01
Situational awareness
Multimodal sensing and perception, vulnerable road user behavior and intent prediction, cooperative perception, and contextual observability for software-defined vehicles.
AI for Smart Mobility Lab
Where AI meets mobility systems, services, and business models
The future of mobility is people-centric, software-defined, connected, and electric. Our mission is to advance transformative innovations that prioritize user experience, enhance connectivity, and drive sustainable electrification.
By integrating cutting-edge research with interdisciplinary collaboration, we create mobility solutions that empower individuals, foster global connectivity, and contribute to a cleaner, smarter, and more inclusive world.
01 / WHAT IS SMART MOBILITY?
What is smart mobility?
Smart mobility is a wide umbrella for different systems and services that meet various end-user needs without compromising the collective good of society and the environment. These systems and services are built on advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence, connectivity, and electrification, alongside innovative business models like the digital economy, servitization, the sharing economy, the gig economy, the experience economy, and the circular economy.
The AI4SM Lab is part of the Interdisciplinary Research Center for Smart Mobility and Logistics at KFUPM. Our research sits at the intersection of AI and mobility systems, services, and business models.
02 / RESEARCH PILLARS
Research pillars
Three connected threads run through everything the lab builds.
02
Reasoning and action
Agentic AI systems that connect perception, reasoning, and action, together with causal inference for root-cause analysis in complex mobility systems.
03
Optimization
Routing, supply and demand matching, resource allocation, and eco-efficient last-mile delivery across people mobility, logistics, and transportation infrastructure.
03 / ACTIVE PROJECTS
Active projects
Funded research currently running in the lab.
01
Enhancing Safety and Trust in Mixed Traffic Environments with Connected and Automated Vehicles
The project aims to enhance safety and trust in mixed traffic environments by developing an integrated framework for interactions between Connected and Automated Vehicles (CAVs)...
Project details02
Contextual Observability of Software-Defined Vehicles
SDV architecture decouples hardware and software, enabling OEMs to manage, update, and enhance vehicle features and functions through software alone. However, SDVs introduce...
Project details03
Agentic AI-based Framework for Seamless Integrated Mobility
Aligning with Saudi Vision 2030, this project supports Saudi Arabia's goals to increase public transit use and improve accessibility for all citizens, including individuals with...
Project details04 / LATEST NEWS
Latest news
- As part of KFUPM’s Ibn Battuta Global Scholarship Program, Dr. Alaa Khamis spent June and July 2026 as a Visiting Professor at the University of Toronto Transportation Research Institute (UTTRI), collaborating on a research project focused on adaptive traffic signal control.
- Our paper “Agentic Ontology-guided Image Generation and Evaluation for Rare-Event Data Augmentation in Safety-Critical Perception” has been accepted for publication in Array. The paper is available here.
- Dr. Alaa Khamis gave a seminar titled “Agentic AI: Connecting Perception, Reasoning, and Action in Smart Mobility and Logistics” at the KFUPM Business School. Slides are available here.
- Dr. Alaa Khamis has been appointed Founding Chair of the IEEE Intelligent Transportation Systems Society (ITSS) Saudi Arabia Chapter, leading the establishment and development of the Society’s activities within the Kingdom.
- Dr. Alaa Khamis gave a seminar titled “Agentic AI for Smart Mobility” as part of the ISE seminar series at KFUPM. Slides are available here.