Qatari technology firm Snoonu is aiming for the commercial ground deployment of fully autonomous delivery robots in Qatar between late 2026 and early 2027, with plans to integrate physical artificial intelligence (AI) over the next three years to handle the region’s climate and infrastructure.
“We are currently working with partners to bring fully autonomous operations to the ground... looking globally, the typical timeline to achieve this level of physical AI integration is around 36-40 months, so we anticipate reaching full operational maturity within a three-year horizon,” Abdulaziz al-Qahtani, general manager of S Cloud & Robotics at Snoonu, told Gulf Times yesterday.
Speaking on the sidelines of the second edition of the Autonomous e-Mobility (AEMOB) Forum, which concludes tomorrow at the Qatar National Convention Centre (QNCC), al-Qahtani explained that the ultimate goal is deploying physical AI solutions that learn environmental conditions dynamically.
“Participating in this forum is critical for Snoonu, but our ultimate objective is the deployment of physical AI delivery robots,” he said. “A physical AI system allows the robot to autonomously learn and adapt to its operational environment every single day.”
Al-Qahtani pointed out that off-the-shelf global autonomous solutions often face operational hurdles in Qatar due to extreme weather, making locally tailored software and internal hardware assembly critical for long-term reliability.
The initiative forms part of Snoonu’s broader collaboration with the Qatar Research, Development, and Innovation (QRDI) Council to develop locally built physical AI solutions, supporting Qatar National Vision 2030 while laying the groundwork for future expansion into the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) and Middle East.
“Our AI delivery robots are designed to enhance efficiency and reduce carbon footprints, thus supporting the broader sustainability objectives outlined in the national vision,” he said. “This pioneering project will serve as a strategic foundation in Qatar, enabling us to refine and optimise our autonomous delivery solutions.”
“Following our initial success, we have ambitious plans to scale this technology throughout the GCC and across the wider Middle East in the coming years, aiming to transform how goods are transported in urban settings while contributing to a greener future for the region,” al-Qahtani added.
Operating a multi-service app with 26 live offerings, he emphasised that Snoonu intends to transition parts of its logistics network toward autonomous ground units and drones over time.
Underpinning these commercial plans is an extensive engineering framework, according to Bryan Soh, product manager for Robotics at Snoonu.
He noted that Snoonu’s delivery drone project is currently in its technical simulation phase, evaluating how software models function under regional weather before physical testing begins.
Soh outlined that moving into physical testing requires balancing specific hardware parameters, including battery specifications, payload capacity, and operational flight duration for aerial components.