TRANSORTATION ENGINEERING

MISS EDNA
MODERN INVENTIONS AND TECHNOLOGIES IN TRANSPORTATION
 Hyperloop

• The Hyperloop concept was introduced by prolific inventor and

entrepreneur Elon Musk in 2012, when he announced engineers
from his Tesla and SpaceX companies would begin work on a
demonstrator. This promising, high-speed innovation is comprised
of reduced-pressure tubes that contain pressurized capsules with the
ability to transport passengers
 Smart roads

• Over a million people a year are killed in road traffic accidents, with tens of millions more injured. The emergence of smart
roads connected to the internet of things (IoT) can significantly help to reduce road deaths, as IoT-enabled road sensors can
instantly communicate with smart cars about the best ways to avoid hazards or adverse road conditions.

• A Portuguese scheme, co-funded by the European Union, is set to create around 1,000 kilometers of smart roads in the country.
This programme will see a series of cutting-edge transportation technologies installed on the route, facilitating wireless
communication between road-based infrastructure nodes and smart cars.

• It’s not just safety issues that technologically enabled roads can help address, with Sweden recently completing a pilot project
that saw two kilometres of road transformed into an electrified track that recharges electric cars and trucks while they drive. In
the future, wireless battery chargers will be found underneath roads, helping to reduce the level of air pollution and virtually
eliminating the need for fossil fuels to power cars.
 Autonomous helicopters

• Road testing of self-driving cars in a number of countries has been much publicized, but autonomous aircraft are set to
play a major role in the future of transport. Aerospace firm Airbus successfully completed a test flight of its Vahana
electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft earlier this year, with the flying taxi spending 53 seconds in the air
• The company hopes to create a fleet of eVTOL aircraft and position them on rooftops in major cities, enabling commuters
to get around densely populated areas where road traffic is deadlocked. If all goes to plan, a fully operational aircraft will
be ready within two years.

• Last year, aviation research company Aurora Flight Sciences showcased a fully autonomous military helicopter that can
also be operated remotely. By making use of advanced camera sensors and on-board LIDAR technology – a surveying
method that measures the distance to an object by illuminating it with pulsed laser light and measuring the reflected pulses
with a sensor – the aircraft is able to avoid any obstacles and independently select the most appropriate route to the
destination
 Elevated cycle paths

• Creation of a network of elevated cycle paths towering above city streets would not only make cycling less dangerous and more
convenient, but could reduce congestion on highways, with the southeast Chinese city of Xiamen constructing the world’s
longest elevated cycling path last year. At 17 feet above the road, the 7.6km track offers connections to public transport at 13
points.

• Although there are currently only a handful of these ambitious networks elsewhere in the world, German carmaker BMW wants
to change this. The automaker, in collaboration with Tingyi University in China, recently unveiled a proposal to build elevated
cycle paths for e-bikes and electric scooters in Shanghai.

• This futuristic route would be made up of an enclosed, elevated tube, enabling cyclists to ride all year round in comfort thanks
to full climate control. There are already hundreds of millions of e-bikes in China that could use these paths and this number is
rapidly growing as the country contends with severe air pollution.
 Super-trains

• Implementing magnetic levitation (maglev) technology into transport networks across the world
may sound like a futuristic idea, yet trains running on maglev systems have been in operation
since 1984. A 2015 Japanese maglev train reached speeds of just over 600km/h, but researchers
at China’s Southwest Jiaotong University are testing an ultra-fast bullet train prototype, based on
maglev technology, that could potentially reach speeds of up to 1,000km/h.

• Super-maglev trains use the same underlying technology as previous versions, except this next-
generation transport innovation utilises a vacuum tube to reduce air friction and allows for
increased speeds
 Lightweight Vehicles

Automobile manufacturers are working high to deliver vehicles that are

efficient and give high performance. Studies have shown that reducing the
weight of the vehicle by 10% will improve fuel efficiency by 6% or more.
One of the best ways to make the material light is to replace the iron and
steel with some other metals like carbon fiber construction and magnesium-
aluminum alloy. However, manufacturers are still working to bring the idea
to reality.
 Delivery Drones

Companies like Amazon, UPS, DHL, etc. are working to develop the drones
for the fast miles delivery. Creating such drones is a technological challenge.
Companies are working in this sector to make the delivery drones a reality.
 Bicycle Sharing System

Users who don’t want to travel through the main transport hubs can use a
bicycle as an alternative. In the bicycle sharing system, a user can rent a
bicycle from the start of their trip and put them off at their destination. Now,
businesses can use electric bicycles for various delivers, henceforth can
handle other services cost-effectively. Research has shown that bicycle
sharing has a good impact on reducing traffic, thus having control over
pollution.
 Flying Taxis

Whether it is a startup or large companies, flying taxis will be the future of

the transportation industry. Uber has announced to come up with flying taxis
by 2023, under the assistance of Nasa. The goal of Uber is focused on
building a flying taxi, that is electrically powered and flies passengers to
their destination. An example of such a flying taxi is Volocopter, an
autonomous aircraft with electric power. As of now, Volocopter is under test
in Dubai.
 Ground level pedestrian lights

• There has been a rise in the number of accidents involving foot traffic
since the use of smartphones has increased. An innovation in
transportation technology is a system that can be installed at pedestrian
traffic lights that would light up the pavement in red or green to signal
when it is safe or not safe for pedestrians to cross the street safely.
 Elevated buses

• While self-driving electric buses are making strides worldwide, China is

working on a bus system that will reduce traffic congestion. The elevated
bus is a vehicle that “straddles” traffic. It runs on a special track that
allows regular vehicles to drive underneath. The Transit Elevated Bus
(TEB) system is currently being designed in China and is expected to
reduce traffic congestion by 30 percent.
 Self-driving electric buses

Automated city buses and shuttles will be in operation in the near future.
Autonomous vehicles use cameras, radars and GPS systems to recognize and
communicate with traffic lights and have impressive safety records. These
buses of the future will reduce the impact on the environment because they
are electric. Self-driving buses are already in operation in China and
Germany, and are being tested in the U.S. Autonomous buses have a back-up
mode where a human can take control of the vehicle if needed.
 Satellite-based air traffic control systems

• Air traffic control systems in operation today are ground-based, using technology that that dates
back to the 1960’s. Satellite-based control systems allow air traffic controllers to be more efficient.
• The U.S. is currently working on NextGen, a satellite-based air traffic control system that is being
implemented in stages through 2025. GPS technology will be used to increase accuracy and
shorten routes.
• NextGen is expected to save time and fuel, reduce air traffic delays, increase flight capacity and
permit air traffic controllers to monitor aircraft with improved safety margins. Once NextGen is
rolled out across America’s airports, airplanes will be able to fly closer together, making it easier to
take direct routes and avoid delays caused by “stacking” planes waiting for take-off. NextGen will
reduce aircraft gridlock, both in the sky and in airports.
 Underground Tunneling

• Underground transit, popularized by Elon Musk, is exactly how it sounds; moving

people or things through vast systems of tunnels underneath the Earth’s surface.
Musk’s Boring Company (derived as Musk sat in LA traffic) is an infrastructure and
tunnel construction company that builds underground pathways for cars to travel
through at higher speeds and with less traffic congestion. So far, the company has
agreed to a project that will connect traffic in downtown Chicago to O'Hare airport
and to a project that will travel from Baltimore to Washington DC. Underground
tunneling, though in its early stages, is seen as an interesting concept that has the
potential to reduce traffic congestion and overall environmental effects of current car
travel.
 Aerospace

• The transportation technology garnering the most excitement right now is aerospace. Companies like
SpaceX, Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic are battling it out to be the first company to offer commercial space
flights. That’s right, you no longer have to be a NASA astronaut to live out your childhood dream of flying
through outer space.

• The rise of commercial space flight has brought about a series of incredible technological advancements,
including the use of reusable rocket boosters . Originally, rocket ships would shed their boosters about 2
minutes after liftoff. These boosters were one-time use and would fall back to the earth in a flaming heap.
SpaceX has designed boosters that gently propel themselves back down to Earth with excellent precision.
The reusability of these rockets is an achievement in cost-saving travel tech that now opens up spaceflight to
civilians (albeit extremely wealthy civilians at the moment). Additionally, Relativity Space, based in LA, is
even 3D printing rocket ships.
 Last-Mile Robots

• Transportation tech isn’t all just about transporting people. It can also include the technology
that helps get our packages and products from point A to point B. One of the biggest
advancements in transportation technology for the shipping industry is last-mile robotics.

• Instead of relying on a delivery driver or postal worker to drop off the item at your front door,
companies are now employing robots that traverse cities and glide down sidewalks to deliver
your package straight to your door. Amazon and FedEx are currently employing robots in
certain cities to deliver packages within a few mile radius of their fulfillment centers, and
Domino’s Pizza is using robots to deliver their pizza orders on time.
 SELF DRIVING ELECTRIC CARS
• An autonomous car is a vehicle capable of sensing its environment and
operating without human involvement. A human passenger is not required
to take control of the vehicle at any time, nor is a human passenger
required to be present in the vehicle at all. An autonomous car can go
anywhere a traditional car goes and do everything that an experienced
human driver does.