From Tesla to Ford and India¡¯s home-grown Tata Motors, all vehicle manufacturers are now assessing the feasibility of self-driving cars. Just a few years from now, the landscape of our cities could look very different ¨C with driverless cars, automated metros, and water taxis running the game. At the forefront of this change is Dubai, the city of the future!?
About five years ago, Dubai announced a pilot strategy to change what mobility means in modern cities. ¡°By 2030, 25% of all vehicles in Dubai will be self-driving,¡± said Khaled Al Awadhi, Director, Transportation Systems at Dubai¡¯s Road and Transport Authority. He shed light on the multi-model strategy that involves various modes of transportation to achieve Dubai¡¯s ambitious target of making the city self-sustaining. ¡°These modes include the metro, the tram, taxis, buses¡± and even marine transportation. In fact, private vehicles will also be brought in the ambit of this transition to a self-driving city.?
The initiative was first kicked off via Dubai Metro ¨C a driverless experience that contributes to about 9.8% of the envisioned 25% driverless mode of transportation in Dubai. ¡°There are other modes that will be coming ¨C we have the taxi, the 4,000 vehicles, we are also working on introducing other modes ¨C our next focus will be self-driving buses,¡± Khaled Al Awadhi added.?
To push Dubai¡¯s limits in terms of transport automation, RTA launches a challenge every now and then. The current iteration of this challenge is focused on self-driving vehicles. ¡°The first cycle in 2019 focused on small shuttles, the following one in October 2021 focused on delivery pods.¡± For the self-driving challenge, the RTA has put out the call for participation. ¡°The main aim is to prepare different companies for the commercial operation soon by identifying and qualifying good partners and good technologies that work best in Dubai,¡± Khaled Al Awadhi said.?
Officials in Dubai have been able to understand self-driving vehicles better based on the last cycles of challenges for automation. For driverless taxis, the Cruise car was chosen as the partner. In essence, the RTA provides a bridge for companies to partner with local businesses to improve the scale of automation. For instance, companies from all over the world partnered with local cab services like Careem etc.?
¡°We are facilitators and regulators ¨C we create opportunities for tech and businesses to come together to help us achieve the target we¡¯re aiming for the city,¡± he added.?
What¡¯s a self-driving car if not artificial intelligence in hyper mode? In all vehicles and modes of transport ¨C be it the metro, the tram, or cars; artificial intelligence plays a pivotal role.?
¡°AI is playing a big role because the systems installed in these vehicles need to make very precise decisions [that are] very accurate and very fast,¡± Khaled Al Awadhi added. Of course, none of this can happen without sophisticated computing systems.?
Describing Dubai as a ¡°living lab,¡± the official explained how companies of different levels ¨C both startups and mature ones come to test and implement their mobility solutions here. Eventually, once the tech is perfected, it may be expanded to surrounding countries and even farther off.?
We, for one, are very excited to see how the future pans out ¨C for all of us!
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