Dubai opens study on using driverless cars

The Dubai roads and transport authority (RTA) said here on Saturday it has opened a study on using autonomous cars or driverless vehicles in Dubai.

Mattar Al-Tayer, chairman of the board and executive director of the RTA, said in an e-mailed statement that the initiative is part of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) government's plan to endorse 2015 as the year of innovation in the Gulf state.

The objective is to use driverless vehicles during the World Expo in 2020 which Dubai will hold as the first Arab city ever.

Al-Tayer said the RTA has set up a team to study the use of autonomous cars to map out a strategy and a work plan for addressing the latest developments in this field.

The official transport and roads body in the emirate has plans of "identifying the standards and specifications required in these vehicles along with the needed infrastructure and safety legislations," said Al-Tayer.

A delegation from the RTA has visited a number of European countries to examine the latest models undertaken by smart cities across the world in the field of smart mobility, said a media statement by the RTA.

Dubai launched in 2009 the first driverless metro in the Middle East. World's leading automakers such as Mercedes or Ford Motors have already launched projects to design and produce driverless cars.

Earlier last week, UAE deputy Prime Minister Sheikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan launched at the third UAE government summit plans to implement innovation and robotics subjects at schools, colleges and universities across the country to integrate robotic services such as driverless cars into the country's economy and daily life. Endit