Al Ain City Municipality has enhanced the quality of its spatial data with applying artificial intelligence (AI) in the Smart Al Ain project, as part of the Department of Municipalities and Transport - Abu Dhabi's strategy to promote the use of AI in developing its services, infrastructure projects and roads.
The Smart Al Ain project aims to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the municipality's work and enable it to benefit from multi-source information to enhance operations and artificial intelligence and machine learning services, with the aim of providing multiple capabilities, including spatial detection due to the system's ability to extract spatial information from satellite images, aerial photos and side images (such as locating trees, signboards and buildings), in addition to extracting information by recognizing the text of signboards located in shops and streets using optical recognition technology.
Engineer Mohammed Al Rashidi, Head of the GIS Department, said that Al Ain Municipality seeks through the use of technology and modern techniques, including artificial intelligence, to enhance the quality of its services and projects, and the Smart Al Ain project is one of the projects that the municipality is working to benefit from in raising the quality of spatial data to be used in developing appropriate plans for future projects and maintenance for all areas of Al Ain city, and the system is based on GIS and information technology standards.
Al Rashdi added that the Smart Al Ain project relies on four main sources of data, namely aerial images, satellite images, geophysical cross-section images and 360-degree panoramic images, which enable the acquisition of quality and accurate spatial data in order to benefit from them in fulfilling customer requests and speed of decision-making in the adoption of future projects.
Al Rashdi explained that the system identifies areas that need maintenance in the infrastructure components, by extracting data using various sources such as palm trees, trees, buildings, road network, signs, places of deformation, as well as the number of light poles with
Al Rashdi pointed out, the municipality started the spatial survey process that targets all areas of Al Ain city, where up to 9.122 linear kilometers were surveyed approximately until mid-October 2023 and the survey process is still ongoing to complete the remaining areas of the city, using modern technologies that are characterized by high resolution image capture as well as integrated imaging and rapid data collection in addition to the ability to geospatial analysis allowing the use of images and the ability to update the base map.
The project also contributes directly to serving the Department of Municipalities and Transport and all its affiliates as an important source for applications such as road asset management, surveying and mapping. The system combines geospatial data capture and high-resolution imaging, enabling a comprehensive understanding of the areas to be studied, condition assessment and asset documentation, in addition to the quality of data extracted from the system, reducing field time and reducing costs compared to traditional survey methods while using data for geospatial analysis, such as asset management and spatial analytics, providing valuable insights for decision-making.