Research projects

Work running in the real world

Ongoing and completed research programs across health, language, and sensing — each deployed and tested where it will actually be used.

Development of non-destructive methods for predicting nutritional content of black soldier fly larvae. Ongoing
agriculture · Started Apr 2026

Development of non-destructive methods for predicting nutritional content of black soldier fly larvae.

The Black Soldier Fly larvae (BSFL: Hermetia illucens) have gained attention as a sustainable alternative protein and fat source for animal feeds, due to their high protein and fat content. …

Frank Ssemakula, Dr. Andrew Katumba, Dr. Roseline Akol, Prof. Dorothy Nakimbugwe
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An AI-Driven Environmental Monitoring And Early Warning Platform for Low-Resource Settings Ongoing
climate · Started Feb 2026

An AI-Driven Environmental Monitoring And Early Warning Platform for Low-Resource Settings

Environmental monitoring stations remain sparse and costly in low-resource environments especially Sub Saharan Africa (SSA), leading to gaps in high-resolution local data. This research aims to build low-cost low-power remote …

Dr. Andrew Katumba, Dr. Edwin Mugume, Wayne Steven Okello, Marvin Jagen
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Development of Unbiased AI Models for Solar Irradiance in Rural Africa Ongoing
climate · Started Feb 2026

Development of Unbiased AI Models for Solar Irradiance in Rural Africa

The project successfully developed a machine learning model to predict daily Global Horizontal Irradiance (GHI) in Sub-Saharan Africa, with a specific focus on Uganda. The core objective was to correct …

Dr Jan Mikelson, Dr Andrew Katumba, Rogers Mukiibi, Christina Nyakairu, Namuyanja Winfred Jenifer
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An Open-source Private Health Information Exchange system for cancer screening in low resource settings Ongoing
health · Started Feb 2026

An Open-source Private Health Information Exchange system for cancer screening in low resource settings

Cancer is a major contributor to Uganda’s growing non-communicable disease burden, with cervical cancer being the most common cancer among women, accounting for an estimated 6,400–7,000 new cases annually. Despite …

PEL
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Machine Learning-guided Screening of COVID-19 using Point-of-Care Ultrasound in Uganda Ongoing
health · Started Jun 2025

Machine Learning-guided Screening of COVID-19 using Point-of-Care Ultrasound in Uganda

In the absence of a cure or vaccine for the novel coronavirus, early diagnosis and isolation of COVID-19 patients is critical to stemming community spread. Ideally, this would involve mass …

jonathan Serugunda, Cosmas Mwikirize, Andrew Katumba, Mark Phillip
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Luganda Common Voice Ongoing
nlp · Started Jun 2025

Luganda Common Voice

Common Voice is a crowdsourcing platform for text and audio. It is an open source project to allow individuals who are interested in building their language's digital footprint participate either …

Andrew Katumba, Abraham Jerry Kakooza, Ronald Ogwang, Makerere AI Lab
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Development of Machine Learning Datasets for Crop Pest and Disease Diagnosis based on Crop Imagery and Spectrometry Data Ongoing
agriculture · Started Jun 2025

Development of Machine Learning Datasets for Crop Pest and Disease Diagnosis based on Crop Imagery and Spectrometry Data

The current state of data collection and crop pest and disease diagnosis is transitioning from disease identification using visible symptoms to the use of data-driven solutions applying machine learning and …

Andrew Katumba, Ben Wycliff Mugalu, Makerere AI Lab
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Google Inclusion Project Ongoing
nlp · Started Jun 2025

Google Inclusion Project

The google inclusion project is aimed at having the adsurv farmer engagement app be able to support questions and provide answers in relation to agriculture in the Luganda language. This …

Andrew Katumba, Abraham Jerry Kakooza, Makerere AI Lab
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A Portable Deep Learning-based Platform for Passion Fruit Disease Identification (Katunda Project) Ongoing
agriculture · Started Jun 2025

A Portable Deep Learning-based Platform for Passion Fruit Disease Identification (Katunda Project)

Pests and diseases pose a key challenge to passion fruit farmers across the country. They lead to loss of investment as yields reduce and losses increases. As the majority of …

A. Katumba, M. Bomera, C. Mwikirize, G. Namulondo
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Radio Mining Workstream Ongoing
nlp · Started Jun 2025

Radio Mining Workstream

In sub-Saharan Africa and Uganda, low internet penetration makes radio the preferred medium of social communication. Radio lets information flow from top to bottom and from the bottom to the …

Andrew Katumba, Sudi Murindanyi, Makerere AI Lab
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Digi Eye Sweet Potato Project: Predicting Sweet Potato Sensory Attributes using Image Analysis Ongoing
agriculture · Started Jun 2025

Digi Eye Sweet Potato Project: Predicting Sweet Potato Sensory Attributes using Image Analysis

During the sweet potato breeding process, phenotypes are measured for different quality traits, which differ from one crop to another. Their genetic, nutritional, organoleptic, biological, and morphological characteristics are classified …

Andrew Katumba, Sudi Murindanyi, Makerere AI Lab
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Google Deforestation Ongoing
climate · Started Jun 2025

Google Deforestation

Agriculture, forestry, and other types of land use account for 23% [1] of global greenhouse gas emissions. To reduce these emissions, they need to be quantified accurately. Open source makes …

Andrew Katumba, Ben Wycliff Mugalu, Makerere AI Lab, Moja Global
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Real-time Tele- consultation for Cervical Cancer Screening Using a Machine Learning-enabled Mobile App Ongoing
health · Started Jun 2025

Real-time Tele- consultation for Cervical Cancer Screening Using a Machine Learning-enabled Mobile App

Cervical cancer in particular is the fourth most common cancer in women, and the seventh overall, responsible for 569,847 deaths globally (World Health Organization 2018). Over 85% of the global …

Hanifa Nabuuma, Andrew Katumba, Ben Wycliff Mugalu, Mark Phillip Matovic
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Design of a Machine Learning-Based Traffic Control System Ongoing
transport · Started Jun 2025

Design of a Machine Learning-Based Traffic Control System

The project investigates the traffic jam problem at one of the junctions in Kampala, Uganda, Wandegeya junction. At Wandegeya junction, existing traffic light control causes long delays, air pollution, energy …

Edwin Mugume, Andrew Katumba, Sudi Murindanyi, Berna Namulwaya
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Development of an Efficacious Patient Management System for Uganda using Machine Learning Techniques Ongoing
health · Started Jun 2025

Development of an Efficacious Patient Management System for Uganda using Machine Learning Techniques

Patient management is a collective term to describe the series of steps involved in handling a patient at a health facility right from acquisition of laboratory samples from the patient(s) …

Dorothy Okello, Cosmas Mwikirize, Andrew Katumba, Wayne Okello, Moses Bomera
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Smart Portable Ultrasound System for Guidance of Minimally Invasive Procedures Ongoing
health · Started Jun 2025

Smart Portable Ultrasound System for Guidance of Minimally Invasive Procedures

Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes and cancer are a major burden in Uganda, increasing the need for requisite diagnosis/therapeutic procedures such as vascular interventions and biopsies. These …

Cosmas Mwikirize, Andrew Katumba, R Byanyima, Joyce Nabende, I Hacihaliloglu
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Design of a Deep Learning Pothole Detection System Ongoing
transport · Started Jun 2025

Design of a Deep Learning Pothole Detection System

With an increasing number of potholes on the roads that take a while before they are repaired, their adverse effects like accidents, traffic jam, flooding during the rainy season and …

Andrew Katumba, Moses Bomera, Priscilla Walaga
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