DUBAI: Al Habtoor Group (AHG) and Israeli Tech Giant Mobileye announced a strategic cooperation to bring mapping technologies for Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS), self-driving vehicles and smart city solutions to the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Following UAE-Israel Abraham Accord, the companies intend to establish a long-term cooperation for the deployment of mobility solutions in the UAE based on Mobileye’s autonomous vehicle (AV) technology.
Vehicles equipped with Mobileye technology deployed in the region will harvest smart city data to help municipalities and businesses gain valuable insights while improving the safety of roads for citizens and laying the foundation for a future driverless Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS) solution.
Al Habtoor Group Founding Chairman Khalaf Ahmad Al Habtoor said, “I am thrilled to reveal this collaboration today with Professor Amnon Shashua. Together, we are bringing to the UAE the best of Israeli artificial intelligence. I am confident of the added value of this new technology to the comfort and safety of the drivers on the road.”
“I believe that, the technology which is today made accessible to the UAE by this MoU between Al Habtoor Group and Mobileye, will improve the quality of life for all UAE residents.”
Intel Corporation senior Vice President Professor Amnon Shashua and President and Chief Executive Officer of Mobileye commented, “This historic collaboration between Mobileye and Al Habtoor Group presents an opportunity to transform UAE cities by accelerating smart city development and advancing transportation services with cutting edge technology. The insights Mobileye mapping technology will unlock for Al Habtoor, combined future self-driving mobility solutions, together have the potential to greatly enhance the daily lives of citizens in the region.”
The collaboration to advance smart city solutions and commercialize driverless mobility services in the UEA will contain four major innovation steps.
Smart City Solutions
Beginning in early 2021, Al Habtoor Group expects to equip vehicles with Mobileye 8 Connect, a collision avoidance system that collects valuable insights for safer driving, autonomous vehicle mapping and city planning. Through Mobileye’s Road Experience Management™ (REM™) technology, vehicles will become intelligent agents on the road, capable of harvesting important information to improve the efficiency of cities, the livelihood of citizens and the success of Al Habtoor businesses. The information will offer unique visibility into a wide range of issues, from road conditions and the status of assets to traffic jams and accident-prone areas.
AV Testing
Later in 2021, Mobileye-powered autonomous vehicles are expected to be deployed in Dubai to begin public-road testing, leveraging HD maps created and insights gained from the Al Habtoor fleets to prime the region for future driverless mobility solutions.
MaaS Testing
In 2022, Mobileye and Al Habtoor are expected to start an early-rider program to test its Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS) offering. Mobileye will support Al Habtoor Group with the infrastructure of back-office, tele-operation and mobility intelligence, as well as final validation to prepare for a commercialized service.
Driverless MaaS Launch and Scaling
Building on insights gained during the first three phases of the collaboration, the parties will seek to jointly launch and commercialize a Mobileye-powered driverless mobility service for UAE consumers in 2023.
The momentous cooperation between Mobileye and Al Habtoor Group marks one of the first major collaborations between an Israeli technology leader and UAE conglomerate since the Israel–United Arab Emirates peace agreement was reached in August of 2020.
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