Dubai is already one of the most advanced cities in the world, but it continues to inch closer to being heavyweight champ of technological advancements. The next step? Driverless cars, duh.
But in order for these futuristic cars to hit the road, a digital mapping of all the streets of Dubai must first take place. The fittingly named, Cruise, began trials at the end of last year, with hopes of getting a few working vehicles on the road by the end of 2023.
“The launch of autonomous vehicles will bring a positive impact on Dubai’s transportation landscape and wellbeing. It will facilitate the integration between transportation and communication systems by streamlining the mobility of mass transit users and their arrival to their final destinations,” said Ahmed Hashem Bahrozyan, CEO of Public Transport Agency at RTA.
Determined to eclipse any possibility of human error, the vehicles will be equipped with 80 sensors, cameras and LiDAR systems – light detection and ranging (laser scanning technology) to monitor road conditions, and controls to avoid collision with any objects – even those the human eye cannot see. “Human errors are responsible for more than 90 per cent of accidents. The Autonomous vehicles are environmentally friendly electric vehicles, and can serve considerable numbers of customers, particularly senior citizens and residents, in addition to people of determination,” said his Excellency Mattar Al Tayer, Director-General, Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of the Roads and Transport Authority
That means, hopefully, you’ll no longer hear the aggressive excuse of, “It’s not my fault, he came out of nowhere!”
Soon enough you’ll be able to squeeze in those extra minutes of sleep you missed while repeatedly smacking the snooze button. Now we just have to wait until they start flying. Ah, the possibilities…
