Cover Story: FUTURE OF MOBILITY

Words by Gabriel Pe

When we think about the future of mobility, we often think of flying cars, automated driving, and in some cases, high-speed tube travel. Science fiction imagery of future mobility modes has been unchanged since the early 1900s, and these futuristic ideas have yet to materialize.

Well, that is until now.

Recent development and technological breakthroughs are slowly turning yesterday’s future visions into reality. with prototypes of hyperloop and vacuum trains, flying cars, and the notorious driverless cars giving us a preview of an exciting future.

LETTING GO OF CONTROL: AUTOMATED DRIVING

Automated driving is one of the ideas that are even now fast becoming a reality. In fact, American electric vehicle maker Tesla has started rolling out its autopilot software, although it still needs driver supervision. German autogiant Mercedes has also included a Driver Pilot program in its 2021 S-Class. Japanese giant Toyota’s e-Pallete is a driverless shuttle that was supposed to transport Olympic athletes to and from Tokyo for the Olympics.

Self-driving cars utilize the different sensors and instruments found inside the car to map its surroundings. Usually, a specialized AI is included in the car to process all that complex data, so it can safely navigate on its own.

Included in the myriad of sensors are LiDar sensors, radars, sonar, GPS, odometer (of course), and other similar inertial measuring sensors. On the road, the car utilizes the road lines to stay on course while the rest of the sensors note the surroundings like other cars, road hazards, and objects on the road while adjusting your speed to avoid a collision.

Still, these sensors aren’t perfect. Just this year, Tesla found itself in hot water with reports of crashes involving their vehicles with their Autopilot software engaged. The company earlier noted that the software still needed driver supervision. In 2018, Uber faced legal scrutiny when their automated car trial killed a pedestrian. These accidents have delayed the self-driving car roll-out for a good reason. The delay means companies are continuing research in improving the safety of both passengers and passersby.

The delay doesn’t mean we won’t have selfdriving cars soon. Most of the new special safety features found in brand new cars, such as adaptive cruise control, lane stay assist, and many more, are in themselves core features of self-driving cars. However, this doesn’t mean you can take your eye off the road; these aren’t foolproof, so it’s best to stay aware to be safe.

THE ROAD TO THE SKY: FLYING CARS

Man has long dreamt of flight, but he also desires speed. Naturally, these two would push forward one of man’s long-held dreams for the future, a flying car.

Whenever we talk of the future of transport, flying cars have always stood atop the wishlist. It embodies the goal of personal flight. Despite what we might think, flying cars are now a possibility, just not in the shape and form we might have imagined.

Just last June, a Slovakian company Klein Vision, successfully carried out a 35-minute airport to airport test flight of its AirCar, that included traveling on the highway to the airport. The AirCar had narrow wings which folded on the side when on-road mode but behind is the huge tail to stabilize it during flight. In terms of flight, the AirCar functions more like airplane, needing enough space to use as a runway to take off, thus not the most efficient way of achieving flight.

Still, there’s another concept for flying cars.

In CES 2021, General Motors (GM) revealed their concept of a flying car, a drone-like vehicle that does not need a runway to take flight. This Vertical Take-off and Landing Vehicle (VTOL) is akin to a helicopter. Aside from GM, Uber is also looking to use eVTOLs as future flying taxis, able to land right on top of your condo. One of the downsides of this form of flight is the noise produced from the blades, so designs are looking at more “fans” to lessen the noise and lift produced from a single one.

Among the three futuristic transport choices, flying cars are still the most marginal in terms of mass production. Aside from safety concerns, a lot is still needed to allow flying cars in our skies. There’s the matter of logistics concern and, of course, new infrastructure specifically designed for these vehicles. But with the recent successes of prototype testing and companies increasingly interested in pursuing flight, we may see the flying car of our dreams in our lifetime.

THE FUTURE OF MASS TRANSPORT AND LOGISTICS: THE HYPERLOOP

If you’ve ever watched a period film set in Victorian or Edwardian England, you might have seen tubes running around buildings sending packages and telegrams. These tubes are called Pneumatic Transport Tubes, which used air pressure and vacuum to transport goods. These are the longstanding inspiration for vacuum trains which have captured the imagination for ultrafast travel. No, they’re not steampunk nor sci-fi, it’s real, and we may see them in action in some time soon.

Vacuum trains (vactrain) aim to push past normal speed limits by using Magnetic Levitation (MagLev) and a vacuum tunnel to eliminate any air resistance. In theory, Vactrains will reach top speeds of more than 5000mph or more than 8000kph.

Unfortunately, Vactrains are still a dream waiting to become reality. With the complexity of creating a large enough vacuum tunnel, plus the fact that its sheer speed isn’t survivable for humans, no prototype of a Vactrain has been tested. But researchers are confident that in the future, the Vactrain may be a technological possibility with human passengers.

The word Hyperloop is attributed to tech pioneer Elon Musk when he used to describe what he envisions a fifth mode of transport, far faster than airplanes and maglev trains. But the concept of the Hyperloop does stem from the idea of a Vactrain. Unlike Vacuum Trains, Hyperloop technology doesn’t completely run on a vacuum; instead, it still has a thin layer of air inside the tunnel.

The Hyperloop technology also relies on a low pressured tube and maglev. It uses the little air as part of its railing technology, using it to completely remove friction along with a maglev powered by a linear motor. It is a bit complicated to explain, so to visualize how it works, you only need to look at an air hockey game. In air hockey, the puck is not completely resting on the table; instead, tiny air holes are blowing beneath it to levitate it ever so slightly that there is no friction between the puck and the table.

Unlike Vactrains, several companies are now working on Hyperloop prototypes, and some have already completed human testing. Musk’s SpaceX hyperloop has successfully transferred a car on a platform several kilometers in their California research facility as proof of concept. Richard Branson’s Virgin Hyperloop has completed a human trial of their own capsule and tube last November but not to the full 1223kph that it is rated to go.

Still, hyperloops aren’t quite here yet, and we still need several more years of testing before we see the groundwork of the first commercial Hyperloop tunnel.