KAUST, Partners Develop Self-driving Mobility Platform

King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Intel and Brightskies have collaborated to develop self-driving mobility platform with launching REDD, a strategic initiative that puts research innovations in artificial intelligence to the test in a proof-of-concept, self-driving vehicle.

REDD is the outcome of a strategic collaborative initiative between KAUST Smart, Intel and Brightskies to raise the bar of the autonomous mobility challenge by converting a conventional car into a self-driving car with integrated artificial intelligence (AI) software.

The long-term vision of the partnership is to have an onging, collaborative platform for research exchange to improve self-driving technologies - goals what part of the objectives of Saudi Vision 2030.

The three entities have combined their efforts, leveraging KAUST expertise and utilizing its campus as a living lab for this pilot project. KAUST also participated in the design of the user experience. This project builds on prior “firsts” in automation at KAUST.

In partnership with international autonomous vehicles makers, KAUST was the first institution in the Kingdom to test autonomous bus shuttles on its campus, and extended autonomous research to drones and self-driving lockers to test last mile delivery.

Brightskies has been the main developer of the self-driving system, powered by Intel® NUC platforms.

“The self-driving mobility platform provides a capability to develop an ecosystem of talent, research and applied solutions within the region. It's a great step towards tackling self-driving challenges. It's also a platform that allows new and innovative ideas to grow,” said director of KAUST Smart Mohamed Abdel-Aal.

The KAUST vehicle will use a Beta version of BrightDrive, a self-driving system developed in-house by Brightskies and initially launched in 2020. KAUST researchers are expected to use this vehicle as an innovation platform in order to deploy and test new techniques for a better road experience. BrightDrive contains features required for the safety of the autonomous trip and optimal user experience, including environment sensing and perception, centimeter level localization, and high-definition (HD) mapping, path planning and motion control.

Researchers will have access to data gathered by the self-driving car to help fine-tune their existing models. Data coming from an actual car tested on a road instead of from a synthetically created scenario will advance research and, in turn, vehicle responsiveness toward the goal of making self-driving cars efficient, reliable and safe.

“The advanced processing power and seamless integration of sensors over the Intel® NUC could make this innovation a reality,” said Hossam Yahia, vice president of autonomous driving at Brightskies.

The KAUST campus is an ideal test site because it represents a small city with the kinds of diverse driving scenarios that a self-driving developer needs, including standard road features such as traffic signs, traffic lights and driving laws that prioritize the safety of humans, pedestrians and bicyclists. To date the vehicle has been traveling through the small city day and night, encountering unexpected scenarios, and the advanced AI system has been successfully able to detect the environment and react in a safe and efficient way.

“Intel is very excited to collaborate with KAUST and Brightskies on AI developments for autonomous driving — a collaboration that we believe is aligned with and will support Saudi’s Vision 2030,” said General Manager of Intel, Saudi Arabia Ahmad Al Abduljabbar said.

“The pilot project will also enrich the local research talent with a customizable platform for their algorithms, which will prepare them to play a role in the global automotive industry,” he added.

India's monsoon has revived after stalling for more than a fortnight, and rains are set to cover central parts of the country this week, bringing relief from the heatwave in the grain-growing northern plains, two senior weather officials said on Monday.

The monsoon, the lifeblood of the country's nearly $4 trillion economy, delivers nearly 70% of the rain that India needs to water farms and replenish aquifers and reservoirs.

Nearly half of India's farmland, which has no irrigation, depends on the annual June-September rains for crop growth.

The monsoon has revived after a fortnight as a favorable weather system has developed in the Bay of Bengal, which would help the monsoon to cover entire central India this week, an official of the India Meteorological Department (IMD) told Reuters.

Monsoon rains on Monday covered almost the entire western state of Maharashtra and entered into neighboring Gujarat and central state of Madhya Pradesh, the official said.

The Monsoon's onset over Kerala occurred on May 24 and quickly covered southern, northeastern and some parts of western India ahead of its usual schedule, but its progress has stalled since May 29, according to an IMD chart that tracked the monsoon's progress.

The monsoon has gained the required momentum, and heavy rainfall is likely over west coast, central and some parts of north India in next ten days, which will significantly bring down temperatures, another weather official said.

India has received 31% lower rainfall than average in the first half of June, but in the second half the country is set to receive above average rainfall, the official said.

Monsoon rains are set to progress quickly in the next few days and could cover most parts of the country before the end of June, the official said.

Summer rains usually fall in Kerala around June 1 before spreading nationwide by mid-July, allowing farmers to plant crops such as rice, corn, cotton, soybeans and sugarcane.

KAUST, Partners Develop Self-driving Mobility Platform