Doha: March 29, 2017: In a strategic move to take the Connected & Automated Vehicles program (CAV) in Qatar to the next level, the Qatar Mobility Innovations Center (QMIC) and the Qatar Ministry of Transport and Communications (MoTC) announced the launch of a consortium on CAV; the first consortium to be created on CAV in Qatar and the region aiming to create the eco-system needed for facilitating early deployment of CAV at national and regional scale.
The formal initiation of this consortium started with QMIC signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with MoTC. This MOU officially declares MoTC as a founding member of the consortium. Given its mandate and leading role in realizing advanced and seamless transport systems and road safety technologies in Qatar, MoTC will play an important advisory role and aid in facilitating development and piloting activities in support of getting Qatar ready to deploy CAV systems and applications.
CAV refers to the concept, where as part of newly emerging cooperative intelligent transport systems, vehicles will be able to communicate with each and with the road network wirelessly (V2X) according to global standards. This will enable the realization of next generation Road Safety Systems and is considered a key enabler for future autonomous and self-driving vehicles. Studies conducted by various transport authorities show that Connected Vehicles, if fully implemented, could mitigate up to 80% of road accidents. In the past, the main focus has been on how to survive accidents; CAV aims to avoid them completely, as well as enhancing our daily driving experience, as a whole.
QMIC has been very active in the area of CAV since 2010, and back in 2014 it carried out the first field demo of an industry-compliant V2X system and applications in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region at the Qatar Science and Technology Park. As the next step to facilitate potential full deployment of the technology in Qatar, QMIC has committed plans to carry out a field pilot of V2X systems (Qatar V2X pilot) and applications in 2017/2018 in Qatar. This will allow QMIC and its partners to test CAV in real field scenarios as tens of vehicles and roadside units will be used together with a few applications.
The MoU was signed by Mr. Rashid Taleb Al Nabet, Assistant Undersecretary of Land Transport at MoTC, and by Dr. Adnan Abu-Dayya, CEO and Executive Director of QMIC.
On this occasion, Dr. Abu-Dayya, said: “Since 2011, we have outlined a long term strategy to become a leader in the area of Intelligent Mobility, in general, and in the CAV area, in particular. I am very glad to see us successfully moving from the R&D stage in CAV to the field piloting stage which is a critical step towards getting Qatar ready for a potential large deployment before 2022. Our partnership with MoTC is a significant positive step for facilitating such deployment to the benefit of all stakeholders in Qatar. We look forward to welcoming other key stakeholders to this consortium as collaboration and engagement are important keys for sustainable success. We also take this opportunity to thank the Qatar National Research Fund for supporting us in our CAV journey”.
Mr. Al Nabet also commented: “Today’s MoU is a gateway for a strong partnership with QMIC. This is an exciting opportunity to adopt a new data-rich environment which will be the foundation for numerous new applications that will make our roads safer, less congested and more eco-friendly.”
He added that the Ministry “works on providing world-class transportation and communication systems that support Qatar’s economic and social growth and sustainable development.”
The Qatar CAV consortium being led by QMIC and MoTC will also include other key stakeholders that could play a key role in facilitating the early deployment of the technology in Qatar, and therefore contribute in placing Qatar among the first worldwide countries to adopt and deploy it. The members of the consortium are expected to participate to the periodic (most probably every quarter) meetings, during which the progress of the Qatar CAV pilot will be presented and discussed. These meetings will be a chance for the involved partners to provide their advice and suggestions that not only can help in the success of the CAV program, but also in making its outcomes the most relevant to the country’s requirements.
About QMIC:
The Qatar Mobility Innovations Center (QMIC) is the first independent innovations center in the region with a focus on developing and deploying smart mobility systems and services. QMIC’s main goal is to use locally engineered innovations and knowledge to create technology-based industries that address regional challenges and grow with mega projects in Qatar and the region. Since 2009, and through its focus, on distributed sensing, data collection & management, services creation and delivery, QMIC is becoming a national leader in the area of Internet of Things (IoT). In particular, QMIC has been leading in delivering IoT platforms, and IoT solutions and services in vertical domains including Intelligent Transport, Logistics & Telematics, Road Safety and Environment. Through its offices at the Qatar Science and Technology Park (QSTP), QMIC is working closely with key national partners and stakeholders to realize a market-focused innovations ecosystem in Qatar.
For further information please contact Mr. Abdulrahman Ajjawi
Email: [email protected]
Phone: +974 55645390, +974 4459 3694