A Global, Human-Centric
City-wide Testbed.

What is the Urban Lab?

The Urban Lab IS the city.

A city-wide innovation-driven testbed dedicated to piloting and scaling innovative solutions for sustainable urban development.

A dynamic space where experts, innovators, business, governments and academia from around the world converge to explore solutions for real world urban challenges.

Dome structure with glowing blue lights at night, surrounded by trees and buildings.

Global Open Calls, Pilots & Partnerships.

Driving impact while lowering barriers to innovation.

A key feature of the Urban Lab is to bring innovation to market, and the market to innovation. It is not creating a city-wide showcase of the latest and greatest technologies. It is lowering the barriers to innovation and driving impact in the city space through structured and rigorous testing of innovative solutions,while preparing the market to procure them as and where appropriate. 

Explore our live pilots...

Autonomous delivery robot on city sidewalk
Autonomous delivery robot with blue branding, four wheels, and a smiley face display, on an outdoor pathway.

Yango

Yango’s autonomous delivery robots are designed to revolutionize last-mile logistics with smart, efficient, and sustainable solutions. By testing in the Urban Lab at Expo City Dubai, Yango can evaluate real-world performance in a city-wide testbed, optimizing their technology for seamless urban integration.

KiwiBot

KiwiBot is pioneering robotic delivery with a focus on accessibility, efficiency, and sustainability in urban spaces. Testing at the Urban Lab at Expo City Dubai allows KiwiBot to refine its technology in a living city, ensuring it meets the real-world needs of future-ready communities.

Data center server racks with wiring and caution sign

Clean Air Enterprise

Clean Air Enterprise is advancing indoor air filtration technology to create healthier, more sustainable built environments. Through testing at the Urban Lab at Expo City Dubai, they can validate their solutions in real-world indoor spaces, optimizing performance for future-ready cities.

Two construction workers painting a large white structure outdoors, with one standing on top and the other painting from the ground. They are wearing safety vests and helmets.

Sumitomo Corp

Sumitomo Corporation’s Miracool is a cutting-edge reflective cooling paint designed to lower temperatures and reduce energy consumption for more sustainable urban environments. By testing in the Urban Lab at Expo City Dubai, Sumitomo can assess its real-world impact in a city-wide testbed.

Blog Post: 17 April 2025, Dr Amy Hochadel

Man wearing a blue plaid suit jacket and light blue shirt
Person in a navy blazer with folded arms against a blurred background.
Smiling person wearing a dark shirt with folded arms

Who we are?

Our team is dedicated and driven to elevate the city of the future with a human-centric mindset.

The Urban Lab team comes from diverse backgrounds, but we share one goal: making cities more liveable, inclusive, and future-ready. We’re not just tech experts—we’re urbanists, designers, policymakers, and problem-solvers committed to putting people at the heart of innovation.

“The Urban Lab at Expo City Dubai is a living testbed where cities and companies worldwide collaborate to scale new technologies, create markets, and drive a city-led vision for a new global innovation economy.”

— Dr. Amy Hochadel, Vice President, Urban Lab at Expo City Dubai

Help us create future cities!

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