Smart Mobility- Not Only A Dream Anymore

Smart Mobility- Not Only A Dream Anymore

Connectivity has become a key product feature that is being incorporated into our daily lives. Our lives revolve around our smart phones. Accordingly, understanding the society’s demand for concept innovation, the automobile industry is focused on turning your car into an intensely personalized and customized extension of yourself.

The future of mobility is changing, owing to novel innovations and revolutionary technologies such as connected cars and autonomous vehicles (AV) blooming within the automotive industry, paving the way for a better tomorrow. The automobile industry has identified that the existing infrastructure would fail to sustain the rising number of vehicles expected in near future due to tomorrow's economic development and population growth

Predicting this future, the engineers hypothesized that we would need not only smarter vehicles, but smarter roads and smarter cities. Quite literally, the industry is now reinventing how we use and interact with cars.

Already the industry has begun multiple smart mobility experiments globally, in conjunction with universities and researchers, to help change the way the world moves. “This technology is available, it has been tested in normal roads already,” Acting Director, University of Technology Sydney (UTS) Robotics, Faculty of Engineering & Information Technology and Core Member of Centre for Autonomous Systems (CAS), Professor Sarath Kodagoda said.

A Smart Mobility Plan has been mapped out using smart vehicles, digital connectivity, user experience design, autonomous vehicle technology and data and analytics to offer people mobility in a way they can quickly and easily use it. 

Communication between modes of transport and user interfaces is pivotal in Smart mobility. This is facilitated through the Internet of Things (IoT) via a wireless network. Connectivity among cars allows us to monitor brakes and engine, control tire pressure and exhaust gas composition. In addition, new technologies enable users to reserve parking spaces, prevent collisions and aids in traffic management. Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) allows drivers to avoid potential hazards ensuring their safety. Smart Mobility allows users to widen their transportation options which would in turn reduce commuting time, minimize traffic congestion, and increase users' safety. 

According to Professor Kodagoda, research suggests that fatality rates are significantly lower when using smart cars in comparison with the usual man-driven cars. Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) use warning signals to highlight objects in the driver’s blind spot and can brake automatically in an emergency. Smart cars use Vehicle to Everything (V2X) technology to call an ambulance when an accident happens.  

Moreover, Smart Mobility would bring about a significant decrease in traffic congestion. If all vehicles communicate and travel consistently, this could eliminate “phantom traffic” which is created due to drivers waiting for each other to move before accelerating and limit the effects of human error like stop-and-start driving. 

By reducing congestion, smart mobility can save the money spent on fuel.   Moreover, eliminating the need for drivers could save time and money; for example, people can work while on the road.

In addition, Smart Mobility would contribute to decreased pollution. Existing mobility systems plays a significant role in releasing greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution in cities.   Clean technology is one of the principles of smart mobility and can significantly reduce emissions and through that to replace polluting vehicles with more eco-friendly modes of transportation.  

The IoT technology is commonly used in public transport management systems. IoT opens many possibilities to transport systems such as real-time vehicle tracking, factoring for unpredicted events (bad weather, road closure, accidents, etc.), and providing personalized travel information.   

Although this technology is available, it hasn’t been adapted widely in the world. This is due to concerns in relation to existing legal and administrative systems. Moreover, cybersecurity and privacy concerns also pose a major threat to the introduction of this technology.

“Smart Vehicle Concept is not a dream anymore. Soon the world would embrace it,” Professor Kodagoda commented.

By Thisari Andria

Bibliography 
Smart Mobility in Tomorrow’s Smart Cities | HERE Mobility. (2020). Retrieved 12 November 2020, from https://mobility.here.com/learn/smart-mobility/smart-mobility-tomorrows-smart-cities

The Future of Mobility. (2020). Retrieved 12 November 2020, from https://www.wired.com/brandlab/2015/12/the-future-of-mobility/

An Introduction to Smart Transport | HERE Mobility. (2020). Retrieved 12 November 2020, from https://mobility.here.com/learn/smart-transportation/introduction-smart-transport

WIRED, H. (2020). How Connectivity is Driving the Future of the Car. Retrieved 12 November 2020, from https://www.wired.com/brandlab/2016/02/how-connectivity-is-driving-the-future-of-the-car/

Image Reference 
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