DUBAI, United Arab Emirates: Dubai, already home to the world's tallest building, is looking to get ahead by getting out of the driver's seat.
Dubai's ruler, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, announced plans Monday to have 25 percent of all car trips in this city-state in the United Arab Emirates to be driverless by 2030.
In a statement carried by the state-run WAM news agency, Sheikh Mohammed said it would cut down on costs and traffic crashes. He said the project would be a joint venture by Dubai's Roads and Transport Authority and the Dubai Future Foundation.
Already, Dubai is home to a driverless Metro rail system. It also has a number of taxi companies, driven by a large foreign labor force. There was no discussion about what would become of the drivers.
A 10-seater driverless vehicle is on trial run in Dubai. The vehicle is designed to travel short distances on pre-programmed routes and under multiple environments. The vehicle travels on virtual routes, which can easily be reset to accommodate sudden changes as required.
It’s fitted with all safety requisites & controls specifying its planned route, and the sensor system as well as the intelligent system of the vehicle enable coping with any obstacles encountered en route to avoid collision.
The trial run is held as part of the three-day 2nd Mena Transport Congress & Exhibition 2016.
The test run is another step towards achieving the goals of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, and Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, Crown Prince of Dubai, to transform the emirate into the smartest city worldwide.
AP/The Peninsula
