News

Saudi Arabia Plans Digital Twins For 5 Cities, Including Mecca

The project involves the creation of a cloud-based platform that will become central to the Kingdom’s smart city project.

Published

6 months ago

October 25, 2023

Nour Nasir

saudi arabia plans digital twins for 5 cities including mecca

South Korean tech company Naver has signed a contract with the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Municipal, Rural Affairs and Housing (MOMRAH) to build and administer digital twins for five of the country’s biggest cities: Riyadh, Medina, Jeddah, Dammam, and Mecca.

The news comes after a visit from South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, who arrived in the Kingdom to discuss deepening economic ties, explaining that “If South Korea, which has cutting-edge technologies and a successful experience of industrial development, joins hands with Saudi Arabia, with its abundant capital and growth potential, we can create synergy stronger than any other nation”.

naver saudi arabia digital twin cities agreement

Naver has already signed a memorandum with MOMRAH to support Saudi Arabia’s digital transformation. Discussions have also taken place with Majed Al Hogail, Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Housing, on digitizing other aspects of city planning, transportation, and public safety.

The digital twin program reflects ongoing efforts to boost decision-making and improve digitization using AI, robotics, and cloud-based solutions. The project will be pivotal in the development of smart city infrastructure and will be used for a wide variety of tasks, including urban planning and flood monitoring.

Also Read: Saudi Arabia Launches Summer 2024 eSports World Cup

“Leveraging Naver’s globally competitive technologies, we aim to spearhead the second wave of export boom to the Middle East. With this project as a starting point, Naver will also act as a bridge for Korean IT startups entering the Middle Eastern market,” announced Chae Seon-ju, President of ESG and External Policy at Naver.

Korean company Naver emphasized that digital twins platform could become the foundation for numerous technologies and services in what could become a continually evolving project. South Korean and Saudi startups could also use the open platform cloud software for urban water management, real estate services, robotics, autonomous driving applications, and traffic planning.

News

Joby To Establish All-Electric Air Taxi Ecosystem Across The UAE

The comprehensive agreement with Abu Dhabi’s government includes a training program, infrastructure development, and a manufacturing presence.

Published

2 hours ago

May 1, 2024

Nour Nasir

joby to establish all-electric air taxi ecosystem across the uae

Joby Aviation

All-electric aircraft company Joby Aviation has secured three separate agreements with departments of Abu Dhabi’s government that lay the groundwork to develop and scale air taxi services in the Emirate and beyond.

The deal was signed at the recent DRIFTx thought-leadership and exhibition platform and gave Joby exclusive rights to not only operate air taxi services in Dubai but also unlock inter-emirate services between Abu Dhabi.

joby air taxi partnership abu dhabi

Joe Ben Bevirt, founder and CEO of Joby Aviation, said: “Today’s agreement demonstrates the incredible momentum behind the adoption of clean flight across the UAE. We’re looking forward to delivering a fantastic experience for our future customers in Abu Dhabi and we’re excited to be unlocking the potential for zero-emissions flight between Abu Dhabi and Dubai. We’re grateful for the support and collaboration of our governmental partners and the entire ecosystem in Abu Dhabi and we remain deeply impressed by their commitment to building out a world-class aviation ecosystem in the Emirate”.

Joby’s all-electric aircraft went on display for the first time in Abu Dhabi’s Yas Marina at the DRIFTx event. The air taxi is designed to carry a pilot and four passengers and can reach speeds of 200 miles per hour (321 km/h). The zero-emission craft is said to have an extremely low acoustic footprint and can travel a maximum of 100 miles (161 km) on a single charge.

Also Read: Lebanese Newspaper Builds AI President To Beat Political Crisis

Once operational, Joby’s air taxi fleet would enable fast, clean travel across the UAE, with journeys between Abu Dhabi to Dubai taking just 30 minutes compared with two hours by car during peak times.

Joby continues to work closely with the UAE’s General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) to help the Emirates become a world leader in the introduction of air taxis. Additional testing and analysis will be required before inter-emirate travel becomes a reality, but the cutting-edge technology already appears to have great potential.