Las Vegas (United States) (AFP)
At the level of the asphalt, in the air or on the water, the companies present at the consumer technology show in Las Vegas (CES) intend to reinvent the ways of getting around. On one, two, three wheels. Or even none.
Multifunction
No more private cars? Autonomous, shared, the vehicles of the future claim to limit traffic jams and polluting emissions.
The Swiss-based group Rinspeed presented a vehicle reminiscent of a futuristic minibus, called MetroSnap, which can be modulated to transport passengers, make deliveries or serve as mini-commerce.
The German Bosch presented a similar concept of autonomous and connected shuttle, supposed to offer mobility "à la carte".
"It can transport people and then adapt to transport goods if necessary," said Andrew Yip of Bosch.
Pedaling, but not only
The good old bike is not stored in the closet, but, ultra-connected, packed with new features and artificial intelligence.
The French startup Wello, based on Reunion Island, presented its cargo tricycle in the air of a mini car, with solar panels on the roof.
"He takes the best out of the bike and the car," said company co-founder Arnaud Chéreau.
Another cargo tricycle, that of the Swedish startup Cake. All-terrain with electric assistance, it can adapt to the needs of its user, up to the transport of a surfboard.
"You can go to work, pick up your groceries, and then take your board to the beach," said Cake spokesperson Garin Fons.
The Italian startup Measy gives cargo tricycles an additional dimension, by housing a small delivery robot, designed by another Italian startup, Yape. The latter can be dissociated from the bicycle to deliver to buildings.
Simpler, lighter, the electrically assisted bicycle from the Chinese company Smacircle can be slipped into a backpack.
"If you take a train to work, you can use it for the first or last kilometer of your trip," said Darren Pike of Smacircle. The bike is only 53 cm high and weighs just over 10 kg.
Ride on water
Some of the concepts deployed at the show revise the way of moving even less conventionally.
The company Ninebot Segway has thus unveiled its S-Pod, a chair-Segway that can go up to 39 km / h. "We are looking for new urban mobility solutions," said company spokesperson Julie Tang.
The New Zealand startup Manta5 has decided to explore new playgrounds with a wheelless bike to pedal on the surface of the water.
"Our founder dreamed that he would cycle, then see dolphins. That's how it started," said spokesman Louis Wilks.
This electrically assisted frame fitted with foils (profiled wings) is "a new category of nautical sport", silent and environmentally friendly, he promised.
Fly over the crowds
Other companies believe that the best solution to overcrowded traffic is to fly over it.
Aeronext presented a reduced model of its "flying gondola", an individual means of transport which had to remain stable in all weathers thanks to a technology called "gravity 4D".
Keisuke Toji, general manager of the Japanese and Chinese company, hopes that a prototype will be ready next year for commercialization.
South Korean Hyundai has announced that it will start mass production of flying devices for Uber, which intends to launch a network of shared air taxis in 2023. What will take flying taxis out of science a little more? -fiction.
© 2020 AFP