Public transport gets personal
In most European cities it is hard to imagine that private cars and taxis could ever be replaced by a public transportation system that provides personal, door-to-door service. But this is exactly the long-term vision of researchers who directed the R&D project into automated transportation at the French National Institute for Research in Computer Science and Control. Small autonomous cars can offer a massive boost in the efficiency of public transport. Furthermore, these so-called cybernetic cars may be the ideal solution for the congested and polluted historical city centres. They can extend the reach of public transport, taking people from bus, tram and train stations deeper into the heart of cities or to distant suburbs. The Cybermove project built on the work of an earlier R&D project funded by the European Commission. Cybercars developed a number of sense, control and guidance technologies to enable vehicles to navigate roads and avoid obstacles. However, these small electric road vehicles with fully automated capabilities will never be seen on city roads unless travellers make use of them. During the Cybermove project, researchers sought to demonstrate that cybernetic cars can offer the same flexibility as the private car, but with much less noise nuisance and impact on the environment. The goal of public demonstrations carried out in historic cities was to prove that this new technology has the potential to solve some of the most acute mobility problems faced by many European cities. The cybernetic cars have already reached suitable levels of reliability, safety and user friendliness. They may be easily moved from one location to another and, when not needed, they can also drive themselves autonomously to a remote parking area. Moreover, their flexible design made it possible to propose a number of automated transport systems, including the Ultra system under construction at Heathrow Airport and the Cybercab robots in Masdar, Abu Dhabi. Still, cybernetic cars were considered to be more suitable in specific environments, such as hospitals, airports, leisure and business parks, where the distance covered is relatively small. Several improvements will be needed before this new mobility concept can be transformed into a public transport mode for a large number of people.
