Modern man buys the car he’s buying trip. This plan is Uber Mobility on Demand, which makes sense to adopt such companies as Google, Apple and everything else not related to cars. Even Daimler with Car2Go/Car2Come, BMW with DriveNow and GM with Lyft plan to sell travel, not cars, because it is more profitable.
What will be the car of the future? There is no universal answer, because in this world the vehicle you need will be associated with your trip. The more people travel, the more car. If your trip runs along the road, you will need an SUV. If you climb the mountain, you also will need an SUV, but you’ll never take it to go for bread. To travel around the resort on a Sunny day better suited to a convertible. If you go camping, it is better to bring a trailer.
You can say a lot about changes in car design, but today we’ll focus on an incredibly simple and cheap design of the car, which will have become the most common urban transport: a car designed for short trips of one person in the city. It’s about 80% of trips and 45% of the total mileage, so to talk about it. Every year a car of this plan will be more — more than the cars that we produced at the moment.
What would it be?
…small
Car for 1-2 persons will be small. Probably 1,5 meters wide, narrow enough that you can put two in a line and effectively to Park, when he would have to wait. Car one will not be too large. For two configuration of the “face to face” is longer and the configuration of the “tandem” for short. Transport two will no longer or heavier than the transport one, so the first option should be more common.
A narrow car would not be able to turn quickly. A wide option is much more stable. There are several solutions to this, including a combination of the following:
- The wheels are fixed independently, allowing the vehicle to lean like a motorcycle, turning at an angle. This is the best solution, but it requires extra investment.
- You can use two-wheeled transport, which will also be able to quickly rotate, but will require additional mechanisms to maintain an explicit provision like the LIT Motors C-1.
- It will be electric transport, all the batteries which will be the floor providing a low center of gravity.
- He will never go on a fast road, so he does not need to turn quickly; an automatic system will never allow it to accelerate so that it will become unstable and will plot a route according to this.
…no aerodynamics
This car is already winning in aerodynamics by reducing width by half. Off-road version will forget all about the aerodynamics, because you don’t have to ride fast. The energy loss due to air resistance is directly proportional to increases with speed. So a car with a speed of 50 km/h will have ¼ the resistance of the vehicle at a speed of 100 km/h and ⅛ of the resistance from similar car full width. High-speed (highway) vehicles will have to be as similar to a “drop”, but city traffic can be quite high, so it was nice to sit and get into it.
The most efficient and safe design will drop with sitting backwards passengers, although many do not like to sit backwards. But in the case of a direct collision is the better position.
…electric
You don’t care what goes on in your taxi, and Director of the company is very, for many reasons urban transport of the future must be electric. Reducing emissions from the exhaust pipe, reducing the overall pollution, it has come to this. The main disadvantage of the switch to electricity will be downtime while charging. Passenger cares little; you’ll never see it. The issue could be resolved by acquiring a larger number of vehicles, replacement of the battery or accidental recharging on the go during the day.
An electric engine is incredibly simple compared to today’s situation. This car of the future will be much fewer moving parts compared to any petrol car. It will be to experiment and easier to maintain. It has everything you need (and need little). He works quietly and smoothly. As the fall in the cost of batteries will reduce the level of anxiety and resentment about batteries.
…much easier (and cheaper)
As well as the electric powertrain has far fewer parts than gasoline, it will be easier and the car is based on it. Despite the fact that there will be versions are and less expensive, many common items from cars will disappear. “Box on wheels with a chair” for a short city trip will be the best description.
Body. Some customers will certainly need some style, but the overall body of the car of the future will be simple. Perhaps only the door — the car is parked so that the door pointed in the right direction. If it is a tourist transport, it is possible the wide windshield, but the rest will be easier and safer to have a segmented window.
Self-driving car (LIDAR) do not need lights, only the small lights so that other cars could see. He wouldn’t move on dark rural trails, just around town. The electric car will not need a grille. The trunk will not be — things can be folded inside, and what is there to add?
Yes, it will be the site of attachment of robotic sensors.
We may need the side Windows that will want to drop, and locks that you can control, but Windows will be much easier. The side window without the door it will be much easier to do.
Of course, no side mirrors and rear view mirrors are not needed. But it’s already inside.
Interior. The seats can be Spartan or luxurious but they don’t have much to move. When you’re in the car alone, enough to liberate the maximum space for legs. Luxury cars can turn on the motors, so you can recline, but since the trip will be short, those features are just irrelevant, not needed. Armrests can be fixed.
You will need a place where you can fold your odds and ends, for example, coasters for drinks, and charging stations for your devices, as well as a convenient place at your feet to put bags up there.
Will a folding table, as well as the screen. For security reasons, ports for mouse or keyboard should not be (to you inadvertently broke into the car), but the small built-in computer may be. The screen will be enough that you could transfer the picture from your device at it, if you want to watch video or work.
The glove box is not needed, because to keep things in this car, you won’t. But there may be a small locker with useful materials that people need — towels, napkins, booklets, first aid kit.
Dashboard. What this dashboard it will not do is controls. They will disappear completely. You will use your own phone for entertainment and access to information and to communicate with the car. Should be a small tablet, showing background information and allows you to take control in situations where the phone will not help.
Although you will need to be some standardization, it would be nice to implement a slot that could take most phones and tablets to provide them with wireless charging, the connection to the screen and a one-way data channel from the vehicle. (For security purposes, the system of driving that your phone will be limited). It is possible that the car will be able to offer better mobile coverage, as he will need a good data transmission channel, and hence the antenna. On the other hand, you will have a new phone with a better connection.
Perhaps, future cars will have an emergency control for an emergency like the steering wheel or the joystick. Hardly you will allow to accelerate with this control, just in case, you never know. A car that will travel out of town, can be equipped with additional management tools to drive on muddy roads or out of range.
How about a cool speaker system? Well, people will want to listen to music and watch video in cars, and motors will be much less noisy. On the other hand, a good pair of headphones can solve all problems remain to add a small subwoofer or elements of the vibration in the chair. This would be easy.
In most budget cars do not will — neither the screen nor the headphones — and they still fulfil their task. In the end, you will not spend hours sitting in traffic jams — 15 minutes a day is enough. Even the series of the beloved series will not have time to look.
Climate. We want climate control, but robotaxi offer interesting alternatives. Heat probably will come from the cooling system of the battery, but cooling, for example, can be done much easier. Pre-loaded ice or other refrigerant will be enough to support the transport in the cold for an hour or two. Then fall asleep again. Because of the short trips you do not know how this magic is happening, but this may be a better air conditioner, exhaust battery.
A small electric taxi may be granted permission to enter inside the buildings, so you’ll get in the car and leave it in places with climate control, which in turn will reduce the need for powerful climate control system inside the car.
The drive systems. The car will lose items such as pedals or steering column, but some legacy will remain. Will need two back-up steering system and two backup braking system, because in case of failure no one can fix it. You will also need sensors and computers for self-government.
The suspension will also change. The expensive cars are the suspension will be better, but overall — who needs it? Who needs a smooth road if you will be spending on it 15 minutes a day? And since you won’t hold the wheel, you won’t even notice the shaking.
General picture. City car of the future will be smaller and simpler, with fewer moving parts and very unlike the usual us cars. It would be easy, electric and effective.
Simpler, smaller and lighter become cheaper. Much cheaper. When a set of computers and sensors will drop to $ 1000, and the batteries will fall to $ 150 per kWh, this car will be much cheaper than traditional cars.
Cheaper to make, cheaper to sell. Drive in such a car can be a cheaper cab ride today. Billions of people are forced to walk or use public transport, will have access to the transport of the future: cheap and nimble city car.
