Abu Dhabi DMT Deploys AI Tools to Track Traffic Pollution Exposure

Abu Dhabi’s Department of Municipalities and Transport is deploying two artificial intelligence tools designed to measure traffic-related air pollution at a more granular level, including how much pollution pedestrians are exposed to as they move through the city. Exposure AI follows walking routes to estimate what people actually inhale, while Emission AI analyses dashcam footage to estimate emissions produced by individual vehicles.

The systems were developed with MIT’s Senseable City Lab and are intended to move beyond fixed air-quality monitoring stations, which provide readings only at specific locations. Exposure AI builds a person-level picture of pollution exposure along actual routes, while Emission AI identifies roads, traffic patterns and vehicle types associated with higher emissions. Used together, the tools can link where pollution is generated with where human exposure takes place.

The technology builds on research using Abu Dhabi data, including a 2026 study on estimating vehicle emissions from video footage. A renewed agreement signed at LIVEX 2026 will extend cooperation between the Department of Municipalities and Transport and MIT’s Senseable City Lab through additional Future Hub projects, including AI-assisted tree planting in areas affected by heat and pollution and research into light pollution across the emirate.