Mobility
You most likely use public transportation or another form of transportation on a daily basis. For example to go to school, to see a friend, to attend a sports practice, to attend music class, and so on. But have you ever considered how fortunate you are to be able to travel almost wherever you want? This has not always been the case, and that will for sure change in the futures. So, allow me to take you on a journey through time and let’s explore the history of mobility/transport and see what the futures have in store for us!
The past
Prehistory:
The first form of human transport was the human foot!
Between 4000 and 3000 BC humans learned to use animals for transport. Your ancestors first used donkeys and horses. Later on in some parts of the world camels were also being used as a source of transportation.
Around 3500 BC, in what today is Iraq, the first wheel was invented.
About 3100 BC the Egyptians invented the sailing boat. (made of papyrus)
Classical era:
The Romans are famous for the number of roads that they built. The roads were mainly used by rich people who traveled by horse. For long journeys they used covered wagons.
Not only transport by road, but also transport by water was important for the Romans. They built large ships that could carry up to 1,000 tons of cargo. They called those ships ‘Cortia’.
Middle Ages:
The most significant invention of the Middle Ages is the compass. It was invented in 1044 in China.
Early Modern Era:
In 1662 the first form of public transportation was invented. It was a horse-drawn carriage.
The first steam engine was invented in 1712 for the mining industry.
Modern Era:
The first steam-powered automobile was created in 1769.
The first steam-locomotive was constructed in 1802 (Coalbrookdale Locomotive).
The first bicycle was invented in 1816.
In 1904 was the first motor-driven aeroplane invented and tested by the Wright Brothers.
The first Ford cars were made in 1908.
In the timeline that we created, you can see how long it took people to be where they are today. Some of the inventions are much older than you would think and slowly improved during the years. We can also see how the society advanced and a lot of technologies and inventions that people currently still use were created in the last 200 years.
The past could be a good tool to think about how mobility and transport may advance in the futures. But, before we head into the futures, let’s explore the present!
The present
In today’s world we see a lot of advancements regarding transport and mobility. Youngsters or people without a driver's license or a car can easily get to their destination. A lot of this is possible thanks to the public transport services. I’m pretty sure most of you use some form of public transportation to get to school. I hope that you realize that we also have the comfort to choose. You can choose the bus, the tram, the train or the metro and still be on time!
We are also seeing the appearance of electric or hybrid ways of transport and mobility. In the bigger and more advanced cities we see the use of hybrid electric buses. They use a combustion engine, but also have an electric engine that helps reduce the pollution in the air.
In the last couple of years we’re also witnessing the emergence of electric vehicles for example cars and also electric bicycles, scooters etc. Maybe one of your parents or someone you know has one of those? Maybe one day, you may have one? Either way, they look fun to use and are environmentally friendly!
These days there are a lot of innovations to be excited about, but let’s not forget about the environment. Although people are making some steps in the right direction there is still a lot of room for improvement. The way people use transport is one of the main causes of global warming. The CO2 that is generated by combustion engines are harmful for the environment and all life!
If our main way of transport is harmful, what could you use in the futures? Let’s explore the different possibilities of transportation that the futures may bring!
The futures
When we think about the futures of transport and mobility, we all imagine flying cars and other futuristic scenarios, right?
That is currently the case for the “flying drone” that is set to be used as a taxi. The drone has already been tested in Dubai. It is supposed to carry only one passenger and it can reach speeds up to 160 km/hr (100 mph). Pretty cool, right?
And the fun part is, that it is driverless! The downside of this is that it is illegal to fly them around people, so we must have patience and wait to see how this will work out!
With the emergence of AI and other smart technologies the futures could be very different from the present.
Let’s just take a look at today’s version of the Tesla and the fact that it has a self-driving feature. Let's imagine how the cars or the different ways of transportation could look in the futures.
In order to save the planet and reduce the pollution of the air we could see a “mobility revolution”. Most of the current car manufacturers set 2030 as a milestone for their full or partial transition to electric vehicles. Also, biofuels or renewable fuels could be an important change that we may see in the futures.
We are not certain about the technologies and innovations of the futures. At this point we can only make predictions about it, but I think that in terms of transportation and mobility people may make the transition to electric/renewable energy.
Some predictions
Electric vehicles: These days everyone is thinking about switching to those fancy electrical cars. According to Trensition, we can expect a huge growth in this technology during the coming 2 years. Fossil fuels like diesel and gas will be a thing of the past and we will get cleaner and quieter cars thanks to these electrical vehicles. some of these electrical vehicles will have to be charged at a charging station but there are also ones that have solar panels in the roof and can charge directly through solar energy when driving! The market for these electrical vehicles is steadily growing and with more and more models being produced it will eventually find its way to be the mainstream vehicle.
Hydrogen vehicles: I just told you that gas as a fuel will be a thing of the past, right? Well there are some exceptions to that! For instance: did you know that scientists are now developing cars that run on hydrogen? We aren’t there just yet, but according to Trensition we can expect a growth in this trend in the next 5 to 10 years. Hydrogen is a gas and is a by-product that you get when you electrolyse water. This technology is still being improved upon but there are already some used cases that use hydrogen as a fuel! For example, fuel cell buses in China and Korea are already using this type of fuel and if we make it through electrolysis then hydrogen is a 100% clean energy!
Autonomous vehicles are another type of vehicle that we see more often. According to Trensition, we can expect a huge growth in this technology during the coming 2 years. Tesla is one of the more famous ones in this market because their electrical vehicles have the option of self-driving (and that is what autonomous means). They can drive themselves through the use of sensors, GPS coordinates, and other technologies. The trucking business is also seeing more and more self-driving trucks. They are not widely used here in Belgium, but in the US we can see more and more of them since there are hundreds of kilometers of straight road. This is ideal for self-driving trucks. As the technology further develops and gets more fine-tuned, we will also see it making its way to passenger cars.
Urban air mobility: Something that you may not yet think of, but that is actually also closer then you might guess! Yes, you have read that right. We are not there yet but according to Trensition , in the next 2 to 10 years we will see an increase in urban air traffic. Drones will be used for package deliveries in cities. A bit later we might also see air buses coming to our towns! So, apart from the normal traffic people will travel more and more through the air. There are already laws and regulations in place that tell us on which height you can fly with a drone and in which zones it is forbidden to do that, but this will also need to be more fine-tuned to not only include drones but also buses and flying cars!
The futures are bringing us some exciting things!