By Hassan Cheruppa

Saudi Gazette

THUWAL — Heralding a new era in eco-friendly transportation and mobility research, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) has introduced self-driving shuttles onto its sprawling campus.

In a colorful ceremony held at its campus in Thuwal on the Red Sea Coast on Wednesday, KAUST President Tony Chan cut the ribbon to mark the launch of the Kingdom’s first self-driving vehicles.

Several prominent figures, including senior officials and executives attended the ceremony. Later, the guests boarded the bus for a ride in the campus.

The pilot project incorporates vehicle technology from two global leaders in autonomous mobility and advanced manufacturing — Local Motors by LM Industries and EasyMile.

The launch of this new project establishes KAUST as a pioneer in adopting autonomous vehicles in the Kingdom and makes it a leading smart city in the region.

KAUST strategic partners Saudi Public Transport Co. (SAPTCO) will operate the autonomous shuttles in the campus and manage the operations through SAPTCO’s qualified Saudi staff.

The shuttles on the KAUST campus use mapping, cognitive response technology, light detection and ranging (Lidar), and obstacle avoidance systems to control, navigate and drive the vehicles. Both shuttles are fully electric and sustainable, making them not only easily accessible, but also environmentally friendly.

Speaking to Saudi Gazette, KAUST Chief Chan said that KAUST is one of the premier universities that is connected to the world and is keen on practicing what the university is teaching its students who belong to around 100 nationalities.

In his welcome address during the launching ceremony, Chan said that KAUST is a living laboratory for digital transformation. “We pride ourselves on being an innovation hub in the region for developing and adopting advanced technology,” he said.

“Implementing self-driving vehicle technology underscores our strong artificial intelligence research base and the flexibility of our campus community, which make KAUST an ideal partner to adopt and demonstrate smart city user experiences for the Kingdom,” the university chief added.

Speaking on the topic of “New mobility solutions in Saudi Arabia,” Eng. Khalid Al-Hoqail, CEO of SAPTCO, said that the operation of autonomous shuttles comes as a result of strategic partnership between SAPTCO and KAUST to provide high quality integrated transportation services for university staff and its visitors.

“The project is in alignment with one of SAPTCO’s strategic pillars, which is focusing on providing digital and mobility solutions. We look forward to the future of our partnership with KAUST to develop advanced mobility solutions that contribute to the realization of the Saudi Vision 2030,” he added.

Those who spoke on the occasion included Senior Associate to KAUST President and Vice President Strategic National Advancement Dr. Najah Ashry (Topic: Strategic national priorities); KAUST CIO Jason Roos (KAUST Smart); KAUST Vice President Innovation & Economic Development Dr. Kevin Cullen (KAUST innovation and economic development); KAUST Vice President Community Life Chris Sealey (Autonomous vehicles for the community); CEO of LMI John Rogers (Introducing Olli by Local Motors Industries); and Executive Vice President of EasyMile Eric Wicart (Introducing EZ10 by EasyMile).

Implementing the project on the KAUST campus will enable students and researchers to work together with the companies on developing and introducing the new technology in a controlled environment and gather performance data including vehicle performance, usage rates, and user experience.

Innovation and sustainability are two of KAUST’s highest priorities. Implementing autonomous vehicles on campus is an important next step in creating transportation solutions that help reduce emissions, increase mobility and can help diversify Saudi Arabia’s economy.

Both autonomous shuttles will be available for use by the KAUST community from Dec. 15. KAUST visitors will have the chance to experience the future of transportation innovation by taking a ride in new shuttles while on campus.

Established in 2009, KAUST is a graduate research university devoted to finding solutions for some of the world’s most pressing scientific and technological challenges in the areas of food, water, energy and the environment.

With 19 research areas related to these themes and state-of-the-art labs, KAUST has created a collaborative and interdisciplinary problem-solving environment, which has resulted in over 11,000 published papers to date.

With over 100 different nationalities living, working and studying on campus, KAUST has brought together the best minds and ideas from around the world with the goal of advancing science and technology through distinctive and collaborative research.

Local Motors by LM Industries Group Inc. is a ground mobility company focused on shaping the future for the better. Since its inception, Local Motors has debuted no less than three world firsts; the world’s first co-created vehicle, the world’s first 3D-printed car and the world’s first co-created, self-driving, electric vehicle, Olli, while EasyMile is a pioneer in driverless technology and smart mobility solutions.

The fast-growing start-up develops software to automate transportation platforms without the need for dedicated infrastructure. EasyMile’s cutting-edge technology is revolutionizing passenger and goods transportation, offering completely new mobility options. It has already deployed more than 230 driverless projects in 27 countries and traveled more than 600,000 km.