Dubai: At Gitex 2025, robots walk among humans, and it feels totally normal

At Gitex Global 2025, the line between humans and machines blurs more than ever, with robots walking among humans normally.

From humanoids that teach children languages to robots that sprint, climb, and sense their surroundings, the future of automation is no longer confined to labs; it’s strolling confidently through the halls of the Dubai World Trade Centre.

And among the crowd of futuristic creations, one innovation stands out for its human touch: a teaching robot designed to understand every child’sunique way of learning.

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Personalising classroom learning

A home-grown innovation from a UAE educator is turning heads at the Ministry of Education booth, a one-metre-tall robot that can adapt lesson plans for every child in the classroom.

Latifa Alhammadi, Academic Vice Principal at Al Ethaar school (Emirates Schools Establishment) Abu Dhabi, introduced Sanad — an AI-powered teaching assistant designed to help students learn English and other languages through personalised plans.

“Sanad in Arabic means someone who supports another,” Al Hamadi told Khaleej Times. “That’s exactly what this robot does — it supports both students and teachers.”

She explained that the robot uses a recommendation system to deliver learning material suited to each student’s skill level. “In a class of 25 to 30 students, it’s difficult for a teacher to tailor lessons for everyone. The robot analyses how each child is performing and adjusts the plan accordingly. It also meant mainly to teach languages to children,” she said.

If a student answers most questions correctly, the AI gradually increases the difficulty. “But if they struggle, it makes the content easier, and then builds it up step by step. The idea is to help every student improve at their own pace,” Al Hamadi added.

Currently, Sanad can teach English, but it can be programmed to teach other languages such as French and Chinese. The project is still at the research stage.

“It’s built entirely in the UAE,” said Alhammadi, who is pursuing a PhD in artificial intelligence. “I wanted my research to have a real impact on students, so I came up with this idea and built the prototype myself. It took me around five to six months.”

The plan is to pilot Sanad in government schools, starting with primary grades (1–5). “We’ll seek approval from the Ministry of Education to test it in classrooms soon,” she said.

Beyond lessons, Sanad is designed to interact with children even during breaks or free time, helping build conversational skills. “This is version one. I’m already working on version two with more sensors and cameras,” Alhammadi revealed. “In version three, students won’t even need to log in — the robot will recognise them automatically and start interacting based on a student’s level.”

Other head turners

Elsewhere on the exhibition floor, several other robots were busy captivating visitors. One crowd favourite was the Booster T1, a 1.2-metre-tall humanoid robot weighing around 30kg.

Built for agility and endurance, it can perform complex moves — even getting back on its feet after a fall — and navigate smoothly in any direction. With 23 degrees of freedom (expandable for further development), the Booster T1 combines versatility with precision. It’s also equipped with advanced sensing and positioning capabilities. Having competed in RoboCup 2024, the robot has since gone on to become an official partner of the global robotics competition.

Another showstopper was the X30 quadruped robot, the flagship model designed to support industries ranging from inspection and investigation to security, surveying and mapping.

Demonstrating its strength and stability, the X30 can climb stairs at a 45-degree angle and manoeuvre confidently through tight or rugged spaces. Its integrated perception system allows it to operate independently in extreme conditions — whether in complete darkness, flickering light or glaring brightness.

With a battery that can be swapped out in minutes, the X30 is built for continuous use in high-pressure field operations where reliability is key.

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