For years Humanity has seen a spectacular communication and computing evolution. In a short period of time, the whole world became connected. But we couldn’t see similar evolution in transportation.
Of course, we don’t ride horses anymore, now we can buy a fast car with a great engine. But just check it out: Before, our engine was the horse. We had 2 wheels. Now, we have a gas engine of 75 horse power and 4 wheels! So, in 100 years, the cars are about 150x better. It’s pretty good, isn’t it?
But now, let’s think about what happened with computers:
They aren’t just about 100,000,000x better than the first personal computer, but also they are extremely easier to use and to carry it on.
You can say that it is a stupid comparison. But you can’t say that our cars are that much different from your first grandfather’s car! The personal transportation system is stagnant. Fundamentally, they have not changed much since the first Model T Ford from 100 years ago.
And then, we have other problems:
1. We consume more and more oil.
2. The environment is now a victim of excessive carbon pollution.
3. The humanity is struggling to get oil.
4. The traffic jam is terrible in metropolis.
5. Most of the big cities have a poor public transportation.
I can’t understand why the transportation system is still in a plateau.
Nowdays everybody is looking for a “mobile life style”. It’s easier to understand when we observe the iphone and ipad success. But why look for a mobile style of life if it’s so tough to move from a place to another?
Yes, sir! We need a better personal transportation system!
Some experts in transportation system and urban environment believe that smart cars in a cradle-to-cradle design can help, because they are smaller, lighter and its fuel is from the energy.
Shared cars mobility-on-demand is also a personal transportation trend in urban life, just like the one developed by Smart Cities from MIT. In Brazil, Jaime Lerner is developing a similar transportation project.
In truth, the intelligent cities will act in a intelligent system of a connected web. It is natural that innovations on information technology and communication provide numerous urban revolutions.
Companies as IBM (Smarter Cities) and CISCO ( Connected Urban Development), Siemens and others are developing projects and offering to the cities.
I really believe that the next great evolution, which everybody will look forward to is the TRANSPORTATION! The next apple of your eyes will be the transportation.
