Transport Technology
Technology is quickly changing the transportation industry in numerous ways. Not only is it re-imagining vehicles, but it could help us travel to far-off destinations in just minutes. It’s also revolutionizing the way we receive mail and treat our environment. Below you’ll discover a few examples of transportation technology and how it will change the future.
10 Examples of Transportation Technology
The world is bustling with new ideas that will forever change the transportation industry.
Smart Cars
Smart cars are becoming popular thanks to their advanced technology. Throughout the years, researchers have been looking for ways to improve vehicles and have incorporated these ideas into smart cars.
There are plenty of features smart cars have. One is the ability to communicate with other cars or traffic lights. With special sensors, your car could alert you when you’re approaching a red light or if there’s an accident risk near you.
Besides this, smart cars are being created to be driverless. If you feel tired or need to focus on something else, you can set your car to drive by itself. The vehicle can do this thanks to high-tech sensors and cameras that help them better understand their surroundings.
Unlike most cars that rely on gas or diesel to run, smart cars will operate on nothing more than electricity. This makes them an eco-friendly option that could drastically cut emissions.
While current smart cars run on batteries, they tend to run out quickly. Because of this, powerful batteries are being designed to allow drivers to run their cars for days without needing to charge them.
Gilbert International sees the impact that smart car technology will have on the economy. Our transportation service uses high-tech equipment and vehicles to import and export goods throughout North America. This way, consumers receive them faster.
Personal Transportation Pods
Personal transportation pods could help passengers get an instant private ride to where they need to go. The pods will seat about one or two people and glide along a covered rail on a non-stop journey to their target location.
One type of personal transportation pod that could be a reality in the near future are hyperloops. Envisioned by Elon Musk, these pods will travel through a tube at a high-paced speed (700 miles) to a certain destination.
Many places in the U.S. are already investing in hyperloop technology. States like Colorado, North Carolina, and Missouri hope to create a hyperloop rail to major cities. It’s thought that hyperloops will help cut back on traffic and become a more affordable and stress-free way to commute. Because they will be located within a tube, they could prevent weather delays allowing non-stop travel during severe weather.
Maglev Trains
Maglev trains could be the answer to high-speed rail travel. Unlike traditional trains that use electricity to run, these rely on magnets to push and pull them across the tracks. Thanks to the lack of friction, these magnets allow the train to move faster. Most maglev trains can reach speeds of up to 310 miles per hour.
Maglev trains get their name from magnetic levitation. With this process, the train will float on the air thanks to strong superconducting magnets. As the train moves along the rails, the magnets will repel when they face a matching pole. When the magnetic fields activate themselves, they eventually create a ripple effect by generating more magnetic fields along the track. This will propel the train much faster than electric or diesel engines.
At the moment, most maglev trains only operate in Asia. However, in the U.S., a few states are rushing to create the country’s first maglev line. One project will run a maglev track from Washington, D.C. to New York City. The goal is to enable travelers to reach either city within one hour.
Besides helping passengers reach their destination faster, maglev trains come with a variety of environmental benefits. By encouraging the decrease of emissions, noise pollution, and road maintenance costs, it could improve air quality and prevent damaging construction in vulnerable environments.
Automatic Check-Ins
You might already notice this form of modern transport technology at your local airport. Rather than visiting the structure hours before your flight to check-in, this technology allows you to register for your flight about two days in advance and receive your boarding pass via email or text. This way, you can skip the lines and get on your flight faster.
Gilbert International has already implemented this technology into our IT systems. Buyers can check into their account where they can track and monitor high-volume shipments. They can also view the current shipment status through their account and instantly contact us if there’s a concern.
E-Cargo Bikes
To reduce our reliance on cars, some companies in major cities are using e-cargo bikes to make deliveries. This won’t only reduce emissions but could prevent traffic jams and help make deliveries in hard-to-reach areas easier thanks to their compactness.
Most e-cargo bikes have built-in containers. This way, ordinary consumers can use them to store shopping goods or to take personal items with them as they venture out on local trips.
Because e-cargo bikes need to be charged, they will move a bit faster than traditional ones. This is due to a motor within it that cuts back on how much pedaling you need to do. On average, most e-cargo bikes will travel up to 20 miles per hour.
Drones
Drones are quickly becoming one of the most important pieces of modern technology. They’re used in various industries, including in the military and retail.
As drone technology becomes more advanced, it will help humans with various things that are considered difficult at the moment. These include search-and-rescue efforts and construction.
The more technologically-advanced drones become, the more likely they could serve as taxis. By constructing large drones, they could potentially fit one or two people and quickly fly them to where they need to be.
While most drone taxis are still in a blueprint phase, quite a few have already been tested. The world’s first drone taxi, the EHang 184, can travel up to 62 miles per hour and fly up to 9.9 miles away.
The drone has four arms and eight powerful propellers situated on them to help you smoothly glide through the air. This self-piloted passenger drone has since made about 40 test trips but has found a few flaws it must fix. Some include poor night visibility and the inability to stand against strong winds.
Hypersonic Airplanes
Imagine being able to visit anywhere in the world in just two to three hours. With advanced hypersonic technology, this dream could become a reality.
At the moment, one problem with hypersonic planes is high temperatures. Because of their intense speed, these planes will generate heat. This heat can warp the plane’s materials and cause it to move slower, making it dangerous for flying.
While hypersonic planes have been the brainchild of inventors for decades, it has never been used for commercial flights. In the 1960s, there was a hypersonic airplane (North American X-15) that used rocket engines to fly. However, this would have been dangerous to use commercially because they tend to overheat quickly.
Last-Mile Robots
To help delivery services get your mail to you faster, it could start to use last-mile robots. These devices will hold the packages and drive to your home to deliver them. This could cut back on vehicle maintenance costs and allow workers to focus on sending your packages to you faster. While new in its technology, quite a few companies, like Amazon, are testing similar robots.
Solar Roads
The sun constantly beats down on roads. Many civil engineers want to take advantage of this by placing solar panels into the pavement.
Solar roads embed solar panels into a special roadway material. This material is usually made of:
● Concrete● Insulation● Resin
The roads will contain sensors and LED lights that will replace hand-painted lines and signs. These sensors will also identify hazards, like animals crossing the road, and flash to alert drivers to them.
In addition to this, solar roads will have heating features to melt snow or ice. This can prevent snow plows from having to spend thousands of dollars to prepare the roads with sand. It can also help drivers get to where they need to be faster rather than waiting for the road to be plowed. Thanks to this, the melting setting could prevent common winter accidents that occur because of dangerous weather.
In 2017, China became one of the first countries to lay a solar roadway. Measuring 3,280-feet long, the road was made with three layers that had solar panels placed within them.
France also attempted to create a mile-long solar road. The country coated the solar panels in resin and placed them along the edges of the road.
While it has potential, there is still much more research that needs to be done with them. For instance, studies have found that solar panels can be easily lifted and stolen from the road. The material that coats the solar panels isn’t the most durable and deteriorates quickly. Besides this, solar panels are very pricey and could be difficult to create for mass production.
Underground Tunnels
To combat congested infrastructure, underground tunnels could soon be constructed. They will help drivers beat traffic by offering new ways of getting around.
To use an underground tunnel, you will need to drive your car into a special elevator that will then lower it into the tunnel. Your car will then be placed on a track where you can drive up to 40 miles per hour. To alert you to when you can go and stop, the tunnel will light up in green or red.
In Las Vegas, Tesla has been testing the notion of underground tunnels. It has built a long pathway beneath the Las Vegas Convention Center that can transport up to 62 vehicles at a time. By connecting additional tunnels, Tesla hopes to design a large transportation loop below the city.
What Does This Technology Hope to Do?
As mentioned above, this technology mainly aspires to cut back on emissions and improve the quality of travel.
However, there are a few other things that it’s being designed to do. One is to improve security. By creating these tech-focused features, it can help researchers better identify how to protect transportation from hackers and other risks. Transport technology is also looking at how to reduce traffic fatalities by helping drivers be aware of potential problems, such as distracted drivers.
Will Transportation Technology Have a Negative Effect?
It can be difficult to tell the drawbacks of modern transportation technology.
One issue it might cause is eliminating traditional jobs, such as delivery work or taxi driving. This could reduce the amount of personal connection humans have with each other because machinery will replace them.
Future transport technology could also hurt the car industry as it focuses on removing gas-guzzling vehicles and replacing them with electric cars or bikes. Rather than selling vehicles, current car brands might need to look at offering different forms of transportation.
Some transportation devices might also have privacy risks as some could require you to insert information about yourself, such as your location and travel schedule.
Despite this, upcoming transportation technology will have plenty of perks. These include creating a plethora of new job openings, especially in management, engineering, and IT. The roles will be important at ensuring these new forms of transportation technology work efficiently.
Gilbert International has already seen the positive impact of transport technology. By hiring warehouse workers, IT specialists, inspectors, and warehouse security, we can send goods faster than ever before.
Transport technology could cause a surprising huge boom in the tourism industry. By allowing visitors to move around to different areas quickly, it could encourage them to stay longer and spend more.
Where Will Modern Transport Technology First Appear?
This technology is slowly sneaking its way into the world, but some areas will see it faster than others. For instance, China, South Korea, and Japan have long been improving their transportation industry. The United Arab Emirates has also worked on creating taxi drones and personal transport pods.
As transport technology starts to spread, it will more than likely first appear in major cities. This will help researchers see if the technology is efficient while they monitor consumer trends. Most cities also have more consumption and production abilities, making them the best spots to experiment with new transportation.
Technology is expanding, and it’s transforming industries that might surprise some. In transportation, it’s working to develop unique devices and ideas to help people commute faster while keeping them safe.