Technology

As part of its AI Strategy 2030, Dubai continues to lead the way in smart urban mobility with the support of cutting-edge technologies like Milestone Systems’ Project Hafnia, a collaborative initiative that is redefining AI-powered traffic management. The project, which began as a real-world experiment in Dubuque, Iowa, is now paving the path for scalable, accurate, and ethical AI deployment in smart cities worldwide — including Dubai.

Project Hafnia aims to solve a persistent challenge in urban AI applications: AI models often underperform due to low-quality, synthetic datasets, which can lead to unreliable results, especially in high-stakes scenarios like traffic and emergency management. Milestone Systems tackled this by building a legally compliant, high-quality video data library using actual traffic footage and a cloud-based AI training model, significantly increasing model accuracy from 80% to over 95%.

Milestone's Role in Dubai’s AI Transformation

As Dubai pushes forward with AI-led traffic control under the guidance of the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), Milestone’s platform offers a crucial boost. The open-platform video technology enables trusted video data collection and analysis, supporting applications such as:

• Real-time traffic monitoring and anomaly detection

• Pedestrian tracking and vehicle classification

• Emergency response coordination

• Infrastructure planning and public safety

Louise Bou Rached, Director – Middle East, Turkey and Africa at Milestone Systems, stated:

“Project Hafnia shows how a collaborative strategy and a shared dedication to data integrity can contribute to transforming urban solutions. With real-world footage and precise data annotation, cities like Dubai can now implement AI with confidence and transparency.”

Redefining Public-Private Collaboration

Unlike conventional vendor-customer arrangements, Project Hafnia embraced a co-creation model, where cities, technology vendors, and platform providers worked as equal partners. This public-private innovation framework aligned contributions and outcomes, resulting in:

• Higher AI accuracy and fewer false positives

• Transparent and traceable AI data practices

• Scalable and transferable solutions for global cities

• Blueprints for future smart city deployments

Thomas Jensen, CEO of Milestone Systems, emphasized:

“At Milestone, we believe that AI innovation starts with trusted data and open collaboration. Project Hafnia proves that with the right platform, even mid-sized cities like Dubuque can lead the way in responsible, data-driven transformation.”

The Road Ahead: Smart, Safe, and Scalable Urban Mobility

Project Hafnia’s success is not just a milestone for traffic management — it's a model for AI governance and innovation. Cities like Dubai are now well-positioned to expand their use of AI to enhance mobility, safety, and citizen services, with Milestone's technology offering the foundation for sustained, ethical digital transformation.

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