There is this maxim that goes something like this: “If you take care of your car, it’ll take care of you.” If this is true, logic would have it then that if we take care of the air, well, regarding the rest of the thought, I’m certain you know exactly where this is going.
And, so, by extension or by association, the better designed and/or built and/or maintained car/road, the more improved the air we breathe becomes. It’s just logical.
The tomorrow car
With an eye toward the future, anyone who’s driven a while should be familiar with the concept car.
If you are not, for anyone who’s not for that matter, they’re those flashy, spiffy, sleek-/slick-looking, futuristic design prototypes that, as a general rule, have more appeal than promise, or so it would seem. This is the sort of thing one might expect to view up-close-and-personal-like at a world’s fair (also known as an “international exposition”) or at least see a representative image of in a popular magazine, school textbook or on T.V.
Futuristic design being the operative term here, what this could consist of or incorporate, are items or features such as:
- Hands- and feet-free autonomobility – no driving required
- A unibody alloy shell
- A fully electric- or fuel-cell propulsion-driven drive train
- Low-profile, puncture-/damage-resistant tires (see below photo)
- Long-lasting, rechargeable, worry-free batteries
- A cab that can seat up to eight people comfortably
- A navigation system that, as much as possible, takes advantage of the path (route) of least resistance and, as much as is practicable, expeditiously transports vehicle occupants
Just use your imagination!
The operating platform
Okay, so what about a concept thoroughfare, since we’re on the subject? What could the one of the future incorporate/consist of?
So imagine road surfaces both heated and porous, to melt snow and ice and drain the rain that lands on them, respectively.
Imagine incorporated into pavement, electrical cables through which electrical impulses via electromagnetic inductive transference (from road to vehicle) has vehicle-battery-charging capability no matter whether the vehicle is in transit (moving) or stationary (stopped), all without presenting any kind of electrocution hazard to anyone standing on or crossing so-outfitted roadway.
And, imagine also, a system whereby when pavement begins to wear out and is in need of replacement, such restoration can be done in one fell swoop, reusing the worn out pavement material and thus reconstituting it into the new.
These are just a few of the things that can be worked into designs if they have not been done already.
Back to the present
Some ideas catch on and some do not, obviously. But, the key here is to always work toward continuous improvement whatever the form – to always try and strive to make conditions, quality of life, better, in other words.
If that philosophy can be applied to not just the automobile and transportation platforms, but all platforms in all sectors, we are indeed well on our way to being everything we can be.
And while we’re at it, if the air becomes healthier in the process, then that really would be like having one’s cake and eating it too. In other words, a win-win for all concerned.
Image above: Crocodile Corporation Ltd
Published by Alan Kandel