just all that sugar, but it isn't long before the rush is replaced by a creeping remorse. And half of the thing is still left.
The caramel version is far superior to the blueberry, too. If someone put a full caramel cheesecake through a liquidiser and scooped out the contents, it would probably taste something like this. Blueberry, on the other hand, has more of an artificial taste. It's like someone has tried to invent this drink in a lab, and while early results were promising, they're still in the testing phase. It isn't terrible, but something isn't quite right either.
So if you want an experience, go for a small, and opt for the caramel. But if you want a cheesecake, it's probably more satisfying, and not quite as unhealthy, to just order the real thing.
In numbers: China in Dubai
The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000
Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2018/19: 120,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000
Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent
Starring: Jamie Foxx, Angela Bassett, Tina Fey
Directed by: Pete Doctor
Rating: 4 stars
Know before you go
- Jebel Akhdar is a two-hour drive from Muscat airport or a six-hour drive from Dubai. It’s impossible to visit by car unless you have a 4x4. Phone ahead to the hotel to arrange a transfer.
- If you’re driving, make sure your insurance covers Oman.
- By air: Budget airlines Air Arabia, Flydubai and SalamAir offer direct routes to Muscat from the UAE.
- Tourists from the Emirates (UAE nationals not included) must apply for an Omani visa online before arrival at evisa.rop.gov.om. The process typically takes several days.
- Flash floods are probable due to the terrain and a lack of drainage. Always check the weather before venturing into any canyons or other remote areas and identify a plan of escape that includes high ground, shelter and parking where your car won’t be overtaken by sudden downpours.
If you go
- The nearest international airport to the start of the Chuysky Trakt is in Novosibirsk. Emirates (www.emirates.com) offer codeshare flights with S7 Airlines (www.s7.ru) via Moscow for US$5,300 (Dh19,467) return including taxes. Cheaper flights are available on Flydubai and Air Astana or Aeroflot combination, flying via Astana in Kazakhstan or Moscow. Economy class tickets are available for US$650 (Dh2,400).
- The Double Tree by Hilton in Novosibirsk ( 7 383 2230100,) has double rooms from US$60 (Dh220). You can rent cabins at camp grounds or rooms in guesthouses in the towns for around US$25 (Dh90).
- The transport Minibuses run along the Chuysky Trakt but if you want to stop for sightseeing, hire a taxi from Gorno-Altaisk for about US$100 (Dh360) a day. Take a Russian phrasebook or download a translation app. Tour companies such as Altair-Tour ( 7 383 2125115 ) offer hiking and adventure packages.
PROFILE OF HALAN
Started: November 2017
Founders: Mounir Nakhla, Ahmed Mohsen and Mohamed Aboulnaga
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Sector: transport and logistics
Size: 150 employees
Investment: approximately $8 million
Investors include: Singapore’s Battery Road Digital Holdings, Egypt’s Algebra Ventures, Uber co-founder and former CTO Oscar Salazar
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Best Academy: Ajax and Benfica
Best Agent: Jorge Mendes
Best Club : Liverpool
Best Coach: Jurgen Klopp (Liverpool)
Best Goalkeeper: Alisson Becker
Best Men’s Player: Cristiano Ronaldo
Best Partnership of the Year Award by SportBusiness: Manchester City and SAP
Best Referee: Stephanie Frappart
Best Revelation Player: Joao Felix (Atletico Madrid and Portugal)
Best Sporting Director: Andrea Berta (Atletico Madrid)
Best Women's Player: Lucy Bronze
Best Young Arab Player: Achraf Hakimi
Kooora – Best Arab Club: Al Hilal (Saudi Arabia)
Kooora – Best Arab Player: Abderrazak Hamdallah (Al-Nassr FC, Saudi Arabia)
Player Career Award: Miralem Pjanic and Ryan Giggs
MATCH INFO
Real Madrid 3 (Kroos 4', Ramos 30', Marcelo 37')
Eibar 1 (Bigas 60')
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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The biog
Born: Kuwait in 1986
Family: She is the youngest of seven siblings
Time in the UAE: 10 years
Hobbies: audiobooks and fitness: she works out every day, enjoying kickboxing and basketball
ROUTE%20TO%20TITLE
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The flights: South African Airways flies from Dubai International Airport with a stop in Johannesburg, with prices starting from around Dh4,000 return. Emirates can get you there with a stop in Lusaka from around Dh4,600 return.
The details: Visas are available for 247 Zambian kwacha or US$20 (Dh73) per person on arrival at Livingstone Airport. Single entry into Victoria Falls for international visitors costs 371 kwacha or $30 (Dh110). Microlight flights are available through Batoka Sky, with 15-minute flights costing 2,265 kwacha (Dh680).
Accommodation: The Royal Livingstone Victoria Falls Hotel by Anantara is an ideal place to stay, within walking distance of the falls and right on the Zambezi River. Rooms here start from 6,635 kwacha (Dh2,398) per night, including breakfast, taxes and Wi-Fi. Water arrivals cost from 587 kwacha (Dh212) per person.
Tamkeen's offering
- Option 1: 70% in year 1, 50% in year 2, 30% in year 3
- Option 2: 50% across three years
- Option 3: 30% across five years
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Electoral College Victory
Trump has so far secured 295 Electoral College votes, according to the Associated Press, exceeding the 270 needed to win. Only Nevada and Arizona remain to be called, and both swing states are leaning Republican. Trump swept all five remaining swing states, North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, sealing his path to victory and giving him a strong mandate.
Popular Vote Tally
The count is ongoing, but Trump currently leads with nearly 51 per cent of the popular vote to Harris’s 47.6 per cent. Trump has over 72.2 million votes, while Harris trails with approximately 67.4 million.
