• Navya and Gaussin win awards as leading firms
• Dubai will be the first international city to test FedEx autonomous delivery bot
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates-Tuesday 15 October 2019 [ AETOS Wire ]
Dubai World Congress for Self-Driving Transport; organised by Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) Dubai on 15th and 16th
October 2019 has attracted more than 700 technology leaders and
innovators as well as 3000 visitors of the accompanying exhibition. The
congress focuses on cutting-edge technologies, besides discussing and
developing a general legislative structure for autonomous transport.
The
event is part of RTA’s efforts in support of the strategy unleashed by
HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime
Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, to make 25% of all trips in
Dubai smart and driverless by 2030. The congress attracted 80
international experts, including five keynote speakers, who will be
taking part in 40 lectures and 39 technical workshops.
The
congress is shaping into an all-inclusive global platform for
self-driving transport that brings together top experts, policymakers,
technology developers, researchers and academia. The event aims to
highlight the leading role of Dubai Government in self-driving transport
and accelerate the drive to achieve the targets of Dubai Autonomous
Transportation Strategy through attracting experts and technologies of
self-driving transport to Dubai. The event also aims to raise public
awareness about the latest technologies and future trends of
transportation as well as identifying the potential impacts on
investments and different transport strategies.
Dubai Challenge
Dubai
World Challenge for Self-Driving Transport, which carries prize money
of US$5.1 million (about 19m Dirhams) attracted 65 entities from 20
countries, 15 of them qualified for the finals. The challenge focused on
the first and last-mile challenge of mobility journeys.
Five
leading companies, three start-ups and seven local and foreign
universities qualified for the finals. Qualifying vehicles were
subjected to different scenarios and tests on a dedicated track
tailor-made for testing such vehicles at the Dubai Silicon Oasis.
Tests
carried included stopping at bus stops, forced stop, overtaking a
stopping vehicle, overtaking a bike, and dealing with various traffic
scenarios such as signals, pedestrian crossing, road works, and sand on
road. Tests also covered negotiating a roundabout, handling of humps,
rains and high-speed turns.
Nominees
for the challenge were qualified on certain parameters including the
status, credibility, vision, skills and relevant experience of the
entity. They were then subjected to several tests in various categories
to assess their performance under six key standards and 18 subsidiary
standards. Key standards covered the operation plan, tolerance and
reliability, sustainability and energy, customer experience, safety and
security, and dealing with road users.
Awards
The
list of winners was delivered by autonomous delivery bot Roxo developed
by FedEx Express in a fitting move with Dubai being selected as the
first city outside the USA to host the test of this personal delivery
bot. French companies swept the prizes of leading companies amounting to
USD 3 million. Gaussin won the sustainability and energy award, Navya
won the durability and reliability award as well as the customers'
experience award.
In
the start-ups category the first USD 1 million went to Sensible 4 from
Finland, while the runner-up was iAuto from Taiwan who bagged USD
500,000 while UAE-based Derq Company finished third.
Amongst the international universities, the winner was Freie Universität Berlin
which received USD 200,000; while Carlos III de Madrid University won
second place with USD 100,000 and the Australian University UTS came
third. In the local universities, Dubai University finished first with
USD 200,000; UAE University came second bagging USD 100,000 and Al Ain
University was third.
The
Dubai World Challenge for Self-Driving Transport comprised several
phases. In February 2018 the challenge was announced, and in October
2018 qualifiers for Phase II were announced. In February 2019, Phase II
started and in March tests started at Dubai Silicon Oasis. From April to
June this year, a team made overseas visits to Taiwan, Finland,
Australia, Germany and Spain to assess start-ups and academia. In July
qualifiers arrived in Dubai to collect geographical data about test
tracks and draw maps, and in August vehicle tests started on the
challenge track. Winners were selected according to results achieved in
tests.
Contacts
Roads and Transport Authority (RTA)
Maryam Al Balooshi, Manager, Media Communication
Marketing and Corporate Communication Department
Tel: +97142902699
Email Maryam.HAlblooshi@rta.ae
No comments:
Post a Comment