RTA Begins to Prepare Digital Maps for Self-Driving Vehicles in Dubai

In implementation of the directives of His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, Chairman of the Executive Council, to proceed with the partnership agreement signed between the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) and Cruise to operate Cruise autonomous vehicles to offer taxi and e-Hail services in Dubai.

Cruise will start this month the operation of two Chevrolet Bolt electric vehicles (EVs) to prepare digital maps for Cruise’s self-driving vehicles.

The process is a prelude for the launch of the actual service by 2023 rendering Dubai the first city in the world to commercially operate Cruise self-driving vehicles outside America.

The two Chevrolet Bolt EVs will be initially deployed on Jumeirah streets and driven by specialist drivers.

Cruise’s technology uses a high-resolution map of the physical environment, which is created using specialised mapping vehicles equipped with a suite of sensors including LiDAR, camera, and others.

The EVs are driven throughout the city to collect data, which is then used to create and maintain a navigable map for autonomous vehicles (AVs).

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Cruise, General Motors’ majority-owned autonomous vehicle subsidiary, shares the same vision as GM that AVs can help lead to a safe, less congested future for all, delivering enormous benefits for society in the form of increased safety and access to transportation.

These efforts will clearly advance General Motors’ vision of zero crashes, zero emissions and zero congestion.

4000 Vehicles

His Excellency Mattar Al Tayer, Director-General, Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of the Roads and Transport Authority, said: “Preparing digital maps is an essential step in the process of operating self-driving Cruise Origin vehicles, which will be deployed in limited numbers next year to offer taxi and e-Hail services.

"We have plans to increase the number of deployed vehicles gradually to reach up to 4000 vehicles by 2030.

“The operation of autonomous vehicles contributes to the integration of transport systems by easing the mobility of public transport riders and helping them to reach their final destinations.

"It fits well with RTA’s first and last-mile strategy approved last year relating to the first and last sectors of journeys from and to the nearest public transport points. It consists of two sections: groups and individuals.”

In April 2021, RTA signed an agreement with General Motors backed Cruise to operate Cruise autonomous vehicles to offer taxi and e-Hail services, as part of its efforts to enhance Dubai’s pioneering role in self-driving transport and transform it into the smartest city in the world.

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