Currently, Anis Sahbani is an associate professor at the Sorbonne University Pierre and Marie Curie Campus. With his expertise in robotics, he is making his company, Evona Robotics, a pioneer in Africa’s robotics industry.  

Anis Sahbani (photo) is a Tunisian entrepreneur,  Associate-professor, and robotics specialist. In 2014, he founded Enova Robotics, a company that specializes in robot design and manufacturing. 

One of the well-known robots designed by Anis Sahbani is probably PGuard, a fully automated security robot. Initially created for use on industrial sites, airports, and border zones, it is now used by the Tunisian Ministry of Interior to maintain public order. During the coronavirus health crisis, the government used it to enforce lockdown rules.  In 2020, speaking on the use of robotics and artificial intelligence to curb the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, the robotics specialists explained that robots could be intermediaries protecting humans against possible contaminations. 

In a bid to show PGuard’s utility outside the security segment, Sahbani is gradually introducing those robots in the social sector. He also developed Vaesense, a contactless patient monitoring robot. His startup also created MiniLab, an education robot to be used by universities and research labs in teaching robotics. 

Enova Robotics is the result of several years of field experience. In 1998, after his electrical engineering degree at the National Engineering School of Tunis (ENIT),  in Tunis, Anis Sahbani enrolled at the Paul Sabatier Toulouse III University, France, where he got his Ph.D. in robotics in 2003. In 2014, he became an associate professor at the Sorbonne University Pierre and Marie Curie Campus.  The same year, he founded Enova Robotics, which won the pitch fest InvesTech 2021 organized by the US embassy in Jordan in partnership with SelectUSA. This award opened doors to the startup for the SelectUSA virtual summit held in June 2021. 

Melchior Koba