Dubai: Drones and robots are monitoring trucks attempting to skip inspections or breaking safety rules in Dubai, Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) said on Saturday.
The move is part of enhanced vehicle testing services endorsed recently, among improvements to drivers licensing and training procedures.
Mattar Mohammed Al Tayer, RTA’s director-general and chairman of the board of executive directors, reviewed a host of initiatives in a meeting with the directors of RTA’s Licensing Agency, in which he also reviewed its performance indicators.
Autonomous aids
These include the use of drones in monitoring trucks trying to avoid inspection, capturing images of plates of trailers to identify protruding load, load distribution and body safety.
The initiatives include using robots to stop vehicles and direct them to checkpoints, which protects the safety of police officers and RTA inspectors.
Digital licensing
Also, Al Tayer stressed on digitising licensing services to enable clients to switch to self-processing of transactions without human intervention through customer service centres.
Initiatives developed include the digitisation of drivers licensing. It involved the “re-engineering” of drivers licensing services to make them digital and more accessible.
The initiative contributes to the processing of transactions without visiting customer service centres and supports Dubai’s paperless transactions strategy.
Performance Indicators
In 2019, RTA processed 2.42 million driver licenses and registered 1.79 million vehicles.
Al Tayer also reviewed an initiative to automate 65 activities relating to commercial licensing, which will improve customers journey towards issuing the commercial transport permit.
It reduces the number of visits and time needed, provides a platform built on blockchain technology where various Dubai entities can be part of the issuance of commercial licensing processes, such as Dubai Municipality, Department of Economic Development, and the Directorate General of Civil Defence.
The initiative slashes needed visits from nine to two, papers from 13 to three and duration from 15 to five working days.
Artificial Intelligence
Among the initiatives, Al Tayer endorsed for the second half of 2020 a smart medical testing system that uses artificial intelligence in testing applicants for renewal of driver licenses or driving permit. At the same time, it also issues the license or permit. The initiative cut the service duration from two days to 15 minutes; the service is available 24/7.
