From transport to smart mobility in the digital age..

In one of the last info mails we showed the latest on self driving electrical cars, to be produced by Apple and up to now still in trial stage. But In the meantime we have self driving cars already on the road, not from Apple, but from the Skandinavian carmaker Volvo, owned by the Chinese automobile group. Geely. Nowadays no one can say anymore, that our northern friends are only copying tech. In quite some cases they are even leading in new tech..  

Not long ago a convoy of self-driving cars has taken to a public motorway in Spain in normal traffic, a world first. A professional driver took the lead of the convoy in a truck, followed by four self-driven Volvo vehicles and a second truck followed by three. Vehicles in this road train were equipped with safety systems incl cameras, radar and laser sensors, enabling them to monitor the lead vehicle and other vehicles on the road. By adding wireless communication, the vehicles did the same as the lead vehicles using autonomous control - accelerating, braking and turning in exactly the same way as the leading truck. The cars successfully drove for around 120 miles this May on a road outside Barcelona.

One of Volvo’s project managers was filmed driving one of the cars, instructed by the system  to lift the feet from the pedals and then remove the hands from the wheel. As the car drove along the highway at normal speed the project manager demonstratively read a magazine for all to see. It was an incredible feeling to see the reaction of passing drivers, who doubted their senses, when they saw a speedy car with a “driver”, not driving but reading a magazine,

 People tend to think up to now, that autonomous driving is science fiction, but fact is, that the tech has already arrived and works fine. The road train will be around in one form or another for some years to come. It was the first-ever successful test drive of a self-driving road train among other road users,

 The project aims to deliver more comfort for drivers, who can now spend their time doing more important things while driving. They can work on their laptops, read documents or enjoy anything what they may have in mind to do in the car.. The project also aims to improve traffic safety, reduce environmental impact and, thanks to smooth speed control, cut the risk of accidents. The close distance between cars, normally thought to be risky, creates a slipstream that allows the vehicles to use less fuel, with savings of up to 20% depending on spacing and geometry.

 The “Safe Road Trains for the Environment”  is a European Commission co- funded project led by a British engineering and tech firm, who leads a consortium of Spanish, German and Swedish research and development centers and companies. .

 This is the latest status on autonomous driving, but we are moving fast ahead. An autonomous car-sized drone from (again) a Chinese company (Ehang) is cleared to begin testing in Nevada this year.The electric Ehang 184 passenger drone had its debut at this years Las Vegas Consumer Electronic Show and can stay in the air for slightly more than 20 minutes. That’s not long yet, but we will the much longer time spend in the air soon. The first model of Ehang 184 is designed to carry 100kg, fly under 650 feet and cruise for 23 minutes at a speed of 60 miles per hour.

Ehang is cooperating with the Nevada state government in flight testing, training, and development at the state's unmanned aircraft systems test site. The goal for Ehang's is to get regulatory approval soon and bring the drone in a year or so to the market. If everything works out as planned, it will be a first.

 But the latest developments on transportation don’t end here either.. New transport ideas in the making include using vacuum tubes, space elevators and bicycles in the sky. No joke.

 John Hansman a Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) professor of aeronautics and astronautics has a lot more transportation ideas already worked on by research departments of leading tech companies. 

 Vacuum tubes have been eyed to transport humans ever since an American engineer developed a train, that could travel through an evacuated tube around 1909. RAND Corp picked the idea up in the 1970s with its proposal for a very high speed transit system, as vacuum tubes can avoid air resistance and thus allow trains to go very very fast. While the tech is not the problem, the expenses are up to now..

 A further step is a concept of tubes, with continuous flow of air, that can take vehicles along. Already possible, but also not yet financially viable. For his part, Hansman sees the future research will solve costs and energy needs and sees himself getting around with this flow of air in a super-efficient car, plane or even bike 10 or 20 years down the road. If we still have roads by then..

 Space Elevators are expected to use advanced cables based on nanotech to carry a car from Earth to a satellite, the Moon or even another planet (by cable, I'm sure u smile right now). That needs electricity and in space we can only rely on solar and maybe wind. Numerous space elevator concepts have been floated already.  And the arrival of space elevators is expected in the next few years.

Transportation systems have been seeking to incorporate a special  aeronautical effect since long. The effect comes from the fact that airplane wings become more efficient the closer they get to (closer not in) the earth. Many organizations have already proposed concepts with aircraft that never fly higher than 10 or 15 feet. That includes Boeing’s latest large-capacity transport aircraft and Russian aircraft like the Burevestnik-24. This ground effect aircraft can skim over water and ice, reaching a speed of up to 150 miles ph. Such systems could transport people and cargo in all kinds of tough conditions. “It’s not really fast but it would be great for carrying very, very big payloads,” acc Hansman.

 Then we have the Transition aircraft, which is a street car that can also fly. If there is a traffic jam this would help to simply lift from the floor and cross the jam until it can land in a free traffic zone again. I'm sire a dream of many. Acc Hansman the idea is both appealing, but still technically challenging.

 While traditionally seeing traffic from the perspective of a division of underwater ships, above water ships, land and air vehicles we are living in a time where the uses are starting to interlace. This is not only interesting, It is offering creative entrepreneurs a lot of possibilities for the taking.

 How? That’s up to ur creativity and may not be possible here in Nepal, if we don’t change our perception of what is possible. Have a good day.