As an R & D person working in Electric vehicle project for my company, I was very much impressed by the Stackable EV , a compact two seater and 3 wheeler EV that MIT developed a couple of years back. This car could be parked in almost a vertical postion -actually stacked along with the other similar cars. MIT said that such concept will be very popular in the downtown areas where the parking space is at premium. Such EVs could be owned by the local bodies and anybody wishing to hire it could just pull out an EV from the top of stack and after use, leave it at any other such parking stack.
We were so impressed by this concept that we built a similar prototype in our lab.
Today any vehicle that takes less space, easy parking can be a boon to the already crowded city streets. That should be the priority rather than making robotic vehicles.
I my self fantasize about a personal vehicle which can fly along the road . Such concept if successfully built can allow many fold increase in the vehicle density as the vehicles can use different heights along their paths. No question of intersections, or waiting at signals !
If one day we can have a car that can drives itself and will avoid all accidents, then this world will be much more safer. Alot of the accidents on the road are due to reckless, drunk, tired drivers. If we can have an autopilot system that can detect remotely and avoid accidents, I'd be a happy camper
You guys hit it on the head. Right now, there doesn't seem to be any indication from the company that this will be rolled out in any large scale way any time soon. We're destined to sit in cars and in traffic for quite some time unfortunately (well, not me...I don't own a car any more and rely mostly on foot power, pedal power, and the metro when I can't bear the thought of trudging anywhere on a hot, humid August day).
But, I think what's important to note is that there will be pockets of places and people that can really benefit from these kinds of people movers, in whatever form they eventually take shape - airports, connecting main transportation centers, overcrowded downtowns, and, uh, wine country tours through Sonoma or Tuscany (just kidding on the last option). They offer complimentary, environmentally-friendly alternatives to existing modes of travel.
Sure, maintenance on existing infrastructure and related capital expenditure are major considerations for any municipal or regional transportation authority, but at some point you have to wonder when it will be more economically feasible to invest in new technology/transportation systems than funding 100-year antiquated structures that are no longer reliable, efficient, or safe. And, yeah, I get the skittishness around the idea of self-driving vehicles... I have my doubts too...but look at how many different aspects of our routine lives fall under the "supervision" of technology already. It's unavoidable, really.
Yes, that is correct. Technology demonstration is good part. But then you need feedback from citizen for the effectiveness of this technology to make their lives better. Also, there are many safety issues to deal with. I wish the project is successful.
@_hm, I would want to expand the scope of the question, what will be its acceptance level by Citizens. Will citizens feel comfortable when they know that the vehicle is self-driven? Will they show the confidence in the such vehicles?
The question will be how long before we see these in the controlled environment, and then with improvements move into cities?
@Jay_bond, I think this is million dollor question. In my opinion we will see such vehicles in our cities within next 10 years. I feel so because we have all the necessary ingredients to make such vehicles work like GPS, required sensors etc. But we still bigger processors which can do intelligent decisions based on the inputs available.
This is a great article with a nice link to videos of the Pods. I think this is a great idea, particularly for airports and other controlled environments. Currently I don't think this technology would work well at the moment to replace cars on the road. I do think that eventually they will be able to start taking hold in certain metro areas. The question will be how long before we see these in the controlled environment, and then with improvements move into cities?
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.
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.
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