News

Dubai Community Launches AI-Powered Pedestrian Crossings

The new safety system can activate flashing signs, lights built into the road surface, and traffic signal controllers.

Published

3 years ago

August 2, 2023

dubai community launches ai-powered pedestrian crossings

A new AI-powered pedestrian crossing has been developed by Dubai-based specialists Derq. The new system will be installed in a local neighborhood as a smarter method to warn pedestrians and vehicles of potential conflicts.

The AI-based crossing will use behavior prediction models to anticipate potentially harmful scenarios and then deploy flashing signs, in-road warning lights, and traffic signal controllers to alert anyone in the vicinity of danger.

The system will also collect data to enhance road user awareness and the effectiveness of authorities’ responsiveness to safety problems and traffic performance. The technology has taken two years of rigorous testing to bring to fruition.

The crossing is equipped with ultra-high speed 5G connectivity, enabling data collection of safety events and traffic while allowing for remote operation, maintenance, and re-configuration. In the future, the system will leverage 5G technologies to communicate safety information and alerts to connected vehicles approaching the crosswalk.

Also Read: Abu Dhabi-Backed Tech Sculpture To Be Installed In Houston

Muammar Al Katheeri, chief officer for engineering and sustainability at Dubai Integrated Economic Zones Authority (DIEZ), explained: “This system serves as a cornerstone in cementing DSO’s position as a technologically advanced zone, offering residents and business partners a seamless and intelligent living and working experience. Through our longstanding partnership with Derq, we will continue to make remarkable progress in ensuring pedestrian safety and advancing Dubai’s smart city agenda”.

According to Dr. Georges Aoude, co-founder and CEO of Derq, the new AI-powered pedestrian crossing system aligns with Dubai’s vision to establish itself as a bicycle and pedestrian-friendly city with a range of eco-friendly transportation options.

Related Topics:Artificial Intelligence Dubai

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Trip.com Is Betting An AI Agent Will Book Your Next Vacation

Abu Dhabi, Jazeera Airways and a run of hotel deals give the company more inventory. Its Mastercard demo says the most about where booking technology is headed.

Published

2 days ago

September 16, 2026

Nour Nasir

trip.com is betting an ai agent will book your next vacation

Most of what Trip.com Group announced at Arabian Travel Market 2026 this week reads like the standard expansion playbook of an online travel agency: a new agreement with a tourism board, a run of hotel partnerships, an airline deal. However, one item was considerably more interesting: a demonstration built with Mastercard of an AI agent that doesn’t just suggest trips but also pays for them.

trip.com tripgenie ai agent

The showcase put TripGenie, the company’s AI travel assistant, to work searching, selecting and completing purchases inside a single booking flow, with Mastercard’s Agent Suite for Merchants handling the payment step and Network International processing the transactions on the merchant side. It’s limited for now to attractions and ancillary services, but the partners plan a phased commercial rollout from early 2027.

“As traveller expectations change, technology and AI will play an increasingly important role in how people plan their journeys,” says Schubert Lou, CEO of Trip.com.

Meanwhile, in more conventional news, CEO Lou and Saleh Mohamed Al Geziry (Director General for Tourism at the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi), signed an agreement building on the two organizations’ existing partnership, with joint marketing and Abu Dhabi destination content to be pushed across Trip.com Group’s platforms.

Also Read: Musk’s Boring Company Wants To Dig 150 KM Of Tunnel Under The UAE

On accommodation, the group expanded its partnerships with JA Hotels & Resorts, Ishraq Hospitality and Aleph Hospitality and deepened its work with Silkhaus, which brings vacation homes into a portfolio that has so far leaned on hotels. Jazeera Airways signed a strategic partnership intended to widen the Kuwaiti carrier’s reach and encourage earlier bookings, tied to Kuwait’s own tourism ambitions.

The company moved into a larger Dubai office earlier this year and describes its long-term aim as a two-way ecosystem: sending Middle East travelers abroad while drawing international visitors in.