With the booming population within urban settings posing real-life challenges to mobility, governments across the globe are implementing innovative approaches including use of Internet of Things (IoT) to tackle urban transport challenges, said a report, released ahead of the sixth edition of Annual Arab Future Cities Summit 2019.

A major event for the Arab World, the summit is being held under the patronage of the Ministry of Infrastructure Development from September 16 to 17 at Jumeirah Emirates Towers, Dubai.

The two-day conference will see industry experts put emphasis on the future of mobility, the measures to be adopted in deploying safe, efficient and sustainable transportation systems and the challenges in doing so.

According to experts, the recent expansion and growth of the IoT is fundamental to the continued development of transport options within smart cities. It drives the necessary efficiencies to deliver new services positively impacting smart cities, they stated.

Countries across the globe are implementing innovative new approaches to urban transport challenges, said the experts.

Government bodies are forced to explore and employ ever more innovative and diverse transport systems.

This is being done by developing a more holistic view of mobility by integrating all modes of transport across the city, as well as introducing new modes of transport such as autonomous and shared vehicles, they stated.

Connected vehicles are able to continually monitor their situation awareness to better protect against road traffic accidents and thus keep traffic flowing more efficiently, they added.
 
Dubai is already home to transportation systems that are driverless, such as the Palm Jumeirah monorail and the Dubai metro. However, there will soon be driverless vehicles on the roads, as well as self-driving shuttles within the car free residential community of The Sustainable City.

The shuttles will be used to transport both residents and staff around the community while also covering a transportation link to the urban farm located within the complex, said the experts.
 
Earlier this year, the Dubai Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) unveiled plans for a cable car styled transportation system that is capable of travelling up to 30 mph, dubbed ‘Sky Pods’.

The city also plans to launch an autonomous aerial vehicle (AAV) system by 2020; the vehicles combine helicopter and aeroplane technologies to take-off vertically and reach a cruising speed of 244mph.

These initiatives form part of the Dubai Autonomous Transportation Strategy, which is aimed at converting 25 per cent of total transportation services in Dubai into autonomous journeys across various means of transit by 2030, said the experts ahead of the event.
 
The summit will draw more than 300 senior level executives and decision-makers integral to Dubai’s smart city development who will discuss several key issues related to urban transportation, they added.-TradeArabia News Service