One of the main goals of a new self-driving race car league in Abu Dhabi is to help reduce the number of road accidents around the globe, said a senior figure.
On Saturday, teams from across the world will be competing in the event, the first in the UAE.
Self-driving cars will take to a track that is more used to household Formula One stars such as Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen speeding around, than AI-driven cars.
However, there is a much bigger prize at stake than mere track glory for the organisers of the Abu Dhabi Autonomous Racing League (A2RL).
“Why we are doing it is because we want to put a big focus on road accidents,” said Tom McCarthy, executive director of Aspire, organiser of the A2RL race and the programme management and business development arm of Abu Dhabi's Advanced Technology Research Council.
“Over one million people are killed each year on the roads each year globally. It's a number that remains stubbornly high.
“What we find is the focus from the car manufacturers is on what happens after the accident, or what they call secondary or reactive safety. But how about trying to stop the accident occurring in the first instance?”
Every year the lives of about 1.19 million people are cut short as a result of a road traffic crash, according to the World Health Organisation.
Up to 50 million more people are said to suffer non-fatal injuries, with many incurring a disability.
Mr McCarthy suggested the data collated in the creation of the self-driving cars would go a long way in identifying how to avoid possible accidents in the first place.
“We are trying to first of all test these technologies in extreme conditions and also bring along the public to show them what's happening,” he told The National.
“We need to bring people inside the experiments to test what can be done in the most extreme conditions and then to build confidence in the public.
“We want to have a situation where, 10 years from now, the number of fatalities has greatly gone down and that we have made a small contribution to that.”
Race to the top
Teams made up of coders and engineers from the UAE, Germany, Italy, Singapore, US, Hungary and China will compete for prizes worth a total of $2.25 million during the event on Saturday.
All the teams involved will be operating a Dallara Super Formula SF23, built by Dallara, which features self-driving capabilities designed specifically for A2RL.
The car's top recorded speed is 240 kph, according to Mr McCarthy.
Last July, the UAE Cabinet approved the first preliminary national licence for self-driving cars, and a few months before that, a fleet of five electrical cars mapped out roads across Dubai for the eventual unveiling of autonomous public transport.
The value of the global autonomous vehicle market is predicted to top $1.8 trillion by 2030, from close to $94.4 billion in 2021, growing at a compound annual rate of about 39 per cent, according to data from Precedence Research.
“This is one of the key frontiers, besides the fact that we are developing the concept of safety using autonomous solutions, we are just scratching the surface of AI sport right now,” said Stephane Timpano, chief executive of Aspire.
“It's the beginning of a very interesting journey.
“One of the ambitions is for us [in Abu Dhabi] to become a point of reference when it comes to autonomous sport.”
One of the challenges autonomous racing faces is a public who are sceptical about the sport, he said.
“People are sceptical because they don't see the driver, they don't see the rock star, if you will,” said Mr Timpano.
“But we're going to put on amazing shows. It's only going to get better and better [as the technology advances].”
Does he ever see a time when driverless racing will challenge F1 in terms of popularity?
“I think it can be a complement to it, because you can certainly push the limits above what human can do,” he said.
“You can take the risk, because you're not putting any lives in danger [by pushing the unmanned car to its limits].”
AI traffic lights to ease congestion at seven points to Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Street
The seven points are:
Shakhbout bin Sultan Street
Dhafeer Street
Hadbat Al Ghubainah Street (outbound)
Salama bint Butti Street
Al Dhafra Street
Rabdan Street
Umm Yifina Street exit (inbound)
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs: 2018 Infiniti QX80
Price: base / as tested: Dh335,000
Engine: 5.6-litre V8
Gearbox: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 400hp @ 5,800rpm
Torque: 560Nm @ 4,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 12.1L / 100km
What drives subscription retailing?
Once the domain of newspaper home deliveries, subscription model retailing has combined with e-commerce to permeate myriad products and services.
The concept has grown tremendously around the world and is forecast to thrive further, according to UnivDatos Market Insights’ report on recent and predicted trends in the sector.
The global subscription e-commerce market was valued at $13.2 billion (Dh48.5bn) in 2018. It is forecast to touch $478.2bn in 2025, and include the entertainment, fitness, food, cosmetics, baby care and fashion sectors.
The report says subscription-based services currently constitute “a small trend within e-commerce”. The US hosts almost 70 per cent of recurring plan firms, including leaders Dollar Shave Club, Hello Fresh and Netflix. Walmart and Sephora are among longer established retailers entering the space.
UnivDatos cites younger and affluent urbanites as prime subscription targets, with women currently the largest share of end-users.
That’s expected to remain unchanged until 2025, when women will represent a $246.6bn market share, owing to increasing numbers of start-ups targeting women.
Personal care and beauty occupy the largest chunk of the worldwide subscription e-commerce market, with changing lifestyles, work schedules, customisation and convenience among the chief future drivers.
RACE CARD
6.30pm: Baniyas Group 2 (PA) Dh 97,500 (Dirt) 1,400m.
7.05pm Maiden (TB) Dh 82,500 (D) 1,200m
7.40pm Maiden (TB) Dh 82,500 (D) 1,400m
8.15pm Handicap (TB) Dh 82,500 (D) 1,400m
8.50pm Rated Conditions (TB) Dh 120,000 (D) 1,600m
9.25pm Handicap (TB) Dh 95,000 (D) 1,200m
10pm Handicap (TB) Dh 85,000 (D) 2,000m
Dubai works towards better air quality by 2021
Dubai is on a mission to record good air quality for 90 per cent of the year – up from 86 per cent annually today – by 2021.
The municipality plans to have seven mobile air-monitoring stations by 2020 to capture more accurate data in hourly and daily trends of pollution.
These will be on the Palm Jumeirah, Al Qusais, Muhaisnah, Rashidiyah, Al Wasl, Al Quoz and Dubai Investment Park.
“It will allow real-time responding for emergency cases,” said Khaldoon Al Daraji, first environment safety officer at the municipality.
“We’re in a good position except for the cases that are out of our hands, such as sandstorms.
“Sandstorms are our main concern because the UAE is just a receiver.
“The hotspots are Iran, Saudi Arabia and southern Iraq, but we’re working hard with the region to reduce the cycle of sandstorm generation.”
Mr Al Daraji said monitoring as it stood covered 47 per cent of Dubai.
There are 12 fixed stations in the emirate, but Dubai also receives information from monitors belonging to other entities.
“There are 25 stations in total,” Mr Al Daraji said.
“We added new technology and equipment used for the first time for the detection of heavy metals.
“A hundred parameters can be detected but we want to expand it to make sure that the data captured can allow a baseline study in some areas to ensure they are well positioned.”
About Karol Nawrocki
• Supports military aid for Ukraine, unlike other eurosceptic leaders, but he will oppose its membership in western alliances.
• A nationalist, his campaign slogan was Poland First. "Let's help others, but let's take care of our own citizens first," he said on social media in April.
• Cultivates tough-guy image, posting videos of himself at shooting ranges and in boxing rings.
• Met Donald Trump at the White House and received his backing.
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
