How AI is driving Dubai’s future

HOW IS DUBAI HARNESSING ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IN ITS TRANSPORT AND MOBILITY SECTOR? HERE’S AN IN-DEPTH LOOK

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is the new catch phrase at most government departments in the UAE and Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) seems to be driving the movement.

From customer service and feedback management to drivers’ training and mass transit, AI is at the heart of Dubai’s expanding mobility sector.

Long before the phrase entered the common parlance, Dubai Metro hit the tracks as the world’s longest driverless train network, driven by artificial intelligence.

The RTA now aims to make AI its primary focus, looking to have one in four public transport journeys driverless by 2030, besides employing AI in pedestrian crossings, driver training, monitoring of drivers as well as communication.

According to Mohammad Al Khayyat, RTA’s Director of Smart Services, “RTA aspires to implement AI in many focus areas to deliver value to its core business as well as corporate aspects. These areas include traffic management, getting around Dubai, customer experience, cognitive licensing services, safety and, security, crisis management, intelligent administration, asset management, knowledge and innovation management.”

Fasten your seat belts and get ready for a ride powered by artificial intelligence. From first/last mile solutions and flying taxis to virtual customer assistants and traffic management, we are literally being driven by smart technologies, and this is just the beginning. Maiden flight of the world’s first flying taxi in Dubai, the Autonomous Air Taxi (AAT). It’s a vehicle that will be used for the world’s first self-flying taxi service set to be introduced by Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority. The two-seater AAT, capable of transporting people without human intervention or a pilot, has been built by Volocopter, a Germany-based specialist manufacturer of autonomous aerial vehicles. The test flight was held in September 2017.

Ahmed Ramzan/Gulf News Inside a Hyperloop mockup by RTA at an exhibition at Citywalk as part of the UAE Innovation month.