Local authorities will light up the city with low-energy WiFi poles, revealed the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA).
The ‘smart poles’ designed by French lighting company Ragni Group will line the streets from next year.
DEWA CEO, HE Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer said the smart poles will be produced in the first quarter of 2018 to support Dubai’s development of ‘smart city’ infrastructure.
“The MoU with Ragni Group to design and implement smart lighting poles, supports our efforts to provide a smart infrastructure that achieves society happiness.
“These features support smart and green mobility, autonomous driving, WiFi internet, Internet of Things (IoT), energy-saving lighting, environmental intelligence, and other innovative features that streamline the smart-city transformation,” added Al Tayer.
The announcement was made following the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between a delegation of DEWA officials and Ragni Group in Nice.
Solar roads to power autonomous vehicles in Dubai
Officials from DEWA also travelled to Paris to meet with French civil engineering firm Colas Group to discuss the installation of solar roads, that would produce clean energy through patches of PV (photo-voltaic) cells embedded in the road’s surface.
Al Tayer said the panels could eventually help power the fleets of autonomous vehicles that leaders hope will make up 25% of the total transportation in the city by 2030.
“We discussed with Colas Group a joint collaboration with the R&D Centre at the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, and reviewed the Wattway technology to produce solar energy from panels that are installed on existing roads.
“These panels, which are a few millimetres thick, are durable and can endure all types of vehicle loads without being damaged. This innovative technology makes use of the road’s surface, without any need for special engineering work.
Source: Arabian Business
