About

ANT R&D (Artificially (e)Ngineering Technologies) is a grassroots innovation lab based in Akwa Ibom, Nigeria. We build smart technologies rooted in our realities from AI to signal systems to embedded devices.

Local, noisy, low-resource datasets? That’s our domain. We don’t adapt global tools—we invent our own from scratch, for us.

Philosophy

  • Ethical by default: All datasets require informed consent & open licenses.
  • Inclusivity: Focused on dialect-limited and education-limited users.
  • Noise is a feature: We work with real-world data, not noiseless lab samples.
  • Local first design: We build for Nigeria. Then scale out.

Our Vision

To be a beacon of grassroots innovation by designing technologies that speak to our world, our people and our problems.

Our Mission

  • Create ethically built, realistic datasets reflecting Nigerian life.
  • Design AI, embedded systems and signal tools for local use.
  • Promote open collaboration and knowledge sharing.

What We Work On

Artificial Intelligence

Noise adaptive, real-world AI models.

Robotics Engineering

We design and build robotics systems with African realities in consideration.

Embedded Systems

Low-cost, rugged solutions for Nigerian environments.

Signal Processing

Smart filtering for audio, images and more in noisy settings.

Data Engineering

We build datasets that reflect real-world imperfections and all.

Research and Publications

Deepfake detection, Agritech, Afro-centered tools and datasets.

From the Founder

Why does ANT R&D exist?

The world builds tech for itself. But African realities are left out and this is my personal response. A research lab where African innovation is designed from scratch.

— Charles Ekanem

Location

Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria

Remote-ready, collaboration welcome across Nigeria and beyond.