Abu Dhabi Police’s new tracker to detect mobile use while driving

Our Correspondent

An automated system will be in place from January 2021 in Abu Dhabi to detect traffic violations, including the use of mobile phones while driving.

The Abu Dhabi Digital Authority (ADDA) has developed the Vehicular Attention and Safety Tracker (VAST) system in cooperation with Abu Dhabi Police to reduce traffic accidents and improve safety.

In the new system, a radar monitoring element can capture high-resolution images using artificial intelligence cameras and analyse them to rapidly detect seat belt and mobile phone violations. Violators will receive an SMS notification asking them to rectify their behaviour.

VAST system aims to preserve the safety of drivers, passengers and all road users, as well as raise awareness and educate the community on the importance of following safe driving practices, as part of efforts to lead the digital future of the Abu Dhabi Government and enable an innovative and effective digital government.

The VAST system has been implemented in five phases – camera and edge devices, image review module, SMS notification, performance dashboard, and model retraining.

The data and modern technology team from ADDA worked closely with the relevant team from the Abu Dhabi Police to collect, track, analyse and process data to develop the system.