Dubai is a step closer to transforming 25% of its mobility journeys into smart and driverless ones by 2030.
The city recently hosted a two-day event, the Dubai World Congress for Self-Driving Transport, where driverless bus prototypes were put to the test, vying for a $2.3 million prize pool.
The event, organized by the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), took place at the Dubai World Trade Centre and featured the Dubai World Challenge for Self-Driving Transport. Mattar Al Tayer, Director-General and Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of RTA, highlighted that the challenge aligns with Dubai’s Smart Self-Driving Transport Strategy.
27 applications from around the globe were submitted for the challenge, with ten companies making it to the final round. These finalists are competing for the Industry Leaders category prize of $2 million or the Local Academia category prize of $300,000. Five universities from the UAE, including Heriot-Watt University and Khalifa University – Abu Dhabi, have reached the finals in the Local Academia category.
The driverless bus prototypes underwent a series of tests at Dubai Silicon Oasis, evaluating traffic safety, technology maturity, user convenience, innovation, expertise, commercial viability, and value addition.