polisMOBILITY 2023: Exciting Shuttle Concepts
The Polis Mobility always has a bit of a magical grab bag, containing exciting innovations. For example, Monocab – these are gyroscopically stabilized cabins that can use the railway system of the German railway. The trick here is that these pods balance on just one of the two rails. This allows traffic to flow in opposite directions on a single track.
Ideal for using old railway tracks
Each cabin can accommodate four to six passengers. Many of these autonomous cabins can travel simultaneously in both directions and be ordered like taxis for individual journeys. The goal of the Monocab project is to become the central means of transportation for sustainable mobility in rural regions. In the past, many rural areas were accessible by train with the so-called rail bus. The wine-red diesel railcars were long considered the saviors of the branch lines, as their comparatively low operating costs at least delayed the decommissioning of these little-used railway routes. Many of these railway lines have since been decommissioned, meaning they have been removed from the official railway network. The tracks are often still there, but they could only be reintegrated into the DB railway network with immense effort. Fabian Kottmeier, who is responsible for the technical project coordination, explains to us:
“Our cabins can use tracks that are too old or too deteriorated for the railway. Our cabin has a wheel load of just 1.2 tons, whereas the tracks in regular train operations must withstand at least 12 tons per wheel. You can imagine that we could even use bridges with the Monocab that are long since unusable for the railway.”
Operational monorail vehicles from the project consortium, consisting of the Technical University of Ostwestfalen-Lippe, Bielefeld University of Applied Sciences, and the Fraunhofer Society, are already running on a decommissioned railway line. The concept from Ostwestfalen is already well advanced. By 2027, a “test regular operation” is to be implemented on a 1,000-meter stretch – bringing the vision of living in the countryside with modern, individual, and sustainable mobility within reach!
Also exciting: The Shuttle Vehicle Meta evolution
The next coup from the Aachen professor: Günther Schuh presents a sustainable shuttle concept based on the recently introduced SUV Space.
Professor Schuh, who has already founded the e-vehicle manufacturers StreetScooter and e.Go, is focusing on the sustainability of production in his latest projects. To this end, RWTH Aachen developed a concept for a value-enhancing and life-extending circular economy for automobile production. The goal is to extend the lifespan of a vehicle to 50 years through circular economy.
Like the SUV Space, the Meta-Shuttle is also based on the aluminum profile chassis Oscar, which can serve as a future basis for various vehicle categories. The Meta will feature a hybrid drive, currently consisting of an electric motor and an internal combustion engine, with the option of replacing the internal combustion engine later. The construction allows space for hydrogen tanks and the installation of a fuel cell.
Rather Revolutionary: The Concept of Evolution. | Photo: Th. Kanzler
Sustainable: The lifespan is supposed to be 50 years! | Photo: Th. Kanzler
Elegant and practical interior. | Photo: Th. Kanzler
Inside, there's plenty of space thanks to the mega-wheelbase. The Meta is intended to be a 6-7 seater with multimedia workstations for commuters. The concept of the circular economy envisions a vehicle upgrade every five years. This way, the Meta should always be up-to-date. However, will the very futuristic-looking shuttle still need a driver's seat at all in a decade?
What does that mean?
The Polis Mobility once again brought numerous new ideas for mobility - including shuttle concepts.
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