Muscat – With participation of 108 exhibitors from 16 countries and expecting 30,000 visitors from Oman and abroad, COMEX 2022 started at Oman Convention and Exhibition Centre on Monday.

Considered the largest exhibition of technology, communications, innovation and digital transformation in the country, it targets the public and private sectors to showcase services, innovation and products.

Cutting-edge technologies, innovations and digital services that promise to make human efforts easy and fast, are on display in the 31st edition of the exhibition. Robots, cybersecurity solutions, artificial intelligence and smart city technologies are proving to be special attractions at COMEX 2022.

Qrlix @ Dine Easy

One of the most annoying aspects of eating out is having to wait for a waiter to show up with a menu or the bill. Qrlix does away with this.

Launched on Monday, the app helps place orders easily with just a click. Customers simply need to scan a QR code at the table, see the menu and chose what they want without the traditional role of a waiter. The order directly goes to the kitchen.

Sales executive Asma al Balushi said, “It also sends notifications to waiters to deliver the order to a specific table.”

The startup is in talks with several restaurants to instal Qrlix and have QR coded menus. Sixteen restaurants have so far signed up.

M30 @ Drones for ROP

In the last few years, drones have played a big role in industries and security. On display is the recently launched M30 from DJI, which has built a reputation globally with its consumer and enterprise drones. IBN Firnas Drone Centre, DJI’s dealer in the sultanate, has worked with authorities in the deployment of drones in policing and agriculture.

Abdulah al Rashdi, drone engineer and drone pilot, informed that the M30 is used by Royal Oman Police for security purposes.

According to Osama Ghailani, marketing manager, the M30 has an optical zoom of 60x and thermal sensors that make it apt for nighttime use.

Other drones on display are the Phantom 4 Multispectral, which has a six-camera RGB multispectral imaging setup capable of providing precise data (to the centimetre) for agricultural deployment. It can be used to gather minute details and progress of crops in farms.

Make it Fast @ MoL

A new e-service from the Ministry of Labour is drawing a large number of visitors at COMEX 2022. It makes renewal, cancellation, transfer and clearance of foreign employees (including maids) easy, not requiring physically presence of the individual. Khawa al Janaidi, head of IT department, said, “Documents have to be submitted online, not physically. Ministry officials review the documents and then decide if the person needs to be present physically.”

The new service also has an option to register mega projects – malls, roads and museums.

Cashless payment @ BankMuscat

BankMuscat’s QR Smart payment option is designed for cashless payments through phones. Users can log in through the bank’s app, scan the payment QR code of the purchase and enter the amount. Said al Harthy, relationship manager of the bank, said, “You don’t have to carry cash. Just scan and make the payment by logging into the app.”

Digital innovation @ MHUP

The Ministry of Housing and Urban Planning (MHUP) held the soft launch of Tatwir – a platform for real estate development – and displayed electronic platforms called Choose Your Land, Amlak, Salasa and Geo-Oman. These enhance the user experience and showcase the ministry’s capabilities in the field of digital innovation to support sustainability.