July 2026 - EMBAT Project Receives National Media Coverage for AI-Driven Mapping Research
The lab's EMBAT project received extensive national media coverage highlighting its work on AI-assisted maintenance of Malta's national basemaps. An opinion article authored by the research team, published in Times of Malta, explored the growing challenges of keeping national mapping data up to date and outlined how AI can support the Planning Authority's spatial planning workflows. The project was also featured by MaltaToday as part of the Planning Authority's wider digital transformation initiatives and promoted through the Authority's official communication channels.
Read the opinion article on the Times of Malta, the feature in MaltaToday, or the event coverage on the Times of Malta.
July 2026 - Over 29,000 Register for "AI għal Kulħadd" National Literacy Programme
Malta's National AI Literacy Programme, AI għal Kulħadd, has recorded massive public interest, with more than 29,000 residents registering within its first seven weeks. Developed by the Dawl AI Lab in collaboration with the Malta Digital Innovation Authority (MDIA), the modular initiative has already seen thousands of participants successfully complete their core modules to build a baseline for AI awareness across all demographics in Malta.
May 2026 - Team Presents Landmark Paper on Broadcast News Analysis at IEEE CAI in Granada
Dawl AI Lab researchers presented their latest findings at the 2026 IEEE Conference on Artificial Intelligence (CAI) in Granada, Spain. The peer-reviewed paper introduces a hybrid deterministic framework designed to optimize named entity extraction within broadcast news video feeds, marking a critical milestone in the lab's ongoing push into automated, transparent media monitoring infrastructure.
April 2026 - Lab Unveils Large-Scale Cultural Heritage Digitisation Project at St. John's Co-Cathedral
Researchers from the lab showcased a massive photogrammetry and AI-assisted 3D reconstruction project capturing the interior of St. John’s Co-Cathedral. The team successfully combined 99,000 high-resolution images, drone photography, and LIDAR scanning to form a comprehensive digital replica of the UNESCO World Heritage site exceeding 25 billion triangles.
February 2026 - Peer-Reviewed Review on Drone Litter Detection Published in Top International Journal
The lab’s comprehensive review, "Litter detection from aerial imagery: A review of UAV-based approaches and deep learning techniques," was officially published in the prestigious Multimedia Tools and Applications journal. Co-authored by several of our research support officers and academic mentors, the publication solidifies the lab's international academic standing in drone-based environmental intelligence.
