Technology for Mobility
1. Introduction
Transportation innovations are being driven by modern advances in wireless technologies, especially mobile and data communications. This paper argues that by incorporating smart and/or intelligent systems into the transportation network while embracing and integrating emerging wireless communication technologies, we can address these problems through the development of systems that will provide for safe, efficient, and convenient use of the nation’s transportation systems. These systems will also serve to address the needs of expanding the new “On Demand Society” where the consumer expects to have the ability to obtain goods and services anytime, anywhere. This new paradigm for transportation will challenge traditional notions of mobility and transportation services. We begin with an examination of newer emerging wireless communications technologies that are fostering this revolution and then describe the iterative and symbiotic development of intelligent transportation system (ITS) applications using wireless technologies and how these technologies can be used to improve transportation services, public transportation, and goods delivery. High-speed wireless access will be the enabling technology for many of these new systems and applications. On the whole, this evolution is and will continue to lead to a new era of intelligent transportation services and a redefined notion of mobility in the 21st century.
2. Advancements in Transportation Technology
New on the horizon are MagLev trains, which float above the track through the use of magnet repulsion and are pulled along by linear induction motors. Although currently limited to specific track types, this technology promises to rid the world of high maintenance costs associated with wheel and track-based systems.
Recent advances in train technology are centered on increasing reliability and decreasing maintenance costs. High-speed trains are the most recent in a long line of hurried attempts to escape the slow and agitating method that is train travel. With travel speeds of up to 300 mph (although in tests speeds of over 500 mph have been achieved), high-speed trains are the fastest method of land travel. The primary high-speed train type in the world is the Japanese-designed Shinkansen, though the French TGV is making attempts to wrestle away the top spot.
The world of transportation technology is an ever-advancing field. While the simple machine, the wheel, has been refined to maximize efficiency and speed (excluding new advances in transportation technology, which operate on the principle that a wheel is not needed), starting with the relative infancy of steam-powered trains and evolving into the fast and efficient electric trains today and MagLev trains of tomorrow. Technologies such as these allow the efficient transportation of people across great distances with the minimum fuss possible.
3. Impact of Technology on Mobility
Perhaps a more profound effect of faster travel has been the acceleration of the pace of life for individuals at a micro level, with the expectation that tasks be completed in the shortest time possible and the ability to use time saved from travel effectively in employment or other activities. This has led to increased expectations for mobility and increased multitasking behavior. An interesting discussion is arising on a form of forced multitasking in travel manners such as driving and the potential for increased automated vehicle travel to allow individuals to better use travel time in working and communication using mobile and internet-connected devices.
There have been both positive and negative consequences of technological advancements on travel in society. Increased speed of travel has the obvious benefit of decreasing travel time, thus giving people the ability to move more frequently between distant locations and minimizing the time constraints of travel. This is especially evident with the development of high-speed rail and air travel in the past 50 years.
The profound changes accompanying technological developments in all areas of everyday life have been evident in the past few years, especially with the proliferation of personal computing and smart mobile communication devices. The impact of these technologies on mobility in society has been significant and complex. Generally, mobility can be viewed as the ability to move from one location to another, irrespective of scale or context, and technology has increased this ability in a variety of ways.
4. Future Trends in Mobility Technology
A more recent study by the New American Foundation has identified key trends in the global vehicle transportation system that will inevitably lead to a widening of the gap between poor and rich countries in terms of mobility technology. This, in itself, has future implications for the globalization of transportation and international business. The trends identified are as follows.
Recently, there has been a lot of excitement about hybrid cars. These are essentially high-tech vehicles that utilize both electricity and gasoline to reduce emissions and fuel usage. Toyota and Honda have already released hybrid sedans and are planning to release larger vehicles like SUVs or minivans in the near future. Some newer companies, such as Fisker or Tesla, are developing “plug-in hybrids” and entirely electric vehicles. The development of these vehicles is still in its early stages, as they are costly to produce and the infrastructure is not yet in place for widespread use. However, these are promising technologies, especially for countries like Japan or developing nations that are trying to reduce emissions.
The concept of mobility has changed dramatically since the invention of the automobile. Future developments will change the concept of “personal transport” even further. Various future concepts, such as flying cars, intelligent roadways, and even more novel approaches, will redefine the way we perceive and utilize personal transportation.
5. Conclusion
Reconfigurable manufacturing systems are known to have potential benefits in a wide range of manufacturing sectors. This has been well-documented and discussed. ATLaS will focus primarily on the automotive and aerospace sectors in order to better coordinate the research efforts within a consortium consisting of seven universities and some 33 researchers. The impact on these industries may be through the exploitation of technologies developed by the consortium members, or it may well be through the demonstration of the feasibility and benefits with a view to future investment from industry. The life cycle and scenario planning work will leverage strong relationships between technical and domain-specific partners within the aerospace industry. This part of the work is to be commended, and upon success, the research team anticipates strong interest for further development and customization of technologies for industry applications. Evidently, the UK aerospace manufacturing industry will benefit from any technologies that are shown to reduce cost or increase agility of its manufacturing systems. This applies in particular to low volume and high-value products, although it is known that there is a trend towards such products in order to improve the environmental performance of future air travel. Simulation and scheduling work with automotive industry partners will largely be focused on specific problem-solving to improve existing systems.
The final chapter offers a variety of industry and/or market-driven scenarios for the potential development and deployment of the manufacturing systems to be researched and developed in the ATLaS project. In all cases, it is believed that the technologies developed will have an impact and potential for commercialization within the UK and beyond. Simulation and planning tools incorporating user and task models have potential applications across a broad range of process, discrete, and continuous manufacturing. This is seen as an enabling technology for the improvement of existing systems and for the design and optimization of new systems prior to their physical realization.
