Grabbing AI for traffic

Grabbing AI for traffic


Southeast Asia’s Grab has joined forces with the National University of Singapore to launch a S$6m artificial intelligence laboratory to boost the use of vehicles on its ride-hailing service as well as develop traffic solutions for metros.

The Grab-NUS AI Lab will lean on data from more than 2bn rides on the Grab platform to solve challenges in the region. The initiative will map out traffic patterns and identify ways to directly impact the ‘mobility and liveability’ of Southeast Asian cities.

Grab says researchers will develop an AI platform for large-scale machine learning and visual analytics for developing novel applications from the company’s massive data set.

The laboratory will also focus on developing algorithms to:

• Better serve passengers with smarter and more personalised services, based on insights into their needs, intentions and preferences

• Match drivers to the jobs they prefer and improve driving safety through better understanding of driver behaviour

• Detect traffic events and anomalies in real-time and improve urban traffic flow

• Improve precision and accuracy in mapping pick-up points and localising moving vehicles to help passengers and drivers get from point to point with greater ease and efficiency.

“Over time, we hope to build a healthy pipeline of well-trained and experienced data scientists and AI researchers for Singapore and beyond,” says NUS president Professor Tan Eng Chye.

Japan’s Toyota last month stumped up $1bn for a stake in Grab. The automaker Toyota already supports Uber in the US.

Image: Grab

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