Smart city ambitions are leading to the implementation of smart technology-based solutions throughout the United Arab Emirates. Dubai, in particular, has chosen a path that involves integrating AI into its public transportation infrastructure to offer a futuristic commuting experience. The city's road transport authorities are rapidly modernizing the roadways by establishing a smart control center capable of detecting accidents and predicting traffic congestion. This comes after the deployment of smart systems designed to map out optimal routes for buses in the previous year.
These efforts have garnered global attention, and Dubai has been selected to host a global conference on intelligent transportation in 2024. At present, the RTA is actively working to improve traffic flow on the roads by monitoring parking spaces with the assistance of a vehicle equipped with 24 cameras, serving as the eyes of AI.
This vehicle can navigate public parking lots at speeds of up to 80 km/h, scanning license plates to verify parking permits and apprehend violators with an impressive accuracy rate of 99%. This vehicle is a pivotal tool for efficiently managing the 190,000 paid parking slots in the bustling metropolis, which boasts a total of 550,000 parking spaces.
Similar smart vehicles have also been in operation in Sharjah since the previous year, and each of them is capable of monitoring 3,000 vehicles per hour. These technology-laden cars are valuable assets for traffic inspectors, allowing them to monitor vehicles in parking lots while on the move.
This initiative is just one among many introduced by the RTA, which includes smart devices in Dubai's taxis to identify and correct driver misconduct using machine learning technology. Last year, the city also transitioned to a paperless system by deciding to issue e-tickets for parking violations.
Following successful trials, Dubai is also advancing toward the introduction of driverless public transportation as part of its vision to become a smart city. The RTA has outlined plans for 2031 and set a target of completing 140 projects that will utilize AI to enhance operations and services.
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