Driverless Taxis: Qatar’s transport sector has begun testing driverless taxis, marking a new step forward. Qatar’s Ministry of Transport announced on Friday. They announced that autonomous electric taxis from Karva have begun testing in selected locations across the country.
The test will be conducted in two phases. The first phase will be conducted without passengers under the supervision of a team of experts. The second phase will be a full-scale test run with only passengers and no drivers. The test will include tourist and service routes. These tests will continue until the first quarter of next year.
The main objective of these tests is to establish a regulatory framework and prepare the necessary infrastructure for operating autonomous taxi services, which are part of Qatar’s broader future smart mobility initiatives, and to evaluate the efficiency of the technology. The autonomous bus test conducted earlier in Qatar was successful. With this success, the Ministry of Transport moved to testing driverless taxis.
All taxis used for the trials are equipped with six long- and mid-range cameras, four radars, and four lidar units to ensure safety. This will enable navigation control during the trials and ensure the safety of passengers.
The Autonomous Vehicles Strategy, developed by the Ministry of Transport, promotes innovative and environmentally friendly smart technologies in Qatar’s public transport network.
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