The most crucial step for tackling covid is to track positive patients after identifying them via symptoms, and Middle Eastern countries have been able to do this via mobile apps coupled with gadgets. Innovation unlocked in order to contain the pandemic, has encouraged startups in the region to develop more sophisticated monitoring systems for diverse sectors beyond healthcare.

Now AI is quickly becoming an integral part of everyday life, with smart surveillance keeping children safe at school, machine learning preventing road accidents and facial recognition at airports. After keeping an eye on quarantine violators via wearables and enforcing travel norms during the pandemic, an Omani AI startup is stepping out for expansion into North Africa.

The firm eMushrif started off by creating smart security ecosystems within run-of-the-mill school buses by deploying parental alerts, motion detectors and GPS systems. Now it seeks to ride into Egypt by roping in a younger company Tareeqi, which helps schools and universities in the Middle East, track the movement of their bus fleets via smartphones.

EMushrif has also strengthened its position as a smart tech provider, by introducing smart wristbands which helped the Omani administration track quarantined patients. Its system watched the movements of positive patient and alerted authorities if they stepped out of isolation.

The startup's AI services also helped identification of quarantine violators via facial recognition, and maintained a record of positive cases based on the isolation period. EMushrif was able to supply 500,000 smart bracelets during the pandemic, and also ensured compliance with travel norms.

The startup which has equipped 1000 vehicles with smart devices, had previously formed a partnership in the region with Kuwaiti firm STC, to extend its transport monitoring services to private firms.

Since schools are going hybrid before reopening in the post-pandemic age, the entry of eMushrif in Egypt couldn't have come at a better time. Its school bus surveillance will find takers since other countries like UAE are also using AI to monitor attendance, security and behaviour of children at school.