Self-driving minibus trial begins at QF campus

The Ministry of Transport, in cooperation with Mowasalat (Karwa) and Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development, has announced the rollout of the trial of an autonomous minibus with zero carbon emissions at QF’s campus.
This comes within the framework of the ministry’s efforts to further improve the mobility and transportation services in the country in implementation of its vision of leveraging emerging technologies.
Over the next 10 days, the Level 4 autonomous minibus trial will take place within Qatar Foundation’s Education City. The minibus will be operated by Mowasalat (Karwa) along a predefined route of 3.2km, at a maximum speed of 25 km/h in autonomous mode.
The route passes by Qatar National Library Metro station, Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar, Texas A&M University at Qatar, Qatar National Library (QNL) and Northwestern University in Qatar.
The minibus is equipped with radars, lidars and advanced cameras that help the minibus see and recognize the surroundings without a need for a driver.
A Safety Operator will be always on board throughout the trial to monitor and take control of the minibus in case of emergency. This trial will not be taking any passengers on board.
The aim of the trial is to test the technology to provide knowledge and experience of self-driving vehicles in a real-world environment.
This will support the ministry’s efforts in the development of an overarching Autonomous Vehicle Strategy and relevant legislations for governing autonomous vehicles in Qatar, taking into account the technical, legal, economic, social and environmental considerations as well as Qatar National Vision 2030’s policies and goals. This trial at Education City follows an initial trial conducted previously at Mowasalat (Karwa)’s headquarters.
The ministry continues to coordinate with Mowasalat (Karwa) in bringing in the latest technologies and best universal practices in mobility with a view to add emission-free modes of public transportation into their provision.

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