Electric and autonomous mobility: Re-imagining the future of transportation

Transportation is a fundamental and indispensable part of our lives. Rapid changes in technology and consumer behavior have introduced a lot of advancements in the automobile sector that are transforming the way the automobile sector works today. Whether drones, boats, planes, or anything else, most things are likely to be electrified and automated in the near future.

Electrification of vehicles opened up the avenue for connected & autonomous intelligent vehicles. Consumers are no longer ready to settle for boring traditional options and are demanding comfort, safety and technology at the same time!

Some of the key trends we anticipate are as follows:

Comfort – We have been seeing the demand for SUV luxury, space, and stability for our roads. Electric vehicles are no exception to this consumer choice.

Safety – The safe mobility is inevitable. The objective of #VisionZero traffic accidents are not far from reach, thanks to the advent of connected vehicles. The aspect of safety will be strengthened with the additional set of perception, intelligence and assistance that will drastically reduce the element of human-error on roads.

Convenience – Consumers today don’t want three different modes of transport from origin to destination. They look for absolute convenience while travelling. PRTs & autonomous shuttle pods are finally going to transform from hype to reality. We are going to see the automobile sector offering more origin to destination convenience even in shared mobility.

Air quality – The issues of particulate emissions & air quality in urban areas are going to be addressed for a large part. Advancement in EV specific tires is going to alleviate some of the concerns on the particulate emissions related to traction

New vehicle forms beyond Sedan and SUV – People in the coming future are going to have a lot of choices between Bike and Car, between Car and Pickup, between Pickup and Van, and between Van and Bus. Caravans and houses with wheels are going to be reality with the help of V2G, renewable power & satellite internet. That time is not far when we will see work from home becoming a possibility even from the remotest of corners.

Alternate – In the coming times, we are going to see the emergence of New battery chemistries, solid-state cells, fuel cells especially for trucks & cargo etc. being solar assisted. Repurposing, reusing & recycling of old batteries will become a very common concept. Renewable energy is going to take off and will become the new normal. Global energy grid just like the world wide web will be a reality sooner rather than later.

Connectivity –. Drive assistance, auto-summon, auto-park & auto-dock will make next gen vehicles four times more utilized with less footprint which includes both manufacturing footprint as well as parking footprint. This is going to redefine shared mobility.

Wireless charging -- It is going to be a game changer in the seamless experience that autonomous EVs can provide.

Manufacturing – The manufacturing will be done in such a way that the footprint will be low and distributed, with increased emphasis on recycling and reuse, modular platforms, easy-to-assemble kits, durable and high quality over cheap and replaceable, and customizable for the convenience of the customer.

Customer experience and distribution – It is going to experience a significant transformation. From VR trials to at-home servicing we will see less push-sales, less middle-men and more consumer evangelists.

Traffic decongestion – Tech innovation along with coordination and human-will is going to lead to drastic decongestion of metro cities.

Predicting the future may be difficult. But creating the future is up to us. Autonomous and electric mobility technologies have already started to revolutionise the transportation sector.

It is time for all of us to convert the possibility into a reality!

-- Sravan Appana, CEO at iGowise Mobility - Sustainable Mobility Co.