10 COMPONENTS OF THE FUTURE

It’s quite difficult to predict the future of urban mobility, both in India and across the world. Technology will play a large part in how the entire transportation industry plays out on land, water and air in the upcoming decades. A look at some of the factors that could decide how you commute in the future…

- Sunil Rajguru

1. Smart vehicles: Electric vehicles are not the future. Smart vehicles are. The first person to realize this was billionaire genius Elon Musk. Tesla smart cars are expensive, but state of the art, sleek and sexy. If it was affordable, then everyone would buy a Tesla. A smart car is much like your smartphone using software with all its revolutionary over-the-air updates.That means even after you buy a car, it can keep learningnew tricks. Bugs are also fixed seamlessly. Apart from the now ubiquitous GPS navigation, there are also umpteen sensors and an autopilot functionality which is not exactly the same thing as a driverless car. Of course if petrol and diesel cars get smarter, they could also survive. While they may have limitations as compared to an electric car, a hydrogen car might prove to be better. Countries are trying to legislate out fossil fuel cars, but history has shown that such things aren’t easy. Especially because of the gigantic fossil fuel deposits that are still in existence. In the end it won’t be environmentalism or legislation that will dictate the future of urban mobility, but technology. The next big disruptor could well throw everyone’s plans out of the window.

2. Mobile rooms: The moment a car becomes driverless, it ceases to have the driver’s seat. In fact it ceases to need kind any kind of seat and conventional travel as we know it is thrown out of the car window.