RTA’s other AI-driven services

Flying taxis

The flying taxis also form part of the driverless transport movement, which is based primarily on the AI technology.

Last year, the RTA signed two separate agreements to introduce flying taxis with Volocopter and Uber.

Trials on the German firm Volocopter’s Autonomous Air Vehicles (AAV) began late last year and will continue over the next five years allowing RTA and Dubai Civil Aviation Authority (DCAA) enough time to jointly come up with rules and regulations for the new transport system.

Last year, the RTA also signed another agreement with Uber to study the introduction of Vertical Take-Off and Landing Vehicles (VToL) or aerial taxis by 2020.

The study is currently under way and the first VToL demonstration network is expected to be ready in time for Expo 2020 in Dubai.

Dubai Metro

It is the UAE’s biggest mass transit system and the world’s largest driverless train network.

What does the AI technology do here? Works out the intervals (headway) between journeys, measures the distance between rolling stocks, and automatically realigns the headway between services in case of breakdowns or delay in scheduled journeys.

“The primary function of this system is to prevent hazards such as collisions between trains while allowing trains to travel at the maximum speed consistent with safety,” added Al Khayyat.

Smart Yard

Testing of drivers on a Smart Yard is AI driven. It reduces human errors in examining the drivers during the yard test.

“The AI-driven technology not only monitors the trainee’s manoeuvring skills but also helps him avoid collision through alerts,” said Al Khayyat.

Yard tests are conducted to test the basic skills of trainee drivers before they are taken out on road for the final stage of training. The test has five components: parallel parking, roadside parking (60 degrees inclination), garage parking, slope (hill), and sudden braking.

The project has the test yard fitted with five surveillance cameras, four of them outside the vehicle to guide the trainee to the locations of the five manoeuvres. The fifth camera is fitted on board the test vehicle to verify the identity of the driver during the test.

The test vehicle is equipped with more than 20 sensors to help the trainee avoid collision. The yard is fitted with sensors that automatically transmit images of the test, once the vehicle passes through them to a processor that spots mistakes made by the driver.

Bus lanes

Misusing bus and taxi lanes? Watch it,

AI-based technology is watching you.

“Dubai has several kilometres of bus and taxi priority lanes spread across the city. Automatic number plate recognition cameras have been installed and activated and fines are automatically issued against owners of the vehicles misusing dedicated bus lanes,” said Al Khayyat.

This has improved the speed of RTA buses by 20 per cent, while the dedicated bus lanes also help reduce traffic congestion and operation costs.