慶應義塾大学 - 電気自動車研究室
Platform for co-mobility society
Let’s imagine the automotive society of the future.
First of all, picture a conference where each participant gathers in his or her own vehicle. The car facing this way in the middle of the illustration is probably the moderator’s vehicle. The cars could meet in a city square, in a large building, or by the beach. The participants talk with each other from the comfort of their own vehicles.
What about shopping? Customers move around the supermarket in their own vehicles choosing the items they want, and pay for goods automatically as they leave.
Amusement park visitors can enjoy the attractions without leaving their vehicles.
We can even imagine new kinds of rides using cars. How about competing to see how high up the mountain you can get?
It might even become quite normal to visit the hospital in your own vehicle and be examined without ever leaving it.
In addition to environmental and energy issues, today’s automotive society faces serious problems with accidents and traffic congestion. Electric vehicles offer dramatic solutions to environmental and energy problems, but accidents remain a pressing issue. At current accident rates, one person in 200 will die in a road accident, and two in three will be involved in an accident during their lifetimes.
Automated driving technologies will drastically reduce accident rates. In theory, such technologies are already practicable. GPS sensors and map data installed in car navigation systems can be used to automatically control the accelerator, steering, and brakes so that a vehicle arrives at its destination. If hazard sensors are also fitted, collisions with other vehicles and pedestrians can be avoided. Since cars fitted with automated driving systems can drive closer together, traffic jams will also disappear.
Electric vehicles enable speed and acceleration to be controlled with great precision. For this reason, automated driving systems will merge with electric vehicles to create practical technologies.
Many things will change when cars are driven automatically. Crumple zones will no longer be required to protect passengers in the event of a collision, so car bodies will become smaller. Using the integrated platform concept to build electric vehicles, all major components will be mounted under the floor and in the wheels, which will also enable smaller vehicles. One-person vehicles just 80 cm wide and 150 cm long can become a reality, allowing cars to be driven into buildings with ease. As a result, the barrier between roads and buildings will disappear, and anyone will be able to go anywhere at any time. This will truly turn automobiles into machines for human convenience.
Peoples’ lives will also change significantly. Much less time will be spent in transit, and we will be free to use that time and space for ourselves. When we get to our destinations, we may use our time differently.
Major changes will occur in distribution, too. Currently drivers’ wages represent approximately 65% of transport operators’ costs. Carrying large amounts of freight on a single truck will lead to more cost-efficient transport methods. Automated driving systems will enable fast, efficient transport of small cargos. Such methods will change the whole concept of distribution. When a customer orders an item via the Internet, an automated warehouse will load it onto a container controlled by an automated driving system. Same-city delivery could occur within 30 minutes of purchase.
In fiscal 2007 , the Ministry of Student
Activities, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) selected a Keio University research proposal entitled “Creating a Co-Mobility Society” to receive funding for an initial period of three years under the “Creation of Innovation Centers for Advanced Interdisciplinary Research Areas” program.
As traditional communities break down in the face of urbanization and the shift to nuclear families, their functions are not necessarily fully replaced by newly emerged online communities. Given this premise, the research project aims to create new communities by facilitating transport and fostering new community values while researching information technology required to support them.
Within this wide-ranging research project, we have been tasked with developing technologies to remotely support automated driving systems and human transport.
