Talk:Automated transport systems

From AdCiv
Revision as of 00:01, 26 April 2010 by Balatro (Talk | contribs)

Jump to: navigation, search
This 'discussion page' is currently used to hold notes for the development of this website (however it can still be used for discussion)

Most people would think twice about flying on airliners knowing that 2885 jumbos crash each year killing all <<there is no way this is true. The number is between zero and one. (severe injuries: 36,000 jumbos crash landing) — this is reality of road transport. Likelihood of being killed on the road is something like 1 in 200 (need to find ref).

  • Trains
    • Light rail
    • Personal rapid transit
    • Maglev
      • Vacuum maglev system (DONE)
        • Gravity vacuum maglev (almost no energy required)
  • Driverless road vehicles
  • Electric vehicles
  • Aircraft
    • Personal aircraft
    • Sub-orbital passenger craft
    • Autonomous helicopters already exist [1]
    • Spacecraft etc.
  • Airships (DONE)
  • Ships.
    • Unmanned freighters. There exists a ship big enough to carry ten thousand cars that runs on a combo of wave, wind and solar energy [2]. This cost $110 million to build; but what are the fuel costs of an ordinary ship? Shipping can be made more efficient by very light, very strong materials. Catamarans are more hydrodynamic. As for automation, there are plenty of small unmanned military boats (USVs in military-speak).


Financial cost of road traffic accidents estimated at over $120 billion in the US and over $193 billion in the Europe Union. (Found in slideshow from Delphi Automotive Integrated Safety Systems - need to find source).


Non-automated, but desirable vehicles for another section:

  • Electric / fuel cell
  • Human powered - International Human-Powered Vehicle Association is a dynamic organization of hobbyists designing and testing human powered land, air and water vehicles and even submarines. Some of the stuff there is pretty amazing: somebody flew 74 miles in a pedal-powered plane, somebody else broke 82mph in a recumbent bicycle. What's more, the community of people doing this are very much in favour of free and open design. Human powered vehicles will probably remain something people do mostly for fun, rather than as part of an economic infrastructure.

http://www.aerospace-technology.com/projects/skycat/