11.2 OPERATIONS
Piloting autonomous land and air deliveries at KAUST
During 2021 , KAUST Smart , NDU , Community Life , and various industry and technology partners have launched and tested autonomous delivery on the KAUST community by running two distinct pilots : a self-driving vehicle for package delivery , and food delivery using drones . KAUST is the perfect place to test smart city concepts with speed and in a real-life yet controlled environment , before they are launched to the world .
KAUST tests Saudi ’ s first self-driving vehicles
KAUST piloted the introduction of self-driving shuttles onto the university campus , becoming a pioneer in adopting autonomous vehicles in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia . The pilot incorporated vehicles from two global leaders in autonomous mobility and advanced manufacturing , Local Motors by LM Industries and EasyMile , and was aimed at testing the feasibility of the technologies in a real-world scenario .
2021 , KAUST community members and visitors were finally able to use both shuttles , Olli and EZ10 , as an integrated sustainable form of transportation to travel in the campus Horseshoe Loop , with stops outside Building 16 , Building 14 and Building 18 / Discovery Square . By successfully implementing the shuttles in its daily city operations , KAUST affirmed itself as a smart city leader in eco-friendly transportation and mobility research .
Making electric micro-mobility available on campus
During 2022 ,
KAUST partnered with WAYZ to soft launch personal electric mobility options within KAUST . Community members can now enjoy WAYZ ’ s eco-friendly , e-ride solutions to commute both on campus and across the residential and recreation areas scattered across KAUST . With multiple pick-up and drop-off spots , e-bikes and e-scooters can be used 24 / 7 . Electric micro-mobility options can help reduce local pollution levels from transportation and also reduce direct carbon emissions , contributing to more sustainable urban environments .
WAYZ pilot at KAUST
25
E-bikes
12
Pick-up / Drop-off locations
35
E-scooters
342
Community users
11.3 ENGAGEMENT & OUTREACH
Partnering with industry to challenge the future of mobility
KAUST and McLaren Racing launched in 2021 a STEM challenge to identify innovative solutions for the future of mobility . The goal of the challenge was to identify out-ofthe-box solutions across all areas of mobility , including , but not limited to , sustainable mobility , low carbon and environmentally friendly technologies , interplanetary mobility , human-machine interactions , and digital and AI enhanced solutions .
Submissions were evaluated by a panel of KAUST faculty and McLaren Engineers and were judged based on innovation , roadmap to implementation , pitch quality , and diversity . The winning projects proposed mobility solutions that explored human-machine interaction using EEG signals , and clean solutions for transoceanic travel .
Partnering with the government to decarbonize building materials
In collaboration with the Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources , KAUST hosted a workshop on
“ Cement Decarbonization in Saudi Arabia – Pathways to 2060 ”. The event , which ran in October 2022 , covered current and future technologies to decarbonize the cement industry and provided an opportunity for delegates from government , industry , and academia to share their plans and views on three main topics : fuel substitution , clinker blending , and carbon capture . With Saudi Arabia being the largest producer of cement in the Middle East , and the 8th worldwide , innovative solutions to ensure increased production does not result in increased emissions must be achieved .
KAUST Autonomous Shuttle WAYZ rental e-scooters and e-bikes
KAUST workshop discusses cement decarbonization in Saudi Arabia
27 | KAUST SDG HIGHLIGHT REPORT