AI for Safer Roads: Safer Speeds Innovation Challenge 2026—Final Pitch Event

Many speed limits in Asia and the Pacific were set decades ago, long before today's traffic, urban growth, and crowds of pedestrians and motorcycle riders. Can artificial intelligence (AI) show where those limits are now putting lives at risk?

This event will present the top four solutions from the AI for Safer Roads Innovation Challenge that use artificial intelligence (AI) and geospatial data to pinpoint unsafe speeds on roads across Asia and the Pacific.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) launched the challenge in May 2026 at the ADB Asia and the Pacific Transport Forum 2026, in collaboration with the World Bank, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), AI for Good, and the Asia-Pacific Road Safety Observatory (APRSO). It called on data scientists, AI specialists, and transport innovators to build AI models that pinpoint where speeds are putting road users at risk, using GPS probe data, road network data, and street-level imagery from Asia.

At this final event, the top four teams will demonstrate their solutions and answer questions from the jury, with participants voting for the Audience Choice Award. A panel of experts will then discuss what it takes for governments to adopt such tools beyond the pilot stage, before announcing the top team, which may go on to pilot its solution with ADB. 

For Southeast Asia, where traffic, mixed modes, and cities continue to grow quickly, these tools may offer governments a practical way to focus speed management where the risk is highest.