In a move that’s aimed at focusing on smart road asset management and developing an innovative solution for the intelligent transport sector, the Public Works Authority (Ashghal) on Sunday signed a strategic agreement with Qatar Mobility Innovations Centre (QMIC).
The deal related to smart mobility innovations was signed in the presence of Ashghal president Dr Saad bin Ahmad al-Muhannadi, QMIC chairman Abdulla Zaid al-Talib, executive director and CEO Dr Adnan Abu-Dayya, Qatar University president Dr Hassan al-Derham, along with other officials from the two entities.
QMIC, through the strategic agreement, will ensure efficient mobility and road safety in Qatar. QMIC will work with Ashghal to provide technical consulting, data analytics, and smart mobility innovations in four domains; Integrated Traffic and Road Asset Monitoring, Connected Vehicles (V2X) Field Pilot and Deployment Plan, Smart Highway Testbed for New Innovative Technologies and Wain Mobile Platform and Enablers.
The Integrated Traffic and Road Asset Monitoring will support Ashghal’s ongoing efforts for road assets management by providing visibility through traffic data, crowd analytics and needed information. QMIC’s rich traffic data bank and innovative algorithms and mobility analytics tools will provide an efficient overview of the performance of the road network and the positive effect of Ashghal’s achievements in this regard.
Through Connected Vehicles (V2X) Field Pilot and Deployment Plan, QMIC will aid Ashghal in enabling Qatar’s road infrastructure with V2X technologies and applications to get ready for hosting the next generation of intelligent transport systems and road safety. This also includes carrying out a large-scale pilot of V2X system and applications to better understand the performance and assess the value for different use cases. Furthermore, it will be a landmark achievement for Qatar as the first country to regionally implement this emerging technology that will significantly improve road safety and enable autonomous vehicles.
Smart Highway Testbed for New Innovative Technologies will provide Ashghal with a designated corridor in Doha to act as a living testbed for piloting and showcasing emerging ITS and mobility solutions and applications. This provides Ashghal with great insight into observing the pros and cons of each emerging technology in a real-life setting before nationwide implementation and will contribute to better predict the benefits and impacts.
Through Wain Mobile Platform and Enablers, QMIC will work with Ashghal to take Wain mobile digital platform to the next phase via introducing new features and enhancing the current capabilities. The Wain platform will increasingly become the main mobile channel for communicating with the public about road conditions and location-based services.
Speaking on the occasion, al-Muhannadi said the agreement was signed after several rounds of discussions to identify specific Ashghal projects and strategies that can benefit from QMIC’s broad portfolio of smart solutions and data intelligence. The president added that Ashghal had been keen to co-operate with QMIC in order to encourage the local manufacturers.
QMIC, which functions at the Qatar Science and Technology Park, strengthens collaboration with national partners and decision-makers to create an innovative environment that particularly focuses on the local Qatar market. Al-Derham said Qatar University is glad to co-operate with QMIC for developing an advanced innovative solution for the intelligent transport sector as part of the university’s role in supporting the knowledge economy and human development.
“The university is obliged to tap local potentials in order to achieve a smart economy through the implementation of many initiatives that will enhance its collaboration with Ashghal. The university will support them for implementing world-class infrastructure projects,” he added.
Dr Adnan Abu-Dayya said that QMIC is glad to partner with Ashghal to fully utilise its expertise in smart cities and intelligent mobility. “This partnership is an important milestone in QMIC’s strategy of using local innovations to support mega projects and create local technology industry in support of Qatar’ strategy. It also demonstrates the progress made in Qatar in transitioning local knowledge and innovations into market value and impact,” he noted.
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