Part 2
Concept for the future of transportation.
By Steve McGugan - December 21, 2021
Moving from A to B
Next time you are driving through your city, take notice of how many cars are parked on the streets. In some places there are just as many cars parked on the street as there are driving. These parked cars are taking up space and are not contributing to help move people from point A to point B. This is a very ineffective use of resources that we need to re-think.
How could the future of physical transportation be more effective, environmentally friendly, and above all safer?
In part 1 of my exploration on how we could transport ourselves in the future, I focused on how we could transport our sense to any place on our planet in a matter of seconds. In part 2, I look at how we could physically transport ourselves from point A to point B.
The Sensory Transport System (STS) scenario is maybe not for everyone, as I am sure there still will be people that want or need to physically travel. How could we do that in the future?
I remember when I was a teenager in the 1970’s, I envisioned that in the year 2000 we would be driving around in cars that floated on air. When I submitted my portfolio for acceptance to the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, Ca., I drew only cars without wheels. I got accepted to the school, I’m sure not because of my drawing talent, but because of my forward thinking.
But I was very disappointed when the year 2000 arrived and we were nowhere near achieving my vision. This has shown me that major changes - of this nature take a long, long time.
At present we have cars, motorcycles, trains, planes, and boats to transport us physically from point A to point B. Some get us faster to our destinations then others, and they all need fuel of different kinds to get the machine to move and they all pollute our planet.
Since the automobile was invented, it has given individuals the freedom to transport themselves quickly from A to B.
Cars have become status symbols, as well as necessary tools for our daily lives. They have also been responsible for forming our cities and infrastructure. Public transportation help’s many people that can’t afford a car to travel to their desired destinations, but the threat of spreading diseases makes public transportation a weak link in stopping this problem.
At the moment there are many different solutions being explored on how we could transport ourselves from point A to point B in the near future such as, flying cars, autonomous drones, the Hyperloop project. These are ok at present as we will always need to try out new concepts using the best technology, we have now to see if they will be practical and/or accepted by society. But in my eyes, they all are not looking far enough ahead.
My future prediction: In the future NOBODY will own their own car.
Physical transportation will all be based on a need-to-use concept (or as we call it today, car sharing). Not everybody will want to or need to transport themselves physically to another spot. Some will be satisfied with the STS solution. Physical transportation will be available to everyone in the world. Therefore, there is no need to own your own vehicle. And all transportation vehicles will have the same design, on the outside.
How could the future of physical transportation be more effective, environmentally friendly, and above all safer?
In part 1 of my exploration on how we could transport ourselves in the future, I focused on how we could transport our sense to any place on our planet in a matter of seconds. In part 2, I look at how we could physically transport ourselves from point A to point B.
The Sensory Transport System (STS) scenario is maybe not for everyone, as I am sure there still will be people that want or need to physically travel. How could we do that in the future?
I remember when I was a teenager in the 1970’s, I envisioned that in the year 2000 we would be driving around in cars that floated on air. When I submitted my portfolio for acceptance to the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, Ca., I drew only cars without wheels. I got accepted to the school, I’m sure not because of my drawing talent, but because of my forward thinking.
But I was very disappointed when the year 2000 arrived and we were nowhere near achieving my vision. This has shown me that major changes - of this nature take a long, long time.
At present we have cars, motorcycles, trains, planes, and boats to transport us physically from point A to point B. Some get us faster to our destinations then others, and they all need fuel of different kinds to get the machine to move and they all pollute our planet.
Since the automobile was invented, it has given individuals the freedom to transport themselves quickly from A to B.
Cars have become status symbols, as well as necessary tools for our daily lives. They have also been responsible for forming our cities and infrastructure. Public transportation help’s many people that can’t afford a car to travel to their desired destinations, but the threat of spreading diseases makes public transportation a weak link in stopping this problem.
At the moment there are many different solutions being explored on how we could transport ourselves from point A to point B in the near future such as, flying cars, autonomous drones, the Hyperloop project. These are ok at present as we will always need to try out new concepts using the best technology, we have now to see if they will be practical and/or accepted by society. But in my eyes, they all are not looking far enough ahead.
My future prediction: In the future NOBODY will own their own car.
Physical transportation will all be based on a need-to-use concept (or as we call it today, car sharing). Not everybody will want to or need to transport themselves physically to another spot. Some will be satisfied with the STS solution. Physical transportation will be available to everyone in the world. Therefore, there is no need to own your own vehicle. And all transportation vehicles will have the same design, on the outside.
"In the future NOBODY will own their own car."
Steve McGugan
More and more people are moving to the cities, and at present, in many big cities around the world, owning your own car is becoming less important to the younger generation. There is, of course, an advantage to not owning a car in big cities as it is becoming a major problem of where to park your car.
If you think about it, why do we design cars to look different? In reality we very seldom see the outside of our car. We see it for a few minutes when we get in or out of the car. We can’t see what the car looks like while we are driving it. So why spend all that energy to create sculptural objects on wheels?
One reason is that car manufactures want to create an image for both themselves as well as for the consumer. Another factor is that it helps us find our car among other cars when parked. Simple but true.
In the future all transportation will be autonomous (level 5). This will eliminate human error that causes traffic accidents, traffic jams, & road rage. It will enable us to travel in a much more relaxed & safe manner than today.
And there will be no parked cars to see anywhere in our cities or urban areas.
As I see it, in order for the world to achieve autonomous transportation on an effective and safe level, there will need to be only 1 or 2 manufactures that produce the protocol or platform that controls all the vehicles in the world. I realize that this is a situation that is not desirable in a capitalistic world, but if we don’t have a world-wide common solution on how autonomous transportation should function and communicate with their surroundings and with each other, we will continue to have traffic related deaths and traffic jams. Therefore, a common world-wide communication platform needs to be developed and all autonomous travel must use only one platform.
At the moment (in 2021) talk about autonomous transportation seems to have come to a halt. The reason being, how to solve and agree upon all the moral issues concerning who is responsible if the car makes a wrong decision, or a decision that is right for the people in the car, but not for the people on the street, resulting in death. There is an on-going world-wide study called Moral Machine, which aims to gather information on people’s perspectives on moral decisions made by intelligent machines, such as self-driving cars. The technical problems enabling a vehicle to drive by itself are being solved, but all the moral issues relating to different life and death scenarios that can arise when a self-driving car must make its own decisions need to be agreed-upon across different cultures and throughout the world for us to achieve a world with safe autonomous transportation.
Therefore, when I look at the task at hand, what is needed is for the automobile manufactures to start to work together with each other as well as work together with city planners to develop a more effective and safer transportation infrastructure.
A system that would enable us to travel individually (or in small groups) but at the same time function similar to a public transportation system. An individual public transportation infrastructure for the world.
The ideal solution would be to design our cities from scratch around a futuristic transport system. But I don’t see that as being realistic. Our cities´ infrastructures have been developing for hundreds of years, and therefore, starting from scratch is only possible when you decide to build a completely new city. We will continue to have our major cities, and therefore, we will need to develop an autonomous transport system that can maneuver through the streets of our existing infrastructure.
At present, automobiles manufactures are supplying a product that causes major environmental impact on our planet, as well as major traffic problems in cities, without taking responsibility in helping to solve these issues.
Of course, as I write this, the automobile industry is producing more environmentally friendly vehicles that run on electricity, but they are leaving the charging solutions up to the consumer or the local city planners and electrical companies when this service is so important for their product to even function. Tesla was the first company selling electric cars to see, that in order for them to have a successful product they would also need to provide a charging infrastructure for the users to be able to drive from A to B. This is also now the case with Volkswagen (in 2021): they have also decided to help build a charging infrastructure for their vehicles. In general, the automobile industry needs to re-evaluate what kind of services they will provide when selling their products in the future.
But as I mentioned in my future scenario, nobody will own their own vehicle.
If you think about it, why do we design cars to look different? In reality we very seldom see the outside of our car. We see it for a few minutes when we get in or out of the car. We can’t see what the car looks like while we are driving it. So why spend all that energy to create sculptural objects on wheels?
One reason is that car manufactures want to create an image for both themselves as well as for the consumer. Another factor is that it helps us find our car among other cars when parked. Simple but true.
In the future all transportation will be autonomous (level 5). This will eliminate human error that causes traffic accidents, traffic jams, & road rage. It will enable us to travel in a much more relaxed & safe manner than today.
And there will be no parked cars to see anywhere in our cities or urban areas.
As I see it, in order for the world to achieve autonomous transportation on an effective and safe level, there will need to be only 1 or 2 manufactures that produce the protocol or platform that controls all the vehicles in the world. I realize that this is a situation that is not desirable in a capitalistic world, but if we don’t have a world-wide common solution on how autonomous transportation should function and communicate with their surroundings and with each other, we will continue to have traffic related deaths and traffic jams. Therefore, a common world-wide communication platform needs to be developed and all autonomous travel must use only one platform.
At the moment (in 2021) talk about autonomous transportation seems to have come to a halt. The reason being, how to solve and agree upon all the moral issues concerning who is responsible if the car makes a wrong decision, or a decision that is right for the people in the car, but not for the people on the street, resulting in death. There is an on-going world-wide study called Moral Machine, which aims to gather information on people’s perspectives on moral decisions made by intelligent machines, such as self-driving cars. The technical problems enabling a vehicle to drive by itself are being solved, but all the moral issues relating to different life and death scenarios that can arise when a self-driving car must make its own decisions need to be agreed-upon across different cultures and throughout the world for us to achieve a world with safe autonomous transportation.
Therefore, when I look at the task at hand, what is needed is for the automobile manufactures to start to work together with each other as well as work together with city planners to develop a more effective and safer transportation infrastructure.
A system that would enable us to travel individually (or in small groups) but at the same time function similar to a public transportation system. An individual public transportation infrastructure for the world.
The ideal solution would be to design our cities from scratch around a futuristic transport system. But I don’t see that as being realistic. Our cities´ infrastructures have been developing for hundreds of years, and therefore, starting from scratch is only possible when you decide to build a completely new city. We will continue to have our major cities, and therefore, we will need to develop an autonomous transport system that can maneuver through the streets of our existing infrastructure.
At present, automobiles manufactures are supplying a product that causes major environmental impact on our planet, as well as major traffic problems in cities, without taking responsibility in helping to solve these issues.
Of course, as I write this, the automobile industry is producing more environmentally friendly vehicles that run on electricity, but they are leaving the charging solutions up to the consumer or the local city planners and electrical companies when this service is so important for their product to even function. Tesla was the first company selling electric cars to see, that in order for them to have a successful product they would also need to provide a charging infrastructure for the users to be able to drive from A to B. This is also now the case with Volkswagen (in 2021): they have also decided to help build a charging infrastructure for their vehicles. In general, the automobile industry needs to re-evaluate what kind of services they will provide when selling their products in the future.
But as I mentioned in my future scenario, nobody will own their own vehicle.
"In order for the world to achieve autonomous transportation on an effective and safe level, there will need to be only 1 or 2 manufactures that produce the protocol or platform that controls all the vehicles in the world."
Steve McGugan
The concept.
Recent studies show that between 25 to 35 percent of the world’s population have a fear of flying, and to be honest, all those Si-Fi movies that show us flying around in vehicles high up in between buildings just doesn’t make sense to me. We are land creatures, and this is where we are most comfortable. Therefore, I see the future of physical transportation on different levels, physically. All human transportation will be held close the ground, while transportation of goods such as food & products will be done with drones on a level higher up, and larger things such as construction parts and larger quantities of goods will take place at an even higher level above the ground. The drones used in the two levels higher up will also be autonomous and will not need any human beings inside them, as they will be pre-programmed as to where to go.
The next major thing we all need in the future of transportation is a clean self-generating power source. This should be one of our major goals to achieve. And even better, a power source that would enable vehicles & drones to levitate and move silently thru the air.
This clean power source combined with levitating vehicles would have many advantages. It would do away with having to use any kind of fossil fuels, eliminating global pollution. It would eliminate noise pollution. It would eliminate the micro plastic pollution created from tier wear, which is a major contributor to the micro plastics found in our oceans and in the air. And it would eliminate accidents related to snow and ice on roads; the vehicles would never touch these slippery surfaces.
Levitating cars have been dreamed of since the 50’s, and I have been dreaming about this idea since the 70’s and I still hope we could achieve this in the future.
How this special power source will work, I have no idea, but this is my design brief for scientist around the world. I do have maybe a suggestion though; it could be a solution that works together with earth’s gravity. This is a source that is everywhere on our planet, so no one country would have a monopoly on it. It is a source that can’t be mined or depleted, so hopefully, it won’t run out. And it would be free for everyone to use.
Another important fact regarding physical transportation is that it is a decisive act that we all take into consideration each day. Once you decide that you want to move yourself from point A to point B you already know where you want to go. This information is of great help in designing a future transportation system. The thought information from a person could be sent to a vehicle before the person even gets into it, to help to coordinate where each vehicle in the system/city is going, and how long it will take to get from point A to point B.
For example: A daily scenario in the future of level 5 autonomous travel.
Mr. Jones needs to physically transport himself from point A to point B. He lives in a house in the suburbs. He thinks about where he wants to go and in what type of interior, he would like to interact with inside the transportation pod. His thoughts (brainwaves) are picked up by the local transport pod system, and he is informed on what time a pod will arrive and at what time he would arrive at his destination. At the desired time, a pod (which has been parked in a nearby underground silo), arrives at his home to pick him up.
The pod already knows where Mr. Jones wants to go and has calculated the quickest way to his desired destination. The pod moves into the line of traffic. Mr. Jones’s pod communicates with the pod in front and behind it, to inform each pod of its desired destination and the pod in front and behind communicate to Mr. Jones’s pod their intended destination. This line of communication continues down the line of traffic so that all the pods know the desired destination of each other.
For this system to work effectively and safely each pod must know each other’s desired destination. The other advantage with this system would be that we could eliminate all traffic signs in our landscape. With a level 5 autonomous transportation system there is no human interaction with the transportation pods and once all the pods know each other’s destination, there would be no need for us to read signs to find our desired destination.
When Mr. Jones reaches his destination, he gets out of the pod and it drives itself to the nearest underground parking silo, or to the closest person needing to be transported to a new destination. This solution means that the user will never need to visually find a transport pod, it will always come to them and there would be no need for any pods to be parked, as they would always be on the move, picking up and dropping off people. Only in the suburban areas where the frequency for traveling would be lower than in a city, would there need to be parking silo for the transport pods.
When Mr. Jones needs to retrieve another pod to return home, he simply thinks about if he wants a pod with the same type of interior as before, or maybe a different type of interior. Then the desired and closest transport pod will pick up his brainwaves and drive itself to him. He can now continue his journey.
As the main goal of autonomous travel is to reduce/eliminate accidents and traffic problems, it will also give us the opportunity to do other things while we are being physically transported. This is where we can be creative by designing unique interior’s that allow us to do things while we are on the move.
Different manufactures around the world could produce a variety of interior designs that would appeal to each country’s traditions and taste. The interiors could be designed to fulfil different themes such as a lounge theme, a fitness room, a classroom, or for a public transporter. Depending on what mood you are in and how far you need to travel, you just need to think about the desired type of interior you would like and your desired destination, and the transport pod would arrive to pick you up.
Another aspect of our future that I believe will change over time is our need to always get to our destinations quickly. Why is this necessary? In the future we will be able to transport our sense to anywhere on our planet in a split second (Part 1 – my concept of the Sensory Transport System). But if we want to physically move ourselves, we will do it at a slower pace. We will enjoy the journey more and not be stressed by traffic jams or the mental stress and responsibility placed on ourselves to ensure that we, as well as our passengers, arrive safely at our destination. Therefore, I envision that the vehicles that will transport us around in our cities will move at a top speed of 50 km/h (30 mph) and on our highways at a top speed of 120 km/h (75 mph). As all the vehicles will be autonomous, they will all travel at the exact same speed, and communicate with each other using the worldwide platform to insure we reach our destination safely and on time with no traffic problems.
Design goals for a transporter of the future.
As mentioned earlier, I strongly believe we will need to design the vehicles of the future so that they will function with our existing infrastructure. Therefore, the size of the transport pod needs to fit on our existing streets. Plus, the number of passengers it should hold should be similar to the average size car of today, so 4 to 6 passengers maximum would be reasonable.
Design goals to achieve in my design process.
Design goals:
1. The vehicle design should look simple.
2. The interior design must be possible to re-configure (in production) to full-fill different user/cultural desires.
3. The interior designs should be simple yet friendly.
4. Some of the interior designs should be handicap, pet & children friendly.
This system should have the following advantages:
1. Eliminates traffic deaths.
2. Eliminates traffic jams.
3. Is an alternative to our existing public transport system and can help reduce the spread of dangerous viruses.
4. No toxic pollutants would be expelled.
5. No noise pollution.
6. No micro plastic pollution.
7. No light pollution. The transporters do not need headlights or taillights.
7. No parking problems.
8. No need for traffic signs in the cities or freeways.
9. More space on the streets as there will be no parked vehicles.
10. No need to make space for a garage/carport in homes.
11. You would only pay for the time you use the transport pod.
Another advantage to this system, due to the elimination of traffic accidents, we could construct the vehicles using light-weight materials and in a much simpler manner, as the vehicles would not need to withstand any crash tests.
Once a new form of transportation is developed, we should also consider re-thinking how the traffic and streets in the future could be improved.
Intersections would be more intelligent; intersections would count the number of transport pods past in one direction, when the desired number had past, that direction would be stopped, then the next direction would be able to move. Having only one lane move at a time would help to increase traffic flow as each lane would be able to continue straight on (as normal) and turn left or right without having to stop and wait for vehicles coming from the opposite direction.
All intersections would be built so that pedestrians walk under the intersection. This would help traffic to move more smoothly as the transport pods would not have to stop and wait for pedestrians crossing the street, and pedestrians would not come in any danger from moving vehicles. A warning system would be built into the edges of the streets that would stop any pedestrians from walking into traffic from sidewalks. And many streets could be rebuilt to collect and filter rainwater for drinking and would be covered with grass.
As a designer, coming up with ideas that can improve our future is both challenging, frustrating and satisfying; Challenging, as there are so many aspects in our society to take into consideration, and I’m sure it is impossible to figure out solutions that will satisfy everybody; Frustrating, as I can see many things in our society that need improvement, but the technology is just not here yet, or the political willingness is not in place; Satisfying, as I am able to visualize my ideas and hopefully inspire others to explore new ideas that will make our future a beautiful place.
Notes:
Moral Machine - https://www.moralmachine.net
Recent studies show that between 25 to 35 percent of the world’s population have a fear of flying, and to be honest, all those Si-Fi movies that show us flying around in vehicles high up in between buildings just doesn’t make sense to me. We are land creatures, and this is where we are most comfortable. Therefore, I see the future of physical transportation on different levels, physically. All human transportation will be held close the ground, while transportation of goods such as food & products will be done with drones on a level higher up, and larger things such as construction parts and larger quantities of goods will take place at an even higher level above the ground. The drones used in the two levels higher up will also be autonomous and will not need any human beings inside them, as they will be pre-programmed as to where to go.
The next major thing we all need in the future of transportation is a clean self-generating power source. This should be one of our major goals to achieve. And even better, a power source that would enable vehicles & drones to levitate and move silently thru the air.
This clean power source combined with levitating vehicles would have many advantages. It would do away with having to use any kind of fossil fuels, eliminating global pollution. It would eliminate noise pollution. It would eliminate the micro plastic pollution created from tier wear, which is a major contributor to the micro plastics found in our oceans and in the air. And it would eliminate accidents related to snow and ice on roads; the vehicles would never touch these slippery surfaces.
Levitating cars have been dreamed of since the 50’s, and I have been dreaming about this idea since the 70’s and I still hope we could achieve this in the future.
How this special power source will work, I have no idea, but this is my design brief for scientist around the world. I do have maybe a suggestion though; it could be a solution that works together with earth’s gravity. This is a source that is everywhere on our planet, so no one country would have a monopoly on it. It is a source that can’t be mined or depleted, so hopefully, it won’t run out. And it would be free for everyone to use.
Another important fact regarding physical transportation is that it is a decisive act that we all take into consideration each day. Once you decide that you want to move yourself from point A to point B you already know where you want to go. This information is of great help in designing a future transportation system. The thought information from a person could be sent to a vehicle before the person even gets into it, to help to coordinate where each vehicle in the system/city is going, and how long it will take to get from point A to point B.
For example: A daily scenario in the future of level 5 autonomous travel.
Mr. Jones needs to physically transport himself from point A to point B. He lives in a house in the suburbs. He thinks about where he wants to go and in what type of interior, he would like to interact with inside the transportation pod. His thoughts (brainwaves) are picked up by the local transport pod system, and he is informed on what time a pod will arrive and at what time he would arrive at his destination. At the desired time, a pod (which has been parked in a nearby underground silo), arrives at his home to pick him up.
The pod already knows where Mr. Jones wants to go and has calculated the quickest way to his desired destination. The pod moves into the line of traffic. Mr. Jones’s pod communicates with the pod in front and behind it, to inform each pod of its desired destination and the pod in front and behind communicate to Mr. Jones’s pod their intended destination. This line of communication continues down the line of traffic so that all the pods know the desired destination of each other.
For this system to work effectively and safely each pod must know each other’s desired destination. The other advantage with this system would be that we could eliminate all traffic signs in our landscape. With a level 5 autonomous transportation system there is no human interaction with the transportation pods and once all the pods know each other’s destination, there would be no need for us to read signs to find our desired destination.
When Mr. Jones reaches his destination, he gets out of the pod and it drives itself to the nearest underground parking silo, or to the closest person needing to be transported to a new destination. This solution means that the user will never need to visually find a transport pod, it will always come to them and there would be no need for any pods to be parked, as they would always be on the move, picking up and dropping off people. Only in the suburban areas where the frequency for traveling would be lower than in a city, would there need to be parking silo for the transport pods.
When Mr. Jones needs to retrieve another pod to return home, he simply thinks about if he wants a pod with the same type of interior as before, or maybe a different type of interior. Then the desired and closest transport pod will pick up his brainwaves and drive itself to him. He can now continue his journey.
As the main goal of autonomous travel is to reduce/eliminate accidents and traffic problems, it will also give us the opportunity to do other things while we are being physically transported. This is where we can be creative by designing unique interior’s that allow us to do things while we are on the move.
Different manufactures around the world could produce a variety of interior designs that would appeal to each country’s traditions and taste. The interiors could be designed to fulfil different themes such as a lounge theme, a fitness room, a classroom, or for a public transporter. Depending on what mood you are in and how far you need to travel, you just need to think about the desired type of interior you would like and your desired destination, and the transport pod would arrive to pick you up.
Another aspect of our future that I believe will change over time is our need to always get to our destinations quickly. Why is this necessary? In the future we will be able to transport our sense to anywhere on our planet in a split second (Part 1 – my concept of the Sensory Transport System). But if we want to physically move ourselves, we will do it at a slower pace. We will enjoy the journey more and not be stressed by traffic jams or the mental stress and responsibility placed on ourselves to ensure that we, as well as our passengers, arrive safely at our destination. Therefore, I envision that the vehicles that will transport us around in our cities will move at a top speed of 50 km/h (30 mph) and on our highways at a top speed of 120 km/h (75 mph). As all the vehicles will be autonomous, they will all travel at the exact same speed, and communicate with each other using the worldwide platform to insure we reach our destination safely and on time with no traffic problems.
Design goals for a transporter of the future.
As mentioned earlier, I strongly believe we will need to design the vehicles of the future so that they will function with our existing infrastructure. Therefore, the size of the transport pod needs to fit on our existing streets. Plus, the number of passengers it should hold should be similar to the average size car of today, so 4 to 6 passengers maximum would be reasonable.
Design goals to achieve in my design process.
Design goals:
1. The vehicle design should look simple.
2. The interior design must be possible to re-configure (in production) to full-fill different user/cultural desires.
3. The interior designs should be simple yet friendly.
4. Some of the interior designs should be handicap, pet & children friendly.
This system should have the following advantages:
1. Eliminates traffic deaths.
2. Eliminates traffic jams.
3. Is an alternative to our existing public transport system and can help reduce the spread of dangerous viruses.
4. No toxic pollutants would be expelled.
5. No noise pollution.
6. No micro plastic pollution.
7. No light pollution. The transporters do not need headlights or taillights.
7. No parking problems.
8. No need for traffic signs in the cities or freeways.
9. More space on the streets as there will be no parked vehicles.
10. No need to make space for a garage/carport in homes.
11. You would only pay for the time you use the transport pod.
Another advantage to this system, due to the elimination of traffic accidents, we could construct the vehicles using light-weight materials and in a much simpler manner, as the vehicles would not need to withstand any crash tests.
Once a new form of transportation is developed, we should also consider re-thinking how the traffic and streets in the future could be improved.
Intersections would be more intelligent; intersections would count the number of transport pods past in one direction, when the desired number had past, that direction would be stopped, then the next direction would be able to move. Having only one lane move at a time would help to increase traffic flow as each lane would be able to continue straight on (as normal) and turn left or right without having to stop and wait for vehicles coming from the opposite direction.
All intersections would be built so that pedestrians walk under the intersection. This would help traffic to move more smoothly as the transport pods would not have to stop and wait for pedestrians crossing the street, and pedestrians would not come in any danger from moving vehicles. A warning system would be built into the edges of the streets that would stop any pedestrians from walking into traffic from sidewalks. And many streets could be rebuilt to collect and filter rainwater for drinking and would be covered with grass.
As a designer, coming up with ideas that can improve our future is both challenging, frustrating and satisfying; Challenging, as there are so many aspects in our society to take into consideration, and I’m sure it is impossible to figure out solutions that will satisfy everybody; Frustrating, as I can see many things in our society that need improvement, but the technology is just not here yet, or the political willingness is not in place; Satisfying, as I am able to visualize my ideas and hopefully inspire others to explore new ideas that will make our future a beautiful place.
Notes:
Moral Machine - https://www.moralmachine.net
"I see the future of physical transportation on different levels, PHYSICALLY."
Steve McGugan
INFORMATION
The smart glass can create interior lighting, display video meetings with colleagues or entertainment & travel information.
The smart glass can create interior lighting, display video meetings with colleagues or entertainment & travel information.
LOUNGE PODS
Lounge pods come in different versions offering the user comfort, entertainment & communication possibilities during their journey.
MORPHING SURFACES
The interior surfaces can change shape to create many different seating options.
Lounge pods come in different versions offering the user comfort, entertainment & communication possibilities during their journey.
MORPHING SURFACES
The interior surfaces can change shape to create many different seating options.
PUBLIC PODS
Public pods have a simple interior for users that need to travel short distances.
Public pods have a simple interior for users that need to travel short distances.
EXERCISE PODS
Exercise pods offer users the possibility to stay fit during their journey.
Exercise pods offer users the possibility to stay fit during their journey.
ALWAYS LEVEL
No matter the terrain, the pod's will always remain level.
No matter the terrain, the pod's will always remain level.
MIRRORED SURFACES
The pods reflective surfaces help it blend with it's surroundings.
The pods reflective surfaces help it blend with it's surroundings.
Signals around us for future predictions.
Signal 1: Finding helpful solutions to improve our world.
Throughout time engineers, scientist and companies have contributed with innovation in the development of helpful products that improve our daily lives as well as our future. As technology keeps advancing, new and exciting ideas in many different areas are being explored around the world that could have major consequences for improving and/or helping our environment and or our energy needs.
-Porsche in Germany is exploring alternative fuels that can be developed using solar & wind energy.
-A Danish company, Copenhagen Atomics, are developing a safer atomic reactor using molten salt & thorium.
-A French company, Coiffeurs Justes, collects & uses human hair to help clean up oil from polluted water.
These are just a few of many small, large and unique projects that are taking place around the world.
What I think is needed now, is an independent organization that searches the world for innovative ideas and puts together a portfolio of the best and most promising ideas that would help improve our planet and our lives. This organization could then help make them known worldwide so that they could receive financial backing and support from other companies and´ countries.
Signal 1: Finding helpful solutions to improve our world.
Throughout time engineers, scientist and companies have contributed with innovation in the development of helpful products that improve our daily lives as well as our future. As technology keeps advancing, new and exciting ideas in many different areas are being explored around the world that could have major consequences for improving and/or helping our environment and or our energy needs.
-Porsche in Germany is exploring alternative fuels that can be developed using solar & wind energy.
-A Danish company, Copenhagen Atomics, are developing a safer atomic reactor using molten salt & thorium.
-A French company, Coiffeurs Justes, collects & uses human hair to help clean up oil from polluted water.
These are just a few of many small, large and unique projects that are taking place around the world.
What I think is needed now, is an independent organization that searches the world for innovative ideas and puts together a portfolio of the best and most promising ideas that would help improve our planet and our lives. This organization could then help make them known worldwide so that they could receive financial backing and support from other companies and´ countries.
Signal 2: New type of roads & buildings
At present international climate experts are predicting that we will soon run out of sand. Sand is a very important ingredient in our society and is the world´s most consumed raw material after water. Sand is used to make our roads, bridges and buildings. Together with gravel and crushed rock it is melted down to make windows, computer screens and silicon chips for computers. But you may be thinking, “What about all the sand in the Sahara Desert?” The sand there is too round and dose not lock together like coarser sand; therefore, it is not the right type of sand to be used in the building sector.
This disturbing news means that we must find different ways and materials to build our roads, bridges, and buildings.
Signal 3: Zoos
In the future there will be no more live animals in zoos. Instead, there will be animatronic look-a-likes that will behave just like real animals for future generations to learn and see how real animals live and behave.
At present international climate experts are predicting that we will soon run out of sand. Sand is a very important ingredient in our society and is the world´s most consumed raw material after water. Sand is used to make our roads, bridges and buildings. Together with gravel and crushed rock it is melted down to make windows, computer screens and silicon chips for computers. But you may be thinking, “What about all the sand in the Sahara Desert?” The sand there is too round and dose not lock together like coarser sand; therefore, it is not the right type of sand to be used in the building sector.
This disturbing news means that we must find different ways and materials to build our roads, bridges, and buildings.
Signal 3: Zoos
In the future there will be no more live animals in zoos. Instead, there will be animatronic look-a-likes that will behave just like real animals for future generations to learn and see how real animals live and behave.
