Ideas from science fiction films are already being implemented in laboratories and testing grounds, and there are only a few years left until we forget about traffic jams.

We will drive cars that run on electricity

When gasoline prices are such that it’s better not to even look at the price tag, you have to look for an alternative. Gas, hydrogen and electric cars are appearing on the roads. Electricity is the most promising type of fuel and can really replace gasoline. The first commercially successful electric vehicles were Tesla cars, and soon analogues from Nissan, BMW, Renault, Toyota, KIA and other manufacturers appeared on the market. Every year, electric cars become more economical, safer, and most importantly, more affordable. Experts that by 2022 they will be cheaper than traditional counterparts. This means that in the near future we will switch to economical and environmentally friendly cars.

Electric vehicle sales growth forecast

All cars will be self-driving

Car accidents are one of the main problems of modern cities. Every year in Ukraine there are road accidents more than a million people. The development of self-driving cars is being carried out in order to reduce the number of victims of car accidents and make roads safer. The leader in this industry, Google, has been testing its self-driving cars for several years, adding new functions to them and modifying the body itself. According to , the introduction of self-driving cars will reduce the number of victims on the road. In the United States alone, this will help save the lives of about 21 thousand people every year.

There will be public transport that will travel over traffic jams

The problems of ground public transport concern both residents and officials. In Kyiv, he was even given his own lane, but all the minibuses and trolleybuses are still stuck in traffic jams during rush hour. Recently in China The Transit Elevated Bus (TEB) is a prototype of a future bus that rides above cars. It does not interfere with the movement of cars - they can drive under it, as if in a tunnel, while passengers will be in the cabin above. The developers believe that TEB will relieve city traffic and reduce air pollution, as it will run on electric or solar energy.

Intercity transport will become even faster and cheaper

The development of high-speed intercity transport has been going on for many years. Some time ago, magnetic levitation trains were promising, but their production was stopped due to their high cost. The technology is currently being developed — trains that will run in special pipes with reduced pressure. Motors will be built into these pipes, which will accelerate it. Thanks to this design maximum speed train speed will be 1200 kilometers per hour. If now the road from Kyiv to Lviv on Intercity takes five hours, then on Hyperloop you will cover the same distance in half an hour. According to the developers, a ticket for such a trip will cost about $20 - 500 hryvnia at the current exchange rate.

Flying cars will become a reality

Almost every science fiction movie features characters riding flying cars. We only see this in movies, but we cannot imagine that in the future we will also fly on such aircraft. Work is already underway on a similar type of transport. Recently about startups Zee.Aero and Kitty Hawk who are creating a flying car. Zee.Aero is developing a compact, electric-powered aircraft that can take off and land vertically. Kitty Hawk is working on a craft that looks like a large quadcopter.

Drawing from the Zee.Aero patent

The transport system will change when humanity begins to trust modern technologies. Instead of buying new jeep, running on diesel, it is better to buy an electric car. Even though they are still imperfect, they are improving every day and are also becoming cheaper. What's this? Tesla electric cars expensive, in 5 years any motorist will be able to afford them.

Refusal of personal cars

According to forecasts, by 2050 there will be 2.5 billion cars on the planet, most of which, of course, will be driven in cities. In China, the level of motorization will catch up with the United States (840 cars per 1000 people). To imagine what kind of collapse might await us, you don’t need a time machine: just look at. Even so, a personal car is still expensive, costs money for insurance, parking and maintenance, and is used on average only 4% of the time. Therefore, residents of large cities are increasingly switching to public transport, car sharing and services like Uber.

Jessica Robinson, Ford City Solutions:“City congestion is increasing, and this is forcing us to do strange things. For example, in Mexico City you can only enter the city center with an even license plate on some days, and with an odd license plate on others. How do people get around this? They buy two cars. That's why car companies must look for new solutions. In the future, there will inevitably be a change in the way car ownership works. And lowering the price per mile will sooner or later lead to taxis costing the same as public transport.”

Development of flexible transport systems

City bus concept, the outer panels of which display an interactive map with the route

Cities in their current form, designed in the 19th century, are physically unable to cope with so many cars. Obviously, it is impossible to rebuild the entire road network. Therefore, in different countries Governments are investing resources in new transportation management technologies and transport monitoring systems to optimize traffic conditions.

Esteve Almirall, professor at ESADE Business School:“All cities are very original. For example, Barcelona is already 2000 years old - part of the center was designed in the 14th century, part - in the early 19th century. For example, you won’t find this in America. Although in New York no one wants to have a car, and in Los Angeles no one can live without a car. In general, we will never have a single model that applies everywhere.

Projects that deserve interest today are on-demand transportation services. Cities need Uber for buses, trucks, and anything else that can solve basic problems. Instead of having constant night buses that run empty, it is necessary to have a flexible system that can adapt to the situation, needs and specific conditions. The demand for transport in Barcelona during the high season differs from the low season. It makes no sense to always run the same number of buses and taxis.”

New type of buses and minibuses

More and more transport services are appearing in the world, occupying a niche between taxis and public transport. One of the striking examples is the UberPool ride sharing service, which was launched: unlike a regular ride with Uber, the driver can pick up other fellow travelers, and the price of such a trip for each of them will be significantly lower. Many on-demand bus services are appearing: examples are German, Indian and a startup with domestic roots -. New startups plan their routes based on user needs, including a dynamic routing system based on data analysis. In the future, such services will help solve the city’s transport problems more effectively.

Jessica Robinson:“The main device that gives us freedom of movement is our smartphone. It allows you to connect citizens and services. Cities are changing and growing, new areas are emerging where people are settling, and the demand for public transport and city services is increasing. In San Francisco, we have a company that makes it cheaper and more convenient for people to get to work. New hybrid vans are being trialled in central London to be economical and environmentally friendly.”

Big data and traffic flow analysis

The collection and analysis of traffic data is already changing the transportation industry. American railroad workers from General Electric use smart sensors that help them predict and manage traffic in real time. In addition to sensors, Union Pacific also uses an ultrasonic wheel crack detection system. Trailers of large transport companies are no longer idle when the central automatic system planning knows exactly when the truck and driver are ready to go.

Construction optimal route and isolating certain patterns allows you to save fuel and time not only on land, but also on water. Maritime transport uses big data combined with weather and traffic density forecasts to optimize navigation and reduce collision risks. City officials in many capitals have begun to consider the economic damage congestion on their roads is causing to the economy, and are now ready to invest in new technologies that can correct this situation.

"If transport companies, who have a large fleet of their cars at their disposal, will cooperate with city authorities and share the data collected by sensors on their vehicles, we could distribute the load on the roads and build new routes.”

Mosgortrans also worked closely with big data specialists as part of the development of new Magistral bus routes in Moscow.

Alexey Mityaev, adviser to the head of the Department of Transport, head of the Magistral project:“We analyzed population density and concentration of jobs, passenger flows of existing routes and metro stations, transfers during trips, traffic speeds and vehicle flows. For this project, an interactive platform was specially created based on data from the Data Center, Mosgortrans, and the Department information technology, with the help of which it was possible to analyze anonymized information about the movement of citizens around the city. About 1,000 people were involved in the preparation of the Magistral.”

Proliferation of new personal mobility devices

Electric scooter E-Micro One

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A prototype of the Ford Carr-E, which resembles a hybrid of a car, a hoverboard and a robotic vacuum cleaner. With a weight of 10 kg and a load capacity of 120 kg, you can ride while standing or carry heavy loads

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Sit-on unicycle Honda Uni-Cub

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TriCiti - an electric bicycle that transforms into a trolley for transporting goods

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There remains one significant gap in the urban transport system - the “last mile problem”. Let's say we can quickly and conveniently move around the city by metro or bus, but we still need to get to this bus and metro. To achieve this, city residents are using new motorized vehicles, such as electric scooters. Similar to children's scooters, they accelerate to an adult speed of 20 km/h and are capable of traveling up to 35 km on a single charge.

Josh Miller, CNET columnist:“Of course, not all electric scooters are created equal. EcoReco, one of the most famous brands, makes models that resemble a tank. But they are too heavy and bulky to be easily thrown into the luggage rack of a train or kept suspended on a crowded bus. But the E-Micro One was a revelation for me. It's more like an electric scooter where the motor automatically comes to life when you press the pedal. It is smaller and lighter than other electric scooters (7.5 kg), and it allows you to ride with with minimal effort, even when his battery runs out. But, unfortunately, it doesn’t have shock-absorbing suspension.”

There are also more original vehicles: hoverboards, segways, unicycles, etc. For example, Honda released the Uni-Cub, a personal seated unicycle designed for driving on sidewalks. As the editors of CNET joke, these are the first steps towards the degenerating humanity from the cartoon “WALL*E”: according to its plot, people in the future are unbearably lazy about walking and they .

Towards new species personal transport This includes the electric folding trike TriCiti, developed by Ford engineers.

James Neugebauer, TriCiti author, Ford of Europe:“The first obvious use case is driving around the city, for example from the parking lot to the door of the house. The trike quickly turns into a motorized wheelbarrow for transporting heavy objects, including lifting them up stairs. It’s hard to imagine exactly where it will be used - perhaps it will become a cart in the supermarket of the future, transport for moving around the airport or a wheelbarrow for carrying clubs on the golf course.”

Drone delivery straight to your kitchen

Amazon's Prime Air drone

It is very possible that soon the city infrastructure will be more adapted and the concept of courier drones will grow into something real. Today, the e-commerce giant Amazon is considered the technology leader in this area. The company already began making its first air deliveries to its customers a year ago. So, as part of the Prime Air program, a drone delivered a set-top box and a pack of popcorn to a certain Richard from Cambridgeshire in England. Now the company is developing giant flying warehouses from which drones will lower goods down to people's homes. This will make shipping cheaper.

According to unofficial data, Russian Post is preparing to use drones to deliver parcels and correspondence to hard-to-reach areas of the country. Similar experiments are already being carried out by the French Post Office: drones are tested there over a 15-kilometer stretch once a week.

Ford engineers also showed their vision of future delivery. Their idea of ​​Autolivery seems to be a symbiosis of an unmanned van that transports drones. When the van arrives at the delivery address, the drone with the goods detaches and rises directly to the apartment’s balcony.

Andrey Frolov, editor-in-chief of the Arms Export magazine:“Today I don’t see any point in transporting cargo weighing 500 grams within the city. Obviously, these are just PR campaigns for Amazon and pizzerias. This is all nothing more than a joke. Another thing is that drones should be used where there is an immediate threat to humans: in areas of radioactive or chemical contamination, natural disasters.”

Autonomous vehicles

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The world has long been dreaming of an autonomous drone. Developments in this area are being carried out practically by the leaders of the automotive industry (Renault-Nissan, Ford, Peugeot Citroën, Audi, Daimler AG, General Motors, Tesla, Toyota), and technology giants (Google, Uber, Apple), and small startups (Faraday Future, Otto, Comma.ai, Cognitive Technologies).

Andrey Chernogorov, CEO of Cognitive Technologies:"Market driverless cars will soon be valued at $100 billion, there will be a fundamental change in consumption patterns. Various concepts are discussed: personal vehicles, taxi services, public transport. It doesn't make much difference to me whether it's a bus, a truck, or passenger car. We made a prototype, presented it at a state competition, received funding, and KamAZ became an industrial partner.”

Ken Washington, vice president of research and advanced engineering at Ford Motor Company:“We have been developing software for over ten years. Over the past year, we've put 30 self-driving test vehicles on the road in California, Michigan, and Arizona. But we have a lot of work to do. No one in the world has yet created a truly autonomous machine that works according to its own scenario, is fully oriented in space, etc. We continue to improve the software, develop new sensors, and conduct research. Our goal is to create by 2021.

How does our system work? First, we create a high-resolution 3D map of the area, mark it up and load it into the vehicle. Our unmanned system has different sensors - two lidars, long-range and short-range radars, as well as several wide-angle cameras. The software collects data from all devices, compiling a description of what is happening around, identifying every object in the field of view. This data is overlaid on a map of the area - if this object is not on it, the system assumes what might happen to it next and chooses the safest route.”

Work and play in the salon of the future

This is how designers imagine entertainment in the car of the future

The Internet in transport will no longer surprise anyone. But with development multimedia systems it can be useful not only for scrolling through Facebook or Instagram, but also for spending time usefully. It’s easy to imagine how a personal car turns into an office or coworking space, so you could start your working day right on the way to the office. Or imagine a bus school in which classes are held right in the city with stops at different places related to the lesson program.

Andrey Chernogorov:“A separate market that will begin to develop with the advent of unmanned vehicles is in car entertainment. Now you can neither play nor watch movies in the car, because you have to drive. And the most that can be done is to insert screens into the headrests so that children watch cartoons and do not distract the driver. But soon it will be possible to turn a car into a full-fledged cinema hall, a meeting room, a relaxation area with pleasant music and a place where you can sleep. The interior of the car will be equipped in the same way as the living rooms.”

Don Butler, executive director, Connected Services and Connected Vehicles, Ford Motor Company, said: “We first connected our customers to the car with SYNC, and now we've connected the car itself to the cloud in partnership with Vodafone. If we imagine a future with autonomous cars, then we will not need to drive the car and watch the road. Therefore, we can use windows and all other surfaces in the cabin as displays. You can watch a movie, concert or TV show on the big screen, or participate in a virtual meeting with presentation slides projected on one side and participants on the other. Plus, this environment must be flexible. For example, if you are driving through a park or historic building, the car can become a virtual guide, telling you exactly what you see in the window.”

Unmanned city cleaners

Futuristic garbage truck concept

The spread of unmanned systems will most likely affect not only personal and public transport in the city, but also, for example, city services. Municipalities are looking forward to these budget-saving technologies.

Marta Jubero, Head of Sustainable Development at the City of Barcelona:“Today we produce twice as much garbage as in the 1960s - that’s about 1.3 kg of garbage per person per day. And this big problem. Street cleaning and garbage collection are key services, accounting for 65% of the municipal budget. In Barcelona, ​​they spend about €270 million a year. In the future, with autonomous garbage trucks and cleaning machines, we could cut this budget by more than half. We could spend about €140 million on healthcare and education.

With the advent of artificial intelligence and the rise of the Internet of Things, we will have access to real-time data. The municipality will be able to monitor every aspect of city services. Usually these services are provided by private companies that have won the tender, and it would be easier for us to monitor the execution of contracts concluded with them.”

Conversations about what it will be like transport of the future, have been going on for a long time. Engine internal combustion has already practically reached its ceiling over more than a century-long history of improvement. Even with the use of alternative fuel, it will not become an order of magnitude better. The use of electric motors is so far limited to concepts with rather low efficiency and high production costs. The aviation industry does not offer anything fundamentally new either. Here most of the projects are in the development stage.

As for rail transport, today some countries are relying on it. Japanese supertrains can easily accelerate to 300 km/h now. It is expected that in 12-15 years, new L0 series trains will appear in the country, which will be capable of accelerating to 500 km/h. The Japanese authorities expect that high-speed rail will become the transport of the future in the country, replacing cars and airplanes. However, the latest disaster in Spain showed that this may not be safe.

Many companies are working on the concept of transport of the future, sometimes in completely opposite directions. We offer you only a few projects whose implementation may happen in the coming decades.

Rocket plane from XCor company. Lynx Mark II could begin testing this year. In addition to the usual ones, it is equipped rocket engines and is capable of accelerating to 3.5 thousand kilometers per hour, even rising into space. True, there are only two passengers in it, and during an hour-long flight they will experience serious overloads - 4G. Therefore, it cannot be considered a full-fledged transport of the future - rather, entertainment for moneybags.

Vacuum transportation. According to the developers, these will be special pipes from which air will be pumped out. Due to the lack of resistance, special passenger capsules will have to accelerate to 6.5 thousand km/h. The inventor expects minimal energy consumption of the capsule due to its low weight (only 183 kg) and plans to create individual ones that can replace cars. Creating a vacuum line will be four times cheaper than a highway and 10 times more economical than organizing a high-speed line railway.

SkyTran magnetic monorail. The urban transport of the future is already being built in Tel Aviv. The two-seater cabins will move at a height of six meters using a magnetic levitation. The monorail is scheduled to open next year. The Israeli authorities promise to make this absolutely silent, high-speed method of transportation as cheap as possible. The skyTran costs $10 million per mile to manufacture.

Solar train. This is a SolarBullet development based on the use of solar energy. The high-speed train lines will be equipped with solar panel canopies, and energy will be transmitted through the rails. The authorities of Arizona, one of the sunniest states in the United States, estimate the project at $27 billion.

Elon Musk presentation

Inventor Musk recently presented his own transport of the future. The American also plans to use solar energy for his project. His companies (Musk owns SpaceX and Tesla) have developed a Hyperloop system, the operating principle of which is similar to a pneumatic mail system that delivers documents inside buildings.

The project involves the creation of a closed pipeline with an artificial vacuum, located between San Francisco and Los Angeles (a distance of about 600 kilometers). Six-seat hovercraft capsules will continuously travel along the pipeline (as it fills with passengers). Due to the lack of friction, they can easily accelerate to 1,100 kilometers per hour using magnetic motors.

According to preliminary calculations, the entire journey will take no more than 35 minutes. This project is a real transport of the future and an excellent alternative to the railway. The construction of a high-speed rail line will require at least $70 billion, but it will be much slower and have high operating costs. Elon Musk's project is more than 10 times cheaper and much safer. If work on construction begins immediately, then by 2024 the first example of the transport of the future will be realized.

What are the prospects for innovative projects?

Quite weak so far. Simple and understandable systems, like in Tel Aviv, will be implemented more readily. Investors need confidence in quick payback and profitability. Development is hampered and insufficient technical basis, and the lack of reliable materials to create reliable batteries, solar panels, motors, etc. Global solutions are required to radically solve the issue of transport of the future - the same high-speed trains are already ready to transport millions, and alternative solutions are of a private nature.

Planes, trains and cars carried us throughout the twentieth century, but today none of this is anything new. The transport of the future will travel along lines of magnetic levitation, carry us on jetpacks (jetpacks) and fit in a backpack - and all this will happen sooner than you think.

Hyperloop

Imagine this: a brilliant billionaire develops an innovative electric car, founds a company that will transport astronauts to the International Space Station, and invents a highly successful alternative to the banking system. For many this may sound like science fiction, but in fact it is reality. Elon Musk founded Tesla Motors, SpaceX and PayPal, but this did not satiate his thirst for inventions: not so long ago, the billionaire presented his idea of ​​​​an ultra-fast urban transport system, which could “take you from San Francisco to Los Angeles in 35 minutes.” Hyperloop is a kind of steel tube through which aluminum capsules will move, carrying passengers at speeds of more than 1,200 km/h. Well, it will work on solar energy, of course.

What's the problem? The problem is the price. Musk estimates that Hyperloop will cost $70 billion at launch alone. The final costs could exceed $100 billion. This is approximately the same as the design cost of the bridge to Crimea across Kerch Strait. However, Hyperloop also has its critics.

Many complain that the system is too expensive, impractical and even slow. But a start has been made: already in 2015, the startup Hyperloop Transportation Technologies will present a Hyperloop prototype project. You can still bet on whether it will take off or not.

Nuclear powered vehicles

Even though almost everyone is scared of nuclear energy these days, it could very well be a big part of our collective future. There is an American company that is working on the radioactive transport business. For years, Laser Power Systems has been preaching the benefits of thorium, a radioactive element that is largely responsible for generating heat at the center of the Earth.

While nations are busy researching thorium for use in nuclear power plants, the purpose of LPS is more transparent. The company plans to build car engine, which will run on one small piece of radioactive material. The engine would run, concentrate the heat generated by the thorium, and use it to turn water into steam, which would spin a series of microturbines to generate electricity. Thorium is an extremely dense element, so a nut-sized piece of it can power a car for a hundred years. In other words, you won't have to pay for gasoline.

Supercavitation

In the world of marine engineering, no idea is gaining traction faster than supercavitation. This effect occurs when a layer of gas bubbles forms around an object in a liquid (think of a submarine surrounded by bubbles). The gas reduces friction by almost 900 times its normal value, allowing objects to be moved through water very quickly.

It goes without saying that a supercavitating boat would be a huge asset to any navy. In addition to high speed With relatively low fuel consumption, the special shape makes it difficult to detect by sonar. Such a boat can outrun a torpedo.

Juliet Marine Systems, private company in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, is trying to build such a boat. GHOST will protect naval vessels from pirates attacking them. Also, such a transport can be an effective ferry, capable of quickly moving troops to enemy shores.

Jetpack Martina

TIME magazine's list of the 50 best inventions of 2010 included "the world's first practical jetpack." For convenience, we will call it a jetpack. These jetpacks are actively being developed and are no longer a figment of science fiction imagination. Here, for example, is one of the recent tests:

Glenn Martin, a New Zealander, has been working on his jetpack for over 30 years and it is almost ready for commercial sale. It runs on ducted fans and can fly for up to 30 minutes at a time. Its maximum speed is just under 74 km/h, and its flight altitude is up to 900 meters. Initially, such a jetpack was developed for firefighters and emergency rescue teams, but now Martin decided to give people the opportunity to try it out.

Velogorod

It would be cool to ride a bike every day, but for many people, such trips are not worth the effort. Well, the Americans have found a way to make this extremely difficult task easier. In 2006, Toronto unveiled plans to create a “high-speed, all-season, green, ultra-quiet transit system that will make people healthier.” Almost a bike path on steroids. Designed by Toronto architect Chris Hardwick, it features a three-lane bicycle tube. The pipe is divided in directions, allowing the air to create a tailwind. The efficiency of cyclists will increase by 90% and they will be able to accelerate to 50 km/h. The bicycle city (Velo-city, as the project is called) will ideally work in cold conditions, since cyclists inside the tube will be protected from bad weather.

When the idea was proposed, it stirred the masses, but the project was eventually scrapped due to lack of funding. However, he was not forgotten. Maybe in the future we can go for a ride too.

Next

We've all heard about Google's self-driving cars. But have you heard of Next? Part taxi, part Segway, part origami, this design with an emphasis on social interaction must be seen to be understood. Designer Tommaso Gezzelin imagined a world where you use your smartphone to call Next, a self-driving module that will pick you up. You slide into the adjustable chair and the door closes. A module rides on four wheels until it encounters a group of other modules.

Then a miracle happens. Your seat moves to an upright position and your unit becomes on two wheels while connected to the group. It's like you're sitting on a bus or train. The modules are detached as easily as they are connected. As you approach your destination, your module detaches to allow you to be dropped off without any hassle.

The idea is fantastic. Unfortunately, we have a long way to go before we're ready for Next. In his plans, Goezzelin outlines timelines for technologies that must be developed or improved. These include cheap nanomaterials, self-driving cars, high-power batteries, and low-cost, high-capacity solar panels. In general, not earlier than 2025, according to the creator of Next.

Kolelinio
Believe it or not, bungee travel could very well become a reality with Kolelinio, a concept presented by Martin Angelov at the TEDx conference in Thessaloniki in 2010. Angelov showed a network of wires crossing the sky, with the help of which people can easily move from place to place. As the designer points out, we are driven by cars that weigh 20 times more than our bodies, and our roads are too expensive.

This can be done away with, and the transport infrastructure can also be significantly greened. Travelers using Kolelinio will secure themselves in special chairs that will transport them on wires, staying closer to the ground in pedestrian areas and rising higher in high-traffic areas.

There are, however, a few disadvantages. The Kolelinio offers no protection from bad weather, is not suitable for people with a fear of heights and raises a number of safety concerns. Nevertheless, this is a very innovative idea and let's hope that there is someone who will bring the idea to life.

Skylon

Skylon is generally considered the successor to the Concorde, a plane that flew faster than the speed of sound but was retired about 10 years ago. In 2013, the UK announced plans to spend more than $90 million to develop the Skylon, a superfast aircraft that can travel five times the speed of sound and reach Earth's orbit into space. It will be able to take off from any runway in the world and carry 300 passengers from London to Sydney in four hours. Or it could be used to transport cargo to the ISS. But he is unlikely to compete with the options currently being considered for this position.

Development of Skylon is underway, although making this transport is very, very difficult. The final cost could be more than a billion dollars. Nevertheless, many scientists and journalists are optimistic about this project. If all goes according to plan, the prototype will be ready by 2017. What then? "Get into space and access anywhere in the world in just four hours," says Alan Bond, founder of Reaction Engines, the company working on Skylon's propulsion system.

SCARAB

This concept vehicle is something sleek and streamlined, vaguely reminiscent of a motorcycle, but closed and with plenty of room for luggage. It can be controlled manually, or use autopilot. SCARAB runs on batteries, biofuel and gasoline. It drives on four wheels, but when parking it becomes two. And it adds up.

Designer David Miguel Moreira Goncalves had an urban environment in mind when he drew his plans. As he himself noted, “the goal of this project was to develop a holistic solution for new system urban transport, consisting of a car and infrastructure.” In other words, he noticed that people prefer personal cars urban transport, so I decided to develop something individual, lightweight and environmentally friendly.

SCARAB has not yet been built, but what prevents it from being done in the future?

SkyTran

Tel Aviv, Israel, lies in the heart of the ancient cradle of civilization. But it's not outdated at all. Tel Aviv is a dynamic, noisy city, living 24 hours a day, and problems with traffic he's full. That's why city planners had the idea to build an air-magnetic transport system. They called it SkyTran. Of course, the designers imagined too much, but essentially the idea is workable. SkyTran will ride six meters above the ground. Or a little lower, since the grain-shaped capsules will be attached from below, thanks to Maglev (magnetic levitation) technology.

Passengers will be able to use a smartphone app to summon a pod to the nearest station. The cars will operate independently and take passengers as close to their destination as possible, if the tracks allow. According to SkyTran CEO Jerry Sanders, a ride on SkyTran won't cost much more than taking a bus, but less than taking a taxi. In addition, if solar panels are installed, SkyTran will become a completely independent system.

SkyTran will be able to reach speeds of up to 241 km/h, but this will come later - first passengers will get used to slower speeds. The idea itself is fantastic and goes back to the comics of the 50s, and so does the aerodynamic shape of the car. But suddenly. The future is coming inexorably.

The Hyperloop project of the creator of PayPal and Tesla Motors, Elon Musk, is quickly transforming from a futuristic concept into a very promising business. It involves creating trains that can travel faster than most modern aircraft. Today it became known that Oerlikon Leybold Vacuum, owned by Viktor Vekselberg, has become Musk’s partner in this business. Interest in the project has already been shown in the United Arab Emirates and China. “The Secret” has selected several more projects that could become the transport of the future and bring in billions.

Vacuum Hyperloop trains

In August 2013, Elon Musk presented the concept of high-speed transport of the future - a vacuum train and a Hyperloop highway. Inside the steel pipe on air cushions transport capsules will move around, each accommodating up to 28 people. The speed approximately corresponds to the speed of sound in air - 1200 km/h.

The pipe will be supported by columns, and electricity will be provided by solar panels installed throughout the airway. Musk says it requires 21 megawatts to operate, and the panels will be able to generate 57 MW on a sunny day. Thus, if capsules were sent from the station every half minute, 7.4 million people a year could travel from San Francisco to Los Angeles (600 km) in less than half an hour. According to Musk's calculations, the project will pay for itself in 20 years, provided that a one-way ticket costs no more than $20.

Hyperloop is an alternative to the high-speed railway project that the American authorities are building between San Francisco and Los Angeles. It is planned to spend about $70 billion on the implementation of the project. Musk is confident that his concept requires only $7.5 billion. However, he admitted that he is not yet ready to take on Hyperloop - SpaceX and Tesla are taking up all his time. Musk hopes that someone else will take on the project, and he, in turn, promises all kinds of support, including financial.

Bus system 3D Express Coach

In 2010, the Chinese company Shenzhen Huashi Future Parking Equipment presented the 3D Express Coach bus project. Although it bears little resemblance to a traditional bus: according to the developers, it should move parallel to the movement of public transport and above it. To do this, the roads need to be equipped with something like a monorail on the sides. The width of the bus is designed to cover two vehicle lanes.

Seats for passengers are located on the second level; special platforms must be built for them to board and disembark. In case emergency situation they can leave the bus using an inflatable ramp. 3D Express Coach is designed for 1,200 - 1,400 people - according to the creators, it can replace about 40 regular city buses, and its appearance will reduce traffic jams by 30%.

To move, the bus can use the energy of solar panels installed on its roof. Fuel savings would amount to 860 tons per year, and the volume of harmful emissions would be reduced by 2,640 tons per year.

The cost of constructing an experimental road with a length of 40 km was estimated at $73 million.

The project was supposed to begin in 2010 in Beijing, but local authorities later abandoned this idea. The authorities of Shijiazhuang City District and Wuhu City have shown interest in two-level transport. It is unknown at what stage the projects are now. Also in 2013, the authorities of the Brazilian city of Manaus signed an agreement with the bus developers on the construction of such a road system.

E-Volo multicopters

In 2011, three German engineers developed a prototype of the first manned multicopter with 16 rotors. The total weight of the structure is 80 kg. In essence, the multicopter consists of two crossed aluminum five-meter beams to which the pilot's seat is attached. The chair is supported by a large orthopedic ball - it should soften the landing. The aircraft is controlled by one joystick.

The main advantages of E-Volo are safety and affordable price. The copter will be able to stay in the air even if several propellers fail. If they all fail, the parachute system will work, which will deliver the pilot and the device to the ground. According to the creators, the cost of the multicopter will be determined by the size and carrying capacity, but the starting price for the simplest configuration is $1,000. So far, the prototype can be in the air for no more than 20 minutes, because E-Volo runs on electricity, but the creators promise to increase the flight time to one hour. Speed ​​- up to 60 km/h.

In 2013, E-Volo engineers decided to make a full-fledged helicopter with 18 rotors based on a multicopter, its test tests were successful. Now E-Volo is trying to establish mass production of multicopters.

Travelators from NBBJ

A few days ago, the architectural bureau NBBJ presented a concept for decongesting the London Underground Circle Line. It is based on a network of travelators moving at different speeds on stepless paths.

NBBJ proposes to place three travelators in a row in metro tunnels. One of them will move at a speed of 44 km/h, the middle one will move a little slower, and another one will move at the speed of a human step, so that it is convenient for passengers to enter from the platforms. According to the developers, this is a “healthy and pleasant” alternative to the subway.

At the same time, passengers can ride on travelators standing or walk on them, thereby increasing their speed.

The amount required to implement the project and the reaction of the London authorities are still unknown.

Suborbital spaceship Space Ship Two

Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic is set to begin testing its second suborbital tourist spacecraft, Space Ship Two, this year.