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(from Zagato Press
Release) People Mover
At the World Future Energy Summit in Abu Dhabi, Zagato, the Italian
Total Design Center, responsible for aerodynamic collectibles cars
like Aston Martin, Bentley, Ferrari, Maserati and Spyker, unveiled a
futuristic model of an automated people mover vehicle, for Masdar
City.
Developed by 2getthere,
a Dutch firm specialising in “systems”, the podcar is an electric
vehicle that will act as an automated taxi to serve pre-coordinated
stops and will be used to transport students at the campus of the
Masdar Institute of Science and Technology, the first phase in
development of Masdar City.
Masdar, Abu Dhabi’s
carbon-free eco-city, intends to produce seven per cent of its
electricity through renewable sources by 2020.
The collaboration of
Zagato with eco-efficient transport firms started almost 40 years
ago as a response to the oil crisis with “Milanina”, for the 1972
Milan fair, and “Zele”, (launched in USA).
The driverless Zagato-designed
podcar operates on lithium-ion batteries, expected to power more
than three hours of drive time before needing to be recharged for an
hour. The vehicle seats four or six passengers who need only to
punch in the destination desired on a console inside the cabin, the
car
will do the rest.
To avoid collisions –
the car will travel at 40kph along straight paths, and 25kph when
turning – sensors in the front of the cars will help it slow down or
stop if it detects anything as far as 10 meters ahead.
The personal rapid
transit (PRT) car will count the number of wheel revolutions and
note the angle of the wheel to calculate its position. Magnets,
implanted in the surface of the dedicated roads for the PRT, will
also play a major role by acting as markers to keep the cars on
path.
The design of the podcar
gives the passengers a feeling of indoor space, in harmony with the
external environment. The basic construction is functional and
conventional, the vehicles run on rubber tires and has a simple
tubular chassis. The model showcased at the Summit was a “VIP” model
with leather
seats instead of a more conventional fabric.
