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- 2008 Mazda5 5MT Sport w/ Popular Package
The stackable cars hatched at an MIT lab over the past three years seem more like a utopian vision - and a mind-blowing conversation starter - than real life. But the school is closer than you might think, much closer, to moving them to the road.
The fascinating CityCars, previously described in the Globe and displayed at the MIT Museum, are small electrical pods on wheels that can hook into a citywide network of chargers and rely on computers for navigation and operation.
Like community luggage carts in airports or rented bicycles in Paris, they do not have to be dropped off at the same spot where they are picked up, nor are they owned by a single driver. They were developed by the Smart Cities group led by architect William J. Mitchell, a professor of architecture and media arts and sciences.
MIT is submitting a proposal this month to build a network of the cars for a government in Asia, said Cynthia Barnhart, associate dean of engineering at MIT.
"I think we're serious about it," said Ryan Chin, a doctoral candidate working with Mitchell.
Barnhart would not disclose the city because the project is in competition with other innovation ideas. If accepted, MIT could begin a pilot project within five years, at a cost of tens of millions of dollars, she said. Deploying them in an entire city would cost at least hundreds of millions, Chin said.
The implications are immense because they point so vividly to the problems of our existing transportation system and its dependence on gas, vast amounts of space, and guesswork on the best times and routes to avoid gridlock. The stackable cars represent as much a change in the way a city works as they do a technological innovation. They involve reorganizing how we think of such basic precepts as driving, car ownership, space, and fuel.
Because the cars are part of a single, computerized network, their placement can be coordinated to reduce traffic congestion or make transportation options available at peak times and places. Rental charges could fluctuate to encourage alternate routes. Commuters could keep track of where and when cars and parking spaces are available in real time, using cellphones or other hand-held devices to track the cheapest or the most convenient car, spot, or route.
"Technology is just an ingredient in this," Barnhart said. The broader idea is to rethink human behavior.
Source:
http://www.boston.com/news/educatio...loser_to_making_citycars_a_reality_on_wheels/
