Mobileye partnering with Al Habtoor Group to bring driverless mobility to UAE

Israel-based Mobileye and the Al Habtoor Group (AHG), one of the largest conglomerate corporations in the United Arab Emirates, announced on Wednesday strategic cooperation to bring mapping technologies for Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS), self-driving vehicles and smart city solutions to the UAE with the aim of launching a Mobileye-powered driverless mobility service for UAE consumers in 2023.

According to the program, 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.

"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," said Amnon Shashua, Senior Vice President at Intel Corporation and President and CEO of Mobileye commented. "The insights Mobileye mapping technology will unlock for Al Habtoor, combined with future self-driving mobility solutions, together have the potential to greatly enhance the daily lives of citizens in the region."

Khalaf Ahmad Al Habtoor, Founding Chairman of Al Habtoor Group 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.”

Beginning in early 2021, Al Habtoor Group expects to equip vehicles with Mobileye 8 Connect, a collision avoidance system that collects insights for safer driving, autonomous vehicle mapping and city planning. 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. In 2022, Mobileye and Al Habtoor are expected to start an early-rider program to test its Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS) offering before hopefully launching and commercializing a Mobileye-powered driverless mobility service for UAE consumers in three years.