UAE's TRA, Here Technologies to develop data infrastructure for mapping

The UAE’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) of Dubai and Here Technologies have announced the signature of a memorandum of understanding on a long-term technology collaboration with the aim of mapping the city with high definition technology for the first time. HD maps are a prerequisite to moving Dubai closer to its goal of having 25 percent of public transport self-driving services by 2030. Both parties plan to deploy newly available location technologies in the development of a data infrastructure to support safe, sustainable and efficient autonomous transportation. 

These efforts are in line with Dubai's Smart City strategy and its self-driving transport roadmap, which ultimately aim to increase the quality of life for people in Dubai. 

As part of their planned cooperation, RTA and Here intend to conduct a number of pilots aimed at enabling HD Live Map, Here's map for autonomous cars, for public service vehicles operating in Dubai. HD Live Map is a high definition and self-updating map designed to provide vehicles with accurate information about what is happening on the road. 

An additional focal point is on utilizing the Here Open Location Platform (OLP) as a system to intelligently connect vehicles with each other as well as the road infrastructure, such as traffic lights and sensors on roadways and sidewalks. OLP enables multiple automakers and other organizations and sources to transmit live, anonymized sensor data that is then aggregated, enriched with high-precision location data, and transmitted back to cars in the form of near real-time, geo-targeted, contextually-relevant information about changing road conditions.