The World is overdue for redesigning its vehicles. Our current vehicles don’t fit onto many of the roads on too much of the planet. And the most basic question: “Do you really need a 1 ½ thousand kilogram vehicle to shift one person around?” stands and stares at us.
If the world is to approach a population of 70 billion, what will be required in a sustainable vehicle technology is probably closer in structure to a bicycle than to the current car. The issues are simple. Safe economical transport for people and goods on crowded roads.
Our technologies have changed considerably since the advent of the motor vehicle to the mass market in the early 1900s. New types of fuel exist. New forms of energy production and storage e.g. batteries exist. Engine and design technologies have evolved exponentially. And the needs of our cities and its peoples are in constant evolution.
An aside regarding the car companies: “to fail to innovate and to produce new solutions to existing problems is to resign themselves to competing with other manufacturers AS “Commodities”. The profit premium always belongs to innovation.” If you fail to be at the forefront, you get fed with the pack.”
Of interest to me is the realisation that the technology in this example is the easiest aspect of the proposal. It is the social aspects and acceptability of the proposal that require the most innovation.
At the most basic and fundamental level, smaller cars should be narrower not shorter. If you can put two cars into a single lane, you have doubled and perhaps even tripled the carrying capacity of a road. (It has long been proposed that doubling the number of lanes more than doubles the carrying capacity of a road due to the ability of traffic to bypass the impediment of other traffic e.g. turning traffic.)
.
Kinkajou: Examples From science fiction
referring to this technology include:
Ed Straker and his futuristic car from the series UFO. These things actually exist and are not that rare these days. It’s just taken 40 or 50 years longer to get here than we had thought in the 70s.
Future Car TV show UFO
The Serjeants in Peter Hamilton’s novels suggests that a vehicle such as a humanised robot may actually carry a human consciousness. Why not a vehicle such as a car carrying a consciousness as much as a human shaped robot?
The issue of a vehicle carrying a human consciousness rises in a couple of other memorable novels. Notably Brian Stableford: Hooded Swan series and Frank Herbert: The Dosadi Experiment. Stableford’s hero Grainger carries an alien mind parasite “The Wind”. “The Wind” seems to be a good cohabitant.
He doesn’t take charge of things and lets you run your own real estate. But he can always step in and take over in a crisis if necessary. He can also be the wind beneath your wings rather than taking full charge as well.
In “The Dosadi Experiment”, Jedrik escapes from the ultimate prison in the only way possible – within another person’s mind. And Jedrik stays within the mind – thinking – planning – scheming.
Charles Stross: Saturn’s Children/Neptune’s Brood. The citizens of the future are robots. They can carry their own consciousness and can share aspects of their own consciousness through consciousness “chips”.
The authors make the point that human beings are not really adapted to the colonisation of space. Humans are too fragile and too prone to radiation. Robots can be stacked essentially in vacuum and even packed next to nuclear engine – being essentially radiation proof. Robotic marrow techne can repair damage from even the most hostile sources.
Freya Nakamachi- 47
The BattleTech series of books introduces the MechWarrior and the Elemental as the combat machines of the future. Giant mechanical man – now more man the machine going to battle. It does emphasise the point though, that the human form is a very flexible and adaptive form, capable of working in many different ways in many situations.
If the MechWarriors could be as flexible, they could be formidable indeed. Of interest – the book series does not show Mechs crawling – apparently they stand tall when going to battle. Seems unrealistic – big profile for the target. Robert Heinlein: Starship Troopers has a similar vision of the warriors of the future in his book. (The movie series of the same name has a different perspective to the book on the future of soldiers.)
Iain Banks: “The Culture” series of novels. This author introduces the GPV – general-purpose vehicle. Humans and similar species have coalesced onto purpose made habitats and become independent of asteroidal or planetary bodies for habitats. Habitats are purpose-built, can travel as ships and are of the same size as cities on earth today.
James Blish: Cities in Flight series. The new vehicle of the future is the mobile city. A new form of drive/shield makes cities into mobile habitats capable of traversing the galaxy. Cities other worker bees of the civilisations of the future.
Brisbane In Space
AE Van Vogt: The War Against the Rull. Again humanity is building city sized spaceships to allow them to escape from the galaxy in an attempt to bypass a ruthless enemy alien species. We see antigravity used in vehicles for travel. We see the alien Rull capable of flying through their unique power over energy projection.
Chris Bunch and Allan Cole: Sten: Empires End. These authors make the point that energy and resource can dictate the directions of growth. In this series the Empire is based on AM2 a unique form of antimatter which is totally converted to energy and is non-polluting. The control of this energy source allows control of the Empire. Civilisation as we know it is totally dependent upon the availability of this energy source. Without it each of our planets become separate islands in the night – not a civilisation.
Philip Mann: The Disestablishment of Paradise. In this book we see the concept of fractal platform travel. This is a distinct method of travel from other more common technologies such as the Stargate, the wormhole or FTL drive. It seems somehow unusual – the basic underlying tenant I believe is that in the quantum universe there is no space. So if you can search through from one point to another, one can leave one place and exit in another.
Anne McCaffrey: Dragon Riders of Pern series. Dragons can go between. They can travel through a type of quantum space to emerge another space. Humans and things attached to the Dragon can be taken with the Dragon from place to place. A new unique and interesting form a vehicle for travel. The only drawback being dragons need to be fed – and big animals have big appetites. The Dragon will happily dispatch one or two Wherries – essentially equivalent in size of a cow or ox.
Donald Moffitt: Second Genesis. Humanity is sent to neighbouring galaxies through the medium of a radio signal. The signal is intercepted by an alien species- the NAR. Of all the possible outcomes of the act of transmitting a radio signal coding DNA – meeting the NAR is the best conceivable outcome. They are friendly species willing to share and wanting to be partners with us. I think truly friends – as good as the Thranx.
Kinkajou :
What does this technology remind me of in Brisbane?
Go Sightseeing on the ferries, especially the City Hopper service. Remember the City Hopper is free. And the boardwalks of the central city will introduce you to Brisbane the river city. Sightseeing buses. (The hop on - hop off buses have become a worldwide phenomenon. But you can also use our city buses to travel around our city as well). The Translink website gives you all the planning information you needs. Unfortunately in Brisbane – public transport is not timely.
Kinkajou: Clever New Applications:
- Narrow Cars
- Antigravity in Vehicles
- Fusion power in small engine format
Public Transport Brisbane
The World is overdue for redesigning its vehicles. Our current vehicles don’t fit onto many of the roads on too much of the planet. And the most basic question: “Do you really need a 1 ½ thousand kilogram vehicle to shift one person around?” stands and stares at us.
If the world is to approach a population of 70 billion, what will be required in a sustainable vehicle technology is probably closer in structure to a bicycle than to the current car. The issues are simple. Safe economical transport for people and goods on crowded roads.
Our technologies have changed considerably since the advent of the motor vehicle to the mass market in the early 1900s. New types of fuel exist. New forms of energy production and storage e.g. batteries exist. Engine and design technologies have evolved exponentially. And the needs of our cities and its peoples are in constant evolution.
An aside regarding the car companies: “to fail to innovate and to produce new solutions to existing problems is to resign themselves to competing with other manufacturers AS “Commodities”. The profit premium always belongs to innovation.” If you fail to be at the forefront, you get fed with the pack.”
Of interest to me is the realisation that the technology in this example is the easiest aspect of the proposal. It is the social aspects and acceptability of the proposal that require the most innovation.
At the most basic and fundamental level, smaller cars should be narrower not shorter. If you can put two cars into a single lane, you have doubled and perhaps even tripled the carrying capacity of a road. (It has long been proposed that doubling the number of lanes more than doubles the carrying capacity of a road due to the ability of traffic to bypass the impediment of other traffic e.g. turning traffic.)
.
Kinkajou: Examples From science fiction
referring to this technology include:
Ed Straker and his futuristic car from the series UFO. These things actually exist and are not that rare these days. It’s just taken 40 or 50 years longer to get here than we had thought in the 70s.
Future Car TV show UFO
The Serjeants in Peter Hamilton’s novels suggests that a vehicle such as a humanised robot may actually carry a human consciousness. Why not a vehicle such as a car carrying a consciousness as much as a human shaped robot?
The issue of a vehicle carrying a human consciousness rises in a couple of other memorable novels. Notably Brian Stableford: Hooded Swan series and Frank Herbert: The Dosadi Experiment. Stableford’s hero Grainger carries an alien mind parasite “The Wind”. “The Wind” seems to be a good cohabitant.
He doesn’t take charge of things and lets you run your own real estate. But he can always step in and take over in a crisis if necessary. He can also be the wind beneath your wings rather than taking full charge as well.
In “The Dosadi Experiment”, Jedrik escapes from the ultimate prison in the only way possible – within another person’s mind. And Jedrik stays within the mind – thinking – planning – scheming.
Charles Stross: Saturn’s Children/Neptune’s Brood. The citizens of the future are robots. They can carry their own consciousness and can share aspects of their own consciousness through consciousness “chips”.
The authors make the point that human beings are not really adapted to the colonisation of space. Humans are too fragile and too prone to radiation. Robots can be stacked essentially in vacuum and even packed next to nuclear engine – being essentially radiation proof. Robotic marrow techne can repair damage from even the most hostile sources.
Freya Nakamachi- 47
The BattleTech series of books introduces the MechWarrior and the Elemental as the combat machines of the future. Giant mechanical man – now more man the machine going to battle. It does emphasise the point though, that the human form is a very flexible and adaptive form, capable of working in many different ways in many situations.
If the MechWarriors could be as flexible, they could be formidable indeed. Of interest – the book series does not show Mechs crawling – apparently they stand tall when going to battle. Seems unrealistic – big profile for the target. Robert Heinlein: Starship Troopers has a similar vision of the warriors of the future in his book. (The movie series of the same name has a different perspective to the book on the future of soldiers.)
Iain Banks: “The Culture” series of novels. This author introduces the GPV – general-purpose vehicle. Humans and similar species have coalesced onto purpose made habitats and become independent of asteroidal or planetary bodies for habitats. Habitats are purpose-built, can travel as ships and are of the same size as cities on earth today.
James Blish: Cities in Flight series. The new vehicle of the future is the mobile city. A new form of drive/shield makes cities into mobile habitats capable of traversing the galaxy. Cities other worker bees of the civilisations of the future.
Brisbane In Space
AE Van Vogt: The War Against the Rull. Again humanity is building city sized spaceships to allow them to escape from the galaxy in an attempt to bypass a ruthless enemy alien species. We see antigravity used in vehicles for travel. We see the alien Rull capable of flying through their unique power over energy projection.
Chris Bunch and Allan Cole: Sten: Empires End. These authors make the point that energy and resource can dictate the directions of growth. In this series the Empire is based on AM2 a unique form of antimatter which is totally converted to energy and is non-polluting. The control of this energy source allows control of the Empire. Civilisation as we know it is totally dependent upon the availability of this energy source. Without it each of our planets become separate islands in the night – not a civilisation.
Philip Mann: The Disestablishment of Paradise. In this book we see the concept of fractal platform travel. This is a distinct method of travel from other more common technologies such as the Stargate, the wormhole or FTL drive. It seems somehow unusual – the basic underlying tenant I believe is that in the quantum universe there is no space. So if you can search through from one point to another, one can leave one place and exit in another.
Anne McCaffrey: Dragon Riders of Pern series. Dragons can go between. They can travel through a type of quantum space to emerge another space. Humans and things attached to the Dragon can be taken with the Dragon from place to place. A new unique and interesting form a vehicle for travel. The only drawback being dragons need to be fed – and big animals have big appetites. The Dragon will happily dispatch one or two Wherries – essentially equivalent in size of a cow or ox.
Donald Moffitt: Second Genesis. Humanity is sent to neighbouring galaxies through the medium of a radio signal. The signal is intercepted by an alien species- the NAR. Of all the possible outcomes of the act of transmitting a radio signal coding DNA – meeting the NAR is the best conceivable outcome. They are friendly species willing to share and wanting to be partners with us. I think truly friends – as good as the Thranx.
Kinkajou :
What does this technology remind me of in Brisbane?
Go Sightseeing on the ferries, especially the City Hopper service. Remember the City Hopper is free. And the boardwalks of the central city will introduce you to Brisbane the river city. Sightseeing buses. (The hop on - hop off buses have become a worldwide phenomenon. But you can also use our city buses to travel around our city as well). The Translink website gives you all the planning information you needs. Unfortunately in Brisbane – public transport is not timely.
Kinkajou: Clever New Applications:
- Narrow Cars
- Antigravity in Vehicles
- Fusion power in small engine format
Public Transport Brisbane