Navya to launch self-driving electric shuttle service in Abu Dhabi project

Navya’s self-driving electric shuttle will operate as a daily mobility service for a planned city project in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates. The Autonom shuttle will link parking areas in Masdar City with its main podium. Navya and Abu Dhabi’s Department of Transport have customised the shuttle to mitigate the effects of extreme heat and humidity on battery performance. They also carried out health and safety tests to ensure the safety of passengers and pedestrians. Autonom can c
October 26, 2018 Read time: 2 mins
8379 Navya’s self-driving electric shuttle will operate as a daily mobility service for a planned city project in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates. The Autonom shuttle will link parking areas in Masdar City with its main podium.


Navya and Abu Dhabi’s Department of Transport have customised the shuttle to mitigate the effects of extreme heat and humidity on battery performance. They also carried out health and safety tests to ensure the safety of passengers and pedestrians.

Autonom can carry up to 12 passengers and has a full operational speed of 25 kilometres per hour.

The vehicle uses on-board cameras and Lidar sensors to create 3D and 2D ‘perception maps’ to detect nearby obstacles. Autonom defines its location via GPS and uses vehicle-to-everything technology to communicate with traffic lights.

Navya says it will deploy seven more shuttles for the project next year. The vehicle’s route map will be expanded to connect the Etihad Eco Residence complex above the city’s north car park with the headquarters of the International Renewable Energy Agency and the My City Centre Masdar shopping centre.  

In %$Linker: 2 Internal <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-16"?><dictionary /> 4 36368 0 link-external August false /sections/general/news/navya-electric-autonomous-shuttle-to-operate-on-open-roads-in-canada/ false false%>, Autonom was began operating on public roads with mixed traffic in Québec as part of an agreement with Keolis Canada and the City of Candiac.

The shuttle is running along a 2km route between Exo park-and-ride lot and the bus terminal and the intersection of Marie Victorin and Montcalm North Boulevards. Riders can use the shuttle to reach their workplaces from the bus terminal.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • ITS World Congress 2017 call for demos
    January 3, 2017
    As part of the Montréal World Congress 2017, conference organizers are planning to feature live demonstrations of ITS technologies. The city of Montréal will create a virtual test bed on the streets adjacent to the Convention Centre. This test bed will include an arterial loop circling the Centre and a section of a nearby limited access highway that will be equipped with DSRC roadside units integrated with local signal controllers to support demonstrations of connected vehicle technologies. In order to a
    Read More
  • RTD joins forces with Uber for trip planning in Denver
    February 6, 2019
    The Regional Transportation District (RTD) in Denver, Colorado, has entered into an agreement which will allow its riders to view transit routes within Uber’s app. RTD says the collaboration will allow commuters to plan their travel with additional first/last mile options. Riders can select the app’s ‘Transit’ option to see available routes, real-time schedules and walking directions to and from stations. Looking ahead, the partnership intends to allow riders to purchase RTD tickets via the app,
    Read More
  • Econolite hires ex-Michigan DoT boss Kirk Steudle
    October 23, 2018
    Econolite has hired one of the best-known names in the ITS industry: Kirk Steudle is joining the company with a remit to fulfil two key roles. Steudle, the former director of Michigan Department of Transportation (MDoT), will be senior vice president, leading Econolite’s Transportation Systems Group and also in charge of CAVita, its connected and autonomous vehicles (C/AV) subsidiary. His responsibilities will include all C/AV projects and large-scale systems projects. Steudle had spent his entire
    Read More
  • London comes first for public transport but suffers from congested roads, says Here Technologies
    November 30, 2018
    London has the best public transport system in the world - but the UK capital’s roads are among the most congested, says a new report. Here Technologies’ Urban Mobility Index ranked transit efficiency in 38 cities based on their public transport frequency, density and coverage as well as how public transport performs against car speed. Just behind London are Zurich, Toronto, Washington, DC and Stockholm. However, London was ranked 34th for congestion. The top five least-congested cities are: H
    Read More

Highlighted Content