Expat gets RTA award for varsity project on using tech to reduce road accidents
A former student at Middlesex University in Dubai was honoured by RTA at the Dubai Award for Sustainable Transport for her final year project.
Venezuelan, Juliette Martinez, won an award for her project on the cause of road accidents in Dubai, and how can it be prevented with the use of cellular technology.“it feels special receiving an award for a university project,” said Martinez, after receiving the award in the Best Academic Project category.
“My study revealed that the most common reason for road accidents in Dubai were, not keeping safe distance between vehicles and sudden swerving between the lanes,” said Martinez.
Martinez worked on cellular vehicle-to-everything (C-V2X), which is a unified connectivity platform that is designed to offer vehicles low-latency vehicle-tovehicle (V2V), vehicle-to-roadside infrastructure (V2I) and vehicleto-pedestrian
(V2P) communication. “The data is exchanged through vehicle sensors using high-bandwidth and high-reliability links. Every car has a sensor that sends data to each other as well as infrastructure, such as traffic lights, parking spaces, pedestrians, and more,”
Martinez pointed out that this technology has been put to use only in a few cities in Japan and US. “The C-V2X works best with the 5G network and once Dubai receives it, this technology can be put to use,” said Martinez.
Catering to special needs
A Sharjah based firm received an award for helping people with determination have an easier ride on public transportation.
Fahad Al Awadhi, CEO of KGL Passenger Transport Services, said his company designed a ramp for elderly and people with special needs to enter and exit public buses in Sharjah. “The driver can open and close the ramp to allow easy access for those who require assistance,” explained Awadhi.