Sometimes I can't help but feel like I'm witnessing the real-world arrival of The Jetsons, a science fiction cartoon I watched with an embarrassing amount of regularity as a kid.
In my lifetime, huge leaps forward have been made with computers, robots, the Internet, smartphones, digital cameras, tablets, MP3 players, electric cars, monorails, renewable energy sources, and other Space Age-type products that seemed light years away when I was young. Now, there's yet another high-tech wonder to swoon over: the Personal Rapid Transit (PRT) system.
Talk of this has been around for some time, but it's leaving the fantasy realm this summer and becoming a tangible transportation mode at, of all places, England's Heathrow Airport. ULTra PRT of Bristol, England, recently opened and will operate the world's first commercial PRT at the busy airport. Twenty-two futuristic-looking electric autopilot pods -- with room for four people and their luggage -- will shuttle 800 passengers a day back and forth from parking lots to the British Airways Terminal 5, according to reports and airport information.
The pods measure 3.7 meters long, 1.47 meters wide, and 1.8 meters tall. They can reach a maximum speed of 40 kilometers per hour (25mph). Here are photos and videos of the vehicle, along with some more specs from ULTra:
ULTra vehicles use a laser sensor system to guide the vehicles on the guideway and in the stations.
Vehicles are in constant wireless communication with the control centre but can navigate fully autonomously if communications is disrupted.
Vehicles are charged via electrical contacts at station berths or at offline waiting points. Power is currently stored in lead-acid batteries, which allow for rapid charging (up to 150 amps) and are easily recyclable.
The vehicles are designed to be upgradable to future energy-storage technologies such as hydrogen fuel cells, ultracapacitors, flywheels, and different battery chemistries.
They're not likely to replace (nor have they been designed to replace) cars, trains, buses, monorails, or other road infrastructure anytime soon. However, similar projects are on the drawing board, with a fair number of them being planned within a stone's throw of Silicon Valley. According to ULTra, planners are reviewing PRT systems in several California locations, including Alameda, Cupertino, Mountain View, San Jose, and Santa Cruz. There are also reviews taking place in North Carolina, New York, Oregon, Virginia, and Alberta. In many cases, the plans would use the vehicles to link transportation hubs, parking lots, university campuses, and key commercial or downtown centers.
What does this mean for high-tech engineers and supply chain managers? The future is now, and the future of urban planning and transportation alternatives will bring with it a need for any number of electronic components and high-tech planning and management expertise. Surely, too, OEM competition will increase if and when PRT becomes a familiar household phrase (like Rosie the Robot or video phones), and qualified suppliers could make or break any of these initiatives.
Tell me if and how you've been involved in any of these futuristic-style projects, either with up-and-coming transportation systems or other urban sci-fi proposals, and how supply chain expertise has been or will be valuable.
This is really a bright future in transportation, an alternative to traffic jams, something every major city should have. Traffic is still one of the biggest problems and this could revolutionize mass transit. Instead of waiting around for trains, buses, taxis you could hop on one of these right away and go where you need to go.
With the cost of fuel rising higher and higher we need to do something with public transport and I imagine pilotless vehicles are not far off in many different areas. These small pods are cute but a bit claustrophobic last time a rode in one. We supply interior lighting components to similar systems and the market does seem to be growing.
Oddly enough I just spotted this bit of history I couldn't resist sharing along this line. Today in 1902 then U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt became the first president in office to ride in a car...and electric one at that. He was on a midterm campaign tour of New England at the time, and the motorcar in question was a purple-lined Columbia Electric Victoria Phaeton; the Columbia Motor-Carriage Company was located in Hartford, CT. The Victoria's top speed was about 13 MPH.
The Victoria, like around half of the cars in production at that time, was electric. Wish I could tell you who supplied the components, but my research didn't go that deep!
A new report shows that most of the worrisome issues that the supply chain industry has been dealing with for years are not new, but there are some new concerns that need answers. Here’s a look at what keeps supply chain professionals up at night.
When it comes to shipping supplies from China to Europe, trains might be the most cost-effective way companies have available to them. DHL is looking to jump on that bandwagon.
For many dealing with the enormous task of tracking,
reporting, and resolving issues associated with
potential counterfeit parts, there is a collective
hope that 2013 will bring clearer guidance on what
needs to be done by whom and when.
A necessary foundation for moving efficiently at real-time speed, supply chain analytics is still very much at the beginning stages of development at many companies.
EBN Dialogue enables and encourages you to participate in live chats with notable leaders and luminaries. Not only editors and journalists, but the entire EBN community is able to comment and ask questions. Listed below are upcoming and archived chats.
Archived Dialogues
Thailand Stages a Comeback Join EBN contributor Jennifer Baljko on Thursday August 23, 2012, at 11:00 a.m. EST for a live chat on how electronic manufacturers in Thailand have shored up their supply chain to reduce the impact of future natural disasters.
Euro-Crisis: What It Means for High-Tech Firms Join EBN Editor in Chief Bolaji Ojo and Contributing Editor Jennifer Baljko on Thursday, July 12, at 10:00 a.m. EDT for a Live Chat on high-tech and Europe's economic difficulties.
Microsoft Surface: Potential Winners & Losers What are the implications for the electronics industry supply chain of Microsoft Corp.'s decision to launch its own tablet PC? Join industry veteran and EE Times' systems and OEM expert Rick Merritt on Tuesday, July 3, at 12:00 pm EDT for a Live Chat on this subject.
Join EBN contributor Jennifer Baljko on Thursday August 23, 2012, at 11:00 a.m. EST for a live chat on how electronic manufacturers in Thailand have shored up their supply chain to reduce the impact of future natural disasters.
Peter Drucker famously said "Trying to predict the future is like trying to drive down a country road at night with no lights while looking out the back window." Yet in the razor's-edge world of electronics—with a lean supply chain and just-in-time demands—the need to know the future is vital.
While no one really can accurately predict the future, we can take guidance from another Drucker saying which is the best way to predict the future is to create it.
You've heard the saying "the No. 1 supply chain risk is your people." That hasn't always been the case. But today's complex global supply chain requires a new type of multitalented employee. It's one who understands, finance, marketing, economics, is savvy with technology, graceful with relationships and can think analytically.
Where are these people? Are universities properly preparing the next generation supply chain professionals? How do train your existing workforce for these new, demanding positions?
Brian Fuller, editor-in-chief of EBN, will lead a 60-minute Avnet Velocity panel discussion that will ask and answer these and other questions swirling around today's supply-chain talent challenges.
To save this item to your list of favorite EBN content so you can find it later in your Profile page, click the "Save It" button next to the item.
If you found this interesting or useful, please use the links to the services below to share it with other readers. You will need a free account with each service to share an item via that service.
Tweet This