Mobility of the future: an outlook on the mobility of tomorrow

What transportation of tomorrow needs to be is: fast and ecofriendly. But reality presents us to jammed streets and slow-moving traffic. What means of transport can we make use of in the future?

Commuting to work, going to the supermarket or travelling on vacation – society is always on the go. In everyday life, we oftentimes make use of transportation that moves on our streets. So it’s no surprise that the streets are jammed during rush-hours and people are therefore annoyed. Eventually, traffic jams are a contradiction in itself as transportation is supposed to bring us from A to B.

Transportation of the future

However, the increasing need of transportation and the therefore increasing traffic volume bring passenger service to the limits. New, innovative and digitalized transportation solutions are required in order to take the load off conurbations and avoid traffic jams. So how can we make our cities worth living, streets emptier and ways even shorter? Let’s have a look at transportation solutions of the future.

1. Hyperloop – old idea, modern technology

As long ago as 1810 inventor Geord Medhurst already worked on a concept that would carry goods and letters through an effectively airless tube without air resistance. About 200 years later Elon Musk picked up on Medhurst’s idea and presented his idea of Hyperloops in 2013.

Hyperloops are understood to mean an overground transportation mode that carries passengers and goods in capsules hovering through airless tubes. Boosted by linear induction motors they can reach up to 1,200 km/h. With solar energy, the Hyperloop is supposed to be a greener and faster alternative to planes and rail services. For that the Hyperloop travels overground, but not on street level, the traffic in the streets shall be reduced.

1. Air taxis – over the traffic jam

Fly over the city’s traffic chaos within a couple of minutes, do the groceries or fly to the next appointment. It might sound like science fiction but according to experts, it could soon become reality. Autonomously flying passenger drones are supposed to make use of air space in order to relieve urban infrastructure.

According to predictions, about 3,000 drones will be called into action by 2025. Generally, the air taxis will be powered electrically which leads to a miss on fossil fuels. Therefore, they do not only save CO₂ but they also lighten the infrastructure’s load. Big urban metropolises like Singapore are already one big step ahead – here, first take-off and landing runways are already used for trial flights.

2. Loops – moving forward underground

Another idea, helping lighten the streets’ load and make cities greener, is, going underground. Through underground connection of old and new tunnel systems, local public transport is to be brought underground.

Here, Elon Musk’s vision is more advanced and significantly faster that what at first sounds like the already known metro system. He thinks of e-shuttles of glass or autonomously driving cars speeding through the tunnels at about 240km/h that will bring the passengers to their destinations. Depending on the route, the travel time can distinctively be reduced, however, the already existing metro infrastructure is great competition with its low prices.

Underground giants for the mobility of the future

We at thyssenkrupp make significant contributions to advance the mobility of the future. Gigantic tunnels are required for underground streets, train connections or metro lines. For this purpose, thyssenkrupp’s high performance components are being used in tunnel boring machines worldwide. Slewing bearings of thyssenkrupp rothe erde® are they key, as they make the machines rotate so that tunnel boring runs smoothly. This way, we can make a lightened infrastructure, greener surfaces and ecofriendlier transportation reality very soon.