Keep on Driving Miss Daisy

Posted on Apr , 27, 2012 by Ben Sampson

The past month has been an interesting one for car drivers of a more senior age, with several news stories which have exposed issues that are not often discussed in public, but which are very relevant to what the future of transportation will look like.

Two separate pieces of academic research were widely reported in the UK. The first, a US government study, showed that older, female drivers are more likely to get the accelerator and the brake pedals confused and cause an accident. According to the study, the parts of the brain that deal with “executive functioning”- performing mental processes such as planning, attention and organising - aren’t as robust in the elderly.

The second was a research project at Newcastle University in the UK, which wants to develop new in-car technologies, such as simpler sat-nav, bio monitors and eye trackers, to keep elderly people driving safely for longer. Strangely, the project was announced about the same time reporters were interviewing a 74 year old for passing her driving test, more than 60 years after she first attempted it.

Although the media coverage about elderly people driving is predictably droll, there is a real challenge in ensuring that the increasing number of older people in society can get around in the future. According to Newcastle University, giving up driving causes elderly people to feel isolated and inactive, resulting in a fall in health and wellbeing. There are issues with the provision of adequate public transportation and social inclusion and also in accepting that people’s reactions slow down and the ability to drive decreases as they get older.

Perhaps the answer does lie in keeping people mobile in their cars for longer through driver assistance technologies like speed control, lane change assistance and vehicle to vehicle communications.

The future of personal mobility is... robot trousers, four-legged robots and caterpillars?

Posted on Mar , 23, 2012 by Ben Sampson

There’s a tendency of this blog to focus on mass transportation and the infrastructure that accompanies them. However, engineers around the world are also developing innovative robotics that could improve mobility in the future.

Often these robotic solutions seek to address individual transportation needs or applications where wheels do not offer the best solution. For example, rough terrain, access to contaminated or otherwise restricted areas, or aiding the mobility of paraplegics.

As a brief introduction to the breadth of the research work in this area, below are three interesting projects to look out for over the coming months:

1. Undoubtedly, one of the groups most interested in developing robots is the military. The US’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) recently released this video, which shows its “Cheetah” robot setting the land speed record for four-legged robots.

The US military wants to improve robots so they can be used in the field and take the risks human soldiers would normally take. A free-running prototype of the Cheetah robot is expected to be finished later this year.

2. The ReWalk can be used by paraplegics to stand and move, even walk stairs. The device, which was developed in Israel, is one of the few on the market today and will be used by British woman Claire Lomas in her attempt to complete the London Marathon in April this year.

3. US researchers have invented an entirely new category of robot – the “softbot”, which they say could be used in search and rescue, in space and in biomedical applications. The GoQBot mimics the natural defence mechanism some caterpillars use when threatened called “ballistic rolling”. The video explains better than words. Maybe by 2050 there will be elements of this used in the way we move, at least in the theme park!

When is a bike not a bike – when it’s a pedelec

Posted on Mar , 23, 2012 by Ben Sampson

The electric bike sector will receive one of its most anticipated products next month, when Daimler makes its Smart e-bike available in Europe.

The bicycle, which the German car-maker is calling a “pedelec” (Pedal Electric Cycle) combines an electric motor in the rear wheel hub and a 423Wh lithium-ion battery to provide additional propulsion when the cyclist requires. It has a top speed of 40km/hr, a range of around 100km and the battery’s charge is supplemented with energy recovered from braking.

Despite gathering more and more and users in Europe, such as in Austria, e-bikes have yet to break into the mainstream, mainly because of their relatively high costs and bulky, unwieldy design. Many commentators predict that the Smart e-bike will change this perception with a refined design akin to the Smart cars. However, the Smart styling does come at the high price of €2849, which is sure to put many potential buyers off.

Nevertheless, the e-bike sector remains buoyant, with many analysts predicting that it will continue to grow over the next decade, supported by a growing amount of consumer interest and government sponsored research. Time will tell if these predictions of growth will be realised, but it will be interesting to judge the uptake of e-bikes against the uptake of electric cars.