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UAEU partnering with Tata on new intelligent transportation system
The Roadway, Transportation, and Traffic Safety Research Center (RTTSRC) at United Arab Emirates University (UAEU) is working on a new intelligent transportation system to enable driverless cars to communicate on the roads.
The team, led by professor Yaser E. Hawas, director of the RTTSRC, is working on a project funded by the UAEU in collaboration with Tata Consulting Group on the inter-vehicular communication system, which is based on an algorithm that enables vehicles to use real-time route guidance in urban traffic networks.
Six years since the team first started work on the project, which is the first of its kind in the world, professor Hawas says it is now ready for its first deployment test. “The wow factor is we are now collaborating with Tata and we are going to have a deployment test in Al Ain,” reveals the director. “We are going to equip six vehicles to do the field testing – each vehicle is going to send information to the other vehicles – and we are then going to see how this information is going to be propagated.”
The algorithm enables communication between a ‘searcher’ vehicle and ‘candidate’ vehicles whose origin matches the destination of the searcher vehicle, and traveling in the opposite direction. This information can then be used to calculate in the simplest way the shortest path for each vehicle from its current position to the destination.
“Currently, the fully autonomous vehicles available move in the network assuming that they know where to go,” says professor Hawas. “But the one that we are testing enables the vehicles to change their routes and get better ones to reach the destination using the information that they receive from other vehicles. Again, it is not only simulation tests that we do here in the center but we are also going to take it to a deployment stage here in Al Ain.”
The team is developing the hardware and software solutions of all the devices that will enable vehicle-to-vehicle communication between the six cars, including GPS and communication capabilities that will enable the vehicles to locate each other and redirect vehicles automatically in real-time to reach their aimed destinations in the network. Following the deployment test, professor Hawas says the university will prepare technical papers detailing the results of the test.
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About the Roadway, Transportation, and Traffic Safety Research Center (RTTSRC)
The Roadway, Transportation and Traffic Safety Research Center (RTTSRC) at the United Arab Emirates University (UAEU) was established in June 2004, with the objective to boost the university’s role in serving the community developmental goals in the fields of road engineering, transportation and traffic safety research, services and consultations.
At RTTSRC, our mission is to promote technological advancement, safety and the use of revolutionary control systems along the UAE roadways. Some of the RTTSRC particular goals are to establish a database on roadway traffic accidents and injuries and assess their impact on the community regarding economic and health aspects; to develop, select and transfer relevant and suitable technologies; to provide technical, academic and practical training, consultations and services to relevant sectors in the country; and to strengthen the concept of partnership and emphasize the role of the transportation sector in the overall development plans of the UAE.
About the United Arab Emirates University (UAEU) – The National University
Founded in 1976 by the late Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan, UAEU is a comprehensive, research-intensive university enrolling about 14,000 Emirati and international students. As the UAE’s flagship university, UAEU offers a full range of accredited, high-quality graduate and undergraduate programs through nine Colleges: Business and Economics; Education; Engineering; Food and Agriculture; Humanities and Social Sciences; IT; Law; Medicine and Health Sciences; and Science. With a distinguished international faculty, state-of-the art new campus, and full range of student support services, UAEU offers a living-learning environment that is unmatched in the UAE.
As a research-intensive university of international stature, UAEU works with its partners in industry to provide research solutions to challenges faced by the nation, the region, and the world. The University has established research centers of strategic importance to the country and the region which are advancing knowledge in critical areas ranging from water resources to cancer treatments. UAEU is currently ranked the #1 university UAE, #4 in the GCC, and top 500 globally.
UAEU’s academic programs have been developed in partnership with employers, so our graduates are in high demand. UAEU alumni hold key positions in industry, commerce, and government throughout the region. Our continuing investments in facilities, services, and staff ensure that UAEU will continue to serve as a model of innovation and excellence.
For further information contact:
Jean O’ Neill, Communications & Marketing Manager
Tel: +971 (0)3 713 5906
Email: jean@uaeu.ac.ae
© Press Release 2016
