Tag
Mobility
Search
2019
Cities: at the forefront of climate action
For centuries, cities have been laboratories for new progressive ideas. Facing climate change, they can act like pioneers for a sustainable lifestyle.
A new way of mapping
Artisense develops a 3D-vision technology for autonomous cars and robots to navigate effectively.
Watch out for
e-scooters!
They’re cheap, quick and convenient – but will the business model for e-scooter sharing hold up?
2018
The battle for batteries
The European Commission wants to build a strong battery industry that can compete with Asia, but has it entered the game too late?
MOOCs: The challenge of Africa
Online courses can broaden access to higher education. But to help African students get jobs they should be integrated with local universities.
Patrolling Europe’s low-altitude airspace
How do you keep the skies from becoming a giant, noisy, dangerous cloud of drones? Manufacturers and regulators are working on the answers.
The race for flying cars
Everyone from Airbus to Uber is interested. They could be part of the urban landscape in the next decade.
Managing the new world of transport
Anticipating a decline in car ownership, start-ups like Bestmile and Amber plan to power seamless on-demand services.
The race for rail-on-demand
Flexible railway systems can offer cheaper and faster transport in greater quantities. Their potential is most promising in freight handling.
In the driver’s seat for high-speed trains
Even as concepts like Hyperloop emerge, European leadership is not in danger.
Hyperloop: the doubts persist
Elon Musk’s dream of a train that can travel at 1,200 km/h faces serious unresolved engineering challenges.
Hyperloop: why it can work
Recent tests have shown the viability of the futuristic train. But does this mean we will have a new mode of transportation any time soon?
Munich: the new hub for digital cars
Germany’s auto industry is embracing the hottest technologies. The capital of Bavaria is driving the shift.
2017
Energy efficiency: greening the bottom line
Contrary to popular belief, sustainable solutions can be good for business. A look at some of Europe’s most innovative efforts.
Spotlight on Toulouse
Europe’s aerospace hub is a thriving, synergistic blend of industry giants, start-ups and research centres.
How noise kills
Sound pollution has become one of the main health hazards in European cities. New technologies may provide some solutions.
The double-edged promise of AI
Some people fret that artificial intelligence will end civilization as we know it, others believe it can solve every problem.
“Traffic remains a challenge”
A Danish expert explains his strategy for making urban life sustainable and liveable.
2016
Science in the age of big data
The digital revolution and the ability to process huge amounts of information have changed the way research is done. Here are three examples.
Rail safety: back in the spotlight
Trains are particularly safe. But IT bugs and problems with the signalling systems represent a constant security threat.
Putting goods back on the tracks
Some smaller countries are showing how efficiency-enhancing innovations can begin to shift some goods transport away from lorries.
Driverless trains: the difficult next step
Will autonomous locomotives one day operate outside urban areas?
Electricity’s bright future
Petrol power helped shape the 20th century, but its decline may define the 21st. So how will the future of urban transport look?
A plane’s dirty little secrets
Careful study of the waste carried by aircraft now offers valuable clues on how infectious diseases spread.
Going with the flow
The fight against congestion is getting some new tools: mobile phones and complex algorithms.
Self-driving cars? Don’t hold your breath
Safely mimicking all foibles in software and hardware of driving will take at least another decade, if not longer.
Urban Mobility: is Europe too timid?
There are bright ideas for how to make our cities more fluid, but they won’t do much good unless decision-makers show more vision and courage.
Clearing congestion
It can be difficult to effect behavioural change in large cities, but Stockholm and London have shown that a well-conceived nudge will deliver results.
Bikes are back
Cycling is healthy and good for the environment – so no wonder bicycle use in some European cities has doubled since the early 2000s.
2015
Five estonians to watch
Inspired by Skype, ambitious entrepreneurs have the confidence to believe their dreams can come true
“People underestimate Eastern Europe’s start-ups”
Part car, part plane, Aeromobil needs just a 200-m straightaway to deploy its wings and take off.
Year of the light
Everywhere you turn, optical engineering is at the heart of new technologies. No wonder 2015 has been named the Year of Light.
Augmented humans? Not so fast!
Human augmentation elicits reactions that are not unanimously positive.
2014
Power from thin air
Mobile devices need energy – lots of it. Instead of focussing only on improving battery performance, some scientists are looking at the ambient energy that is all around us.
The power of thought
An amazing project may enable paralysed humans to walk again, with the help of an exoskeleton controlled directly by their thoughts.