I had the good fortune of attending Temple University’s conference on Digital Transformation of Urban Experiences today.
The keynote address was by Dr. William Mitchell of MIT. The idea presented was that of the City Car – a futuristic car that MIT is working on. This car is designed for shared use, and can be used by swiping a credit card at the vending locations. After reaching the intended destination, the driver can return the car to a stack of cars. The car will run on electricity, and will be on charge when returned to the stack.
The car will be somewhat analogous to a shopping cart. It can turn 360 degrees. The only control a driver needs to use, other than direction control, is a lever which when pushed forward, accelerates the car and when pulled back, decelerates it. Parallel parking would be simple. The driver needs to spin the wheels 90 degrees and drive right in!
Dr. Mitchell also said, in order to present this idea to an auto manufacturer, his students dismantled the car and carried it in their luggage in an airplane, and upon getting there, put it back in exactly 5 minutes. Such is its modular design.
Awesome is an understatement!
P.S.: Here is a link to an audio recording of a portion of Dr. Mitchell’s address.
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Vijay,
I bet you must be having a whole “new” learning experience in Temple… Semma innovation!
Shankar.