Uber And WeRide Launch First Robot Taxi Service In The Middle East

Robotic taxi fleet in Abu Dhabi. (Source: WeRide)

JAKARTA - Uber and WeRide launched their first commercial robotic taxi service in the Middle East in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

For the initial stage, this autonomous taxi service will be available on Saadiyat Island and Yas Island, as well as routes to and from Zayed International Airport.

The transportation company Tawasul will operate WeRide vehicles on the Uber platform. The first trip will be available in areas such as Saadiyat Island and Yas Island as well as routes to and from Zayed International Airport.

This service will be available to Uber passengers who ask for UberX or Uber Comfort. For eligible travel, passengers will have the opportunity to pair with WeRide AV.

Each vehicle will be equipped with a human safety operator behind the wheel. Uber plans to stop drivers from putting safety first by 2025, said Uber's global head for autonomous mobility and delivery operations Noah Zych.

"We want to handle this responsibly," he told The National, as quoted December 6.

"We want to make sure the technology is safe, customers feel comfortable and regulators feel comfortable with their technological performance. Along with the maturity and implementation of safe operations, we hope to eliminate safety operators next year and provide complete driverless travel," he explained.

Zych further explained that the technology behind the WeRide autonomous vehicle is equipped with LiDAR, a technology that uses laser beams to measure distance and create accurate 3D maps from the surrounding environment, as well as radar and cameras.

These sensors work together to map the area around the vehicle, helping it detect and track pedestrians, other cars, and obstacles, while ensuring it complies with traffic regulations and reacts to any changes in its environment.

The ability of autonomous vehicles to comply with non-interrupted traffic regulations such as human drivers who send text messages is also a major safety feature.

"Unlike a human driver, autonomous vehicles are programmed to comply with traffic regulations at any time," Zych explained.

"This vehicle will not go fast, turn illegally, or get off track. This vehicle is designed to provide the safest and most efficient travel."

Zych also assured passengers that autonomous vehicles strictly comply with all traffic regulations, thereby reducing concerns about potential legal issues.

Vehicles will always comply with speed limits and passengers don't have to worry about phone violations. You can sit back and forth, by phone, while the car will handle driving," he said.

Earlier, Uber, headquartered in San Francisco, said in August it would include robotaxi Cruise in its fleet in the United States by 2025.

The company has been offering driverless cars in Phoenix, Arizona, on its platform since October last year through an agreement with Alphabet's Waymo.

On the other hand, WeRide, headquartered in Guangzhou, China produces vehicles with level-4 autonomy one step below full autonomy, which is when the car is fully capable of self-driving without human intervention.

Last July, WeRide became the first company to receive an initial national license for driverless cars from the UAE Cabinet. At that time, the company announced plans to start testing various autonomous vehicles on UAE roads, including robotaxi, robobus, robovan, and robosweeper.

At the end of that month, WeRide expressed its ambition to expand its operations quickly in the UAE, with plans to introduce hundreds of vehicles by 2025.