Yeah I often imagine something like a self driving podbike “robotaxi”. It weights ~65kg and needs a tiny fraction of the energy to reach 50kmh (30mph) in a city. Or better a longer version with 2 seats facing each other (for two people or for shopping bags).
For longer travels you could even have “roll-on/roll-off” trains so you could get in from your home, roll on and then roll off while staying in a comfortable compartment.
I’d love to know how a “robotaxi train” would compare with public transport in terms of embodied and expended energy. My guess is that it’s rather close and would be much more popular, and easier to maximize utilization, hence more easy to make real.
Yeah I often imagine something like a self driving podbike “robotaxi”. It weights ~65kg and needs a tiny fraction of the energy to reach 50kmh (30mph) in a city. Or better a longer version with 2 seats facing each other (for two people or for shopping bags).
For longer travels you could even have “roll-on/roll-off” trains so you could get in from your home, roll on and then roll off while staying in a comfortable compartment.
I’d love to know how a “robotaxi train” would compare with public transport in terms of embodied and expended energy. My guess is that it’s rather close and would be much more popular, and easier to maximize utilization, hence more easy to make real.