Introduction

It’s crazy to think that just 200 years ago, horse and carriage were the primary form of transportation – and had been for hundreds of years. Then, with the introduction of the internal combustion engine, the transportation of people and goods altered dramatically. Mobility became more accessible and affordable, opening up possibilities previously unimaginable.

That once-in-a-century transformation is what has brought us here. And now, we are witnessing another once-in-a-century shift.

The mobility industry has reached a tipping point. Significant innovation is now taking place: vehicles are getting smarter, more networked, and software-defined – even driverless in some situations. Electrification is spreading. The importance of sustainability is becoming more prominent. Industry innovators are reinventing every facet of transporting people and products throughout the world.

Bamboo Apps company has gathered 5 trends in the industry of mobility and is ready to tell you more about them.

Electric Cars and Improved Battery Technology

Concerns regarding battery manufacturing capacity and material difficulties have grown in tandem with the global demand for EVs. Consumers choose batteries that are less expensive, last longer, and can be charged more rapidly. People also want more public and shared charging stations, as well as fair and transparent pricing. They want to be able to go large distances without having to worry about locating a charging station, paying too much, or having to wait a long time for the battery to charge.

As a result, the industry is focusing heavily on upgrading battery technology to meet the world’s growing demand for EVs. The present EV battery landscape is dominated by lithium-ion and lithium-iron phosphate (or LFP), each with advantages and disadvantages related to range, raw material prices, and lifespan. Battery producers and car manufacturers are putting money into developing less expensive batteries that take up less space and weigh less. Materials availability, supply chain problems, and pricing are other motivating reasons for innovation.

The zero-emissions transportation market is being driven by the government and public demand for sustainability. While the EV market continues to dominate, entrepreneurs are looking at alternative energy solutions such as hydrogen. Cars with solar-panel body sections are also being researched. But, for the time being, the EV business is hot, and so is the focus on developing a better battery.

Connected and Automated Mobility

Autonomous and connected cars are referred to as connected and automated mobility (CAM). They analyse and react to their surroundings by receiving information from enablers: sensors, artificial intelligence, and maps are examples of those. In other words, autonomous vehicles, which are outfitted with cameras, sensors, and communication systems, create vast amounts of data that, when combined with AI, allows the vehicle to perform and make judgments as if it were the driver.

Automated connectivity will be heavily reliant on current, high-definition maps, which will be developed and updated by automated vehicles that gather and aggregate sensor data from static objects such as buildings and tunnels, as well as freshly completed or redesigned highways. This is only the tip of the iceberg. To offer situational awareness, automated driving will rely on LiDAR, cameras, radar, and inertial sensors at the most basic level.

Safety is critical to the autonomous vehicle’s functionality. The autonomous car must perform all of the functions of a human driver as safely as possible. The car must perceive and comprehend its surroundings, evaluate these information inputs, consider how it should and will travel the route, and then drive safely.

The car’s computer and software are at the heart of automated vehicle intelligence, continuously evaluating and interpreting incoming data from surrounding sensors and integrated maps in real time. The autonomous car, like a human driver, recognises if a nearby object is a pedestrian or a stop sign. It recognises moving objects, as well as their direction and speed, such as a biker on a bike lane alongside it. The automated vehicle also considers and makes decisions about what these things might do, such as a person standing on a street corner prepared to enter a crosswalk. Furthermore, autonomous vehicles must be well-protected against hackers and have thought-out designs for safety-critical systems.

MaaS: Mobility as a Service

Individually owned automobiles are giving way to networked shared mobility solutions, which are employed as an as-needed service, or Mobility as a Service (MaaS). Autonomous vehicles will create numerous previously unexplored opportunities for end-to-end MaaS, with drivers becoming both operators and passengers. Consider MaaS to be “super applications” in which you can use an app to locate your bus route, pay the cost, and then continue your journey on a ride-sharing car or a scooter. Everything is planned, paid for, and carried out using a single app that connects all of these various types of transportation.

MaaS has beneficial consequences, particularly for elderly people and people with impairments who require quick, economical mobility. Many people who live in dense urban areas where parking is scarce, do not want the trouble of owning a car.

Whether it’s the economics or practicalities of car ownership that are propelling MaaS forward, it’s a cultural decision for many. Many folks simply desire a greener, cleaner environment. MaaS is widely thought to aid in the reduction of emissions, as well as traffic congestion, air pollution, and social exclusion. Fewer vehicles can also save room for parking spaces and garages, which can then be utilised for other purposes such as housing and greenspace.

To overcome severe hurdles, MaaS necessitates a deliberate approach. Mobility services such as car sharing, bike sharing, scooter sharing, and ride-hailing must be connected with public transportation. Data privacy, a clear business strategy, user uptake, and funding are further problems that the MaaS industry needs to solve.

Two-Wheels Future

Experts predict a massive increase in urban bicycle use in the next few years, thanks to increasingly powerful and convenient e-bikes, bike sharing, and enhanced infrastructure such as safe cycle pathways and bicycle parking garages. According to the Kantar report, bicycle traffic in large cities globally will increase by 18% by 2030. There is no other industry rising faster.

Walking will increase by 15%, while public transportation will increase by 6%, according to this report. Cycling is practical and healthy, so everyone benefits from its growing popularity.

The Mobile Internet of Things

The Internet of Things (IoT), which will connect billions of objects in the future, from smartphones to heating systems to cars, will also play an important part in tomorrow’s mobility. In the future, everybody who has to get from point A to point B will enter the destination and time into a mobility app. The programme, which is linked to all transportation systems and suppliers, will then recommend the best mix of modes of transportation, which may vary depending on the day, time, and load.

Artificial intelligence and Big Data learn about citizens’ demands and can change, for example, the distribution of roadways and cycle paths based on the time of day. Because massive volumes of data will be transmitted in the future between drivers, vehicles, manufacturers, service centres, and municipal infrastructure, data protection and secure connectivity will be critical. Hackers must be unable to alter the engine, brakes, or controls of networked automobiles, as happened a few years ago.

Conclusion

As demand for shared vehicles and public transportation falls in the aftermath of the pandemic, OEMs are left with the false hope that things will return to the way they were. But as entrepreneurs continue to shift to new business models, innovation is not going away.

The most recent transportation developments in autonomy, connection, electrification, and shared mobility are not transitory fads. The ACES trends, when combined, act as a turbocharged engine, revolutionising the auto sector at a rapid pace. If your organisation wants to be a part of the mobility future, open innovation with manufacturers, automotive software development companies, investors, and startups, talent and the drive to evolve are essential.