Driverless bus trials on the world class roads of Dubai

Dubai, the oil rich country of Persian Gulf and known for its tourist attraction in the Middle East is setting up a new goal to trial the driverless cars on Dubai roads for a period of one month. 

Different countries are coming up with new innovative technology of driverless cars which are being experimented in different cities of the world. Tech giants are bringing the imagination of driverless cars into a reality and are most likely to hit the roads in coming future.

Dubai, the fastest growing city in the Middle East is setting up a new strategy to make the city smart in coming years with the developments and implementations of innovative technologies. The driverless mobility strategy in Dubai can make the city more attractive to tourists from all over the world.

According to DNA India, Dubai has its first driverless bus service hitting the roads for a trial of one month period on Thursday. The new innovative vehicle was developed by French group Easy Mile and Dubai-based Omnix. The two companies teamed up to make a minibus known as EZ10 powered by electric motor that can run in both the directions with unspecified front and rear. The vehicle can travel at a speed of forty kilometer per hour. The ten seat vehicle first started its trip for a stretch of seven hundred meter road in Downtown Dubai. The vehicle will provide free rides to all commuters as reported.  The developer claims that the vehicle adapts to the speed of the surrounding environment and stops if a pedestrian tries to cross in front of it. The vehicle has a movable access ramps for wheel chair bound passengers.

According to Zawya, The vehicle is equipped with 15Kv battery which runs for four hours with Air Condition (AC) system running on a single charge and up to ten hours without air condition system running. The vehicle is equipped with sensors and cameras on all four corners with 270 degree vision in-order to detect obstacles and interact with the objects at 360 degrees. A roof top navigation system with two laser sensors and a GPS sensor to keep a track on the programmed route.

Mattar Al Tayer, director-general and chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of Road Transport Authority said "This experiment is part of the RTA's plan to test driverless transit technology under the climatic environment of Dubai. Through this trial RTA intends to educate the public about autonomous cars technology,"

"The vehicle travels on virtual routes, which can easily be reset to accommodate sudden changes as required. The vehicle is fitted with all safety requisites and controls specifying its planned route. The sensors and the intelligent technology of the vehicle enable it to tackle any obstacles encountered on the route to avoid collision,"