Cruise Automation, the autonomous vehicle division of General Motors, is digitally mapping the streets of Dubai in preparation for the company to launch a robotaxi service in the city in 2023.
Dubai will be the first city in the world to commercially operate Cruise autonomous vehicles outside of the U.S., the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) of Dubai said in a statement.
Two Chevrolet Bolt electric vehicles (EVs) will be initially deployed on Jumeirah streets to map the physical environment using a suite of sensors such as lidar, cameras and others to collect data.
Thousands of robotaxis
Dubai plans to increase the number of robotaxis in the city to reach up to 4,000 vehicles by 2030.
“Preparing digital maps is an essential step in the process of operating self-driving Cruise Origin vehicles, which will be deployed in limited numbers next year to offer taxi and e-Hail services,” said Mattar Al Tayer, director-general and chairman of the board of RTA.
RTA said the agreement with Cruise is the first of its kind between a government entity and a leading company in the field of autonomous vehicles.
Dubai plans to transform 25% of total mobility journeys in the city into various self-driving transportation means by 2030 — this could include robotaxis, consumer-owned autonomous vehicles or autonomous shuttles and other public transportation.
The goal is to ease the public transportation system, boost road traffic safety and improve environmentally friendly means of travel inside the city.
