Self-driving passenger cars will be on UAE roads as early as 2019 as authorities prepare the ground to regulate ownership and operation of the smart vehicles.

Following successful trials of EZ10, the 10-seater autonomous vehicle that is seen as a last-mile public transport option, trials on the autonomous passenger cars have also begun.

Speaking on the sidelines of the second International Conference for Future Mobility (ICFM) held on 14 November 2016, Abdullah Al Muaini, director- general of Emirates Authority for Standardisation and Metrology (ESMA) said that the event is a platform for manufacturers to bring their innovation and lead the UAE’s sustainability drive.

“Whether in Japan, Europe or US, most of the trials and innovations in this sector are done in cooler climates so our aim is to bring these manufacturers to the UAE and make them do the trials in local weather conditions so that we have the technology that is tailor-made to suit our climate and our requirements,” he said.

He said that with the strategy and objective of the government to build a sustainable environment and smart cities there is a big opportunity for the UAE to take lead in the smart mobility sector.

“We have to meet a target, convert 25 per cent of all transport in the UAE into smart mobility by 2021. For that we need to put in place the legislation and standards for manufacturers to work with and for people to own and operate these vehicles,” said Al Muaini.

ESMA, in association with the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) and Mercedes, did the region’s first trial on a self-driving passenger car from Dubai to Abu Dhabi. “The vehicle was 100 per cent self-driven without any accidents and we are happy with the trial. The test was done for the first time in the region on the Mercedes E Class and it was successful,” he added.

ESMA is working with different manufacturers to have the self-driving technology in the UAE.

“We are working with all the manufacturers to bring them on a common platform so that we are all on the same page when it comes to required standards.

“The speed at which the innovations are made is amazing and I am confident that the self-driving passenger cars will be on the UAE roads by 2019. That is why we are working closely with manufacturers and all the stakeholders to have the standards in place in the next two years,” said Al Muaini.

He said that the main concern of the authorities is the safety of these vehicles and suitability of the technology to local weather conditions.

“We will also be having the regulations ready for all the alternative fuel vehicles, like hydrogen fuel cell, solar, etc. We need to make sure vehicles with different fuel types comply with the necessary safety standards,” said Al Muaini.

ESMA is also working with the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) and local transport authorities like RTA to ensure all aspects of the mobility sector are covered in the legislation.

Meanwhile, RTA is also working on separate legislation for smart mobility for the emirate of Dubai.

“A key component of the self-driving initiative is the legislation. It is a building block of the whole process and we are going to start it in the next few months. We will be working closely with Esma on this so that we are on the same platform,” he said.

The legislation will cover aspects such as emergency response, insurance, safety standards, road behaviour, etc.