Driverless patrols to police Dubai streets

dubai — You could see driverless police patrols on Dubai roads by as early as 2020. The Dubai Police have signed an agreement to this effect with Acacus Technologies, it was announced on Sunday.

The driverless vehicles will be out on the roads in phases. The first phase will see patrols equipped with cameras and video analytics. Subsequent phases will include object detection, tracking, and advanced driverless technology.

As per the agreement, Acacus will be “revamping” the entire fleet of the Dubai Police’s patrol vehicles to develop and integrate it with driverless technology.

It guides us in pushing the boundaries of technology further, especially in AI, for a common goal of making Dubai the smartest city in the world.” Talal ben Halim, founder, Acacus Technologies

“Each phase will add new and advanced capabilities. Acacus will be developing and innovating software and hardware solutions for this project,” the company said in a statement.

The agreement was signed by Major-General Abdullah Khalifa Al Marri, Commander-in-Chief of the Dubai Police, and Talal ben Halim, founder and CEO of Acacus Technologies.

Major-General Al Marri said: “This MOU is in compliance and directive of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, to make Dubai the world’s smartest city. The Dubai Police are keen to adopt and implement best in class technology to combat crime and reduce it. The focus is also on increasing the productivity of our services.”

Ben Halim said Sheikh Mohammed’s vision is an “inspiration for all of us”. “It guides us in pushing the boundaries of technology further, especially in artificial intelligence and machine learning, for a common goal of making Dubai the smartest city in the world. We are excited to have the driverless patrol vehicles on roads well ahead of our target launch date.”