Welcome to the future, welcome to Abu Dhabi…
Some of the world’s best drivers will descend on the Yas Marina Circuit between November 17 and 20 for the Formula 1 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix 2022.
But off the track – it’s the absence of the drivers, which steals the headlines today.
According to an article in Khaleej TimesDriverless minibuses will begin operating in Abu Dhabi in November as part of the public transport network supporting F1. The article states that the announcement was made by the Abu Dhabi government at the Gitex Global event, which is currently underway in Dubai.
Max VerSTOPpen
The buses are equipped with a range of Q-Branch-car-sounding futuristic technology including LiDER, will be able to seat seven people and are set to stop at nine strategic locations on Yas Island including “W Includes hotels, Yas Water World, Yas. Marina Circuit and Ferrari World”. And best of all – the service is free.
is the driving force behind the project. mint (not a typo) which you may remember from some of the first autonomous driving of last year.
Integrated Transport Center with the Department of Municipalities and Transport, in collaboration with “Bayanat” and the G42 Group. pic.twitter.com/Ni2m901axV
— “ITC” Center for Transport (@ITCAbuDhabi) October 7, 2022
LewAIs Hamilton
The buses are part of a larger effort to improve the efficiency and environmental impact of how we get around the city — the Integrated Transport Center’s Smart Mobility Project — with a mandate to revolutionize transportation. It does, first on Yas and Saadith, then the world (/the rest of Abu Dhabi).
One frame of the video above shows a board detailing some of the key numbers associated with the Smart Mobility project. The first phase involves a trial of five autonomous electric and hybrid taxis operating on a nine-stop route on Yas Island. The case study started and ended in 2021 and consisted of 2,130 rides driven for a total driving distance of 76,787 km.
Txai had already teased the return of its ‘Look No Hands’ cars for 2022 on its social media channels, further announcing that one of the supporting partners (along with ITC and G42), the statement has now mapped the “entire UAE”. — all as part of the ongoing project for driverless vehicles.
Buses, trams, and driverless vehicles
The second part of the project will include three “automated rapid transit” vehicles (on-rail trams), a fleet of eight ‘robo-taxis’ – the aforementioned driverless ones, four “robo-minibuses” and 15 Charging stations will be included.
To infinity, and beyond..?
Also seen at Gitex this year — flying cars. Yes, real flying cars. Although we’re picky, the absence of wheels makes the traditionally defined functionality of a car somewhat impossible, either way it’s fair to say we’re living in the future.
Photos: ITC via Twitter
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