Technology's Promise



Technology's Promise
by William E. Halal

Forecast – Faster and Farther: Building the Global Transportation System
Today a new Silk Road is forming as the West is being connected to the East through jet travel, global markets, and electronic media. Meanwhile future breakthroughs in car design will take us faster and further on fleets of “lean and clean” hybrid and fuel cell cars which are guided by intelligent systems along automated highways. (Halal 2008).

Perhaps subject to change due to the impact of mobile communication and computing devices, it can be argued that more than any other artifact of modern technology, the automobile has shaped our physical, social, and cultural environment. At the same time, the history of the automobile demonstrates how decisions made by governments, entrepreneurs, and the general public have strongly affected the automobile's evolution.  In review of a few fun facts about the automobile we can begin to see that impact, for example:

Fact 1) Of the 4,192 cars produced in the U.S. in 1900, 1,681 were steam-powered, 1,575 were electrics, and only 936 used internal combustion engines

Fact 2) General John Pershing organized a convoy of 79 trucks that crossed the U.S. from Washington to San Francisco in 1919. Hampered by the poor state of the roads upon which they traveled, the trucks averaged only fifty miles a day, and needed 56 days to complete their journey.

Fact 3) in 1960, the entire Japanese automobile industry exported fewer than 1000 cars to the United States; by the early 1980s, it became such a threat to the U.S. auto industry that the U.S. government limited Japanese imports to 1.65 million cars per year.

Fact 4) although focused on the United States, it is global in scope, with comparisons to how the automobile developed in Europe, Japan, and elsewhere.

 

source: Cars and Culture: The Life Story of a Technology by Rudi Volti 

 

Halal suggested that there are parallel dimensions of travel and communication. This is well considered and suggests that as new communication technologies are developed so will there be new or advancing automotive and travel technologies. Furthermore, both automotive technology and communication technology are forces to be considered in advancing current capabilities of travel. For example, new modes of communication are already leading small trends in telecommuting for many business companies nationwide. Employees can now do business via internet web-conferencing making it more economical to travel less and can often alleviate the need for distance business travel to attend conferences globally as well. Thus, telecommuting trends would lead one to believe that travel will become less and less of a demand both globally and or international, which somewhat holds true for many of today’s business models that rely on internet ecommerce. However, there are still many business needs which will continue to rely on the ability to travel, and although this may become less and less of an issue, when coupled with the common interest of the population to travel for recreation and pleasure (social forces) and as population growth continues (which translates into more people = more vehicles driven = more environmental impact = force to be considered in travel technology) so will the interest to travel expand globally (due in part to the impact of electronic information) thus it is important to consider many of the extended needs and desires for travel.  

Today's "cutting edge" is tomorrow's "commonplace."
…… Bankrate.com
8 Great New Advances in Auto Technology – Posted May 2009 at: http://www.bankrate.com/finance/money-guides/8-great-new-advances-in-auto-technology-1.aspx
Rear Mounted radar	2010 model availability
Night vision with pedestrian detection	2010 model availability
Automatic High-Beam control	2010 model availability
Parental control	2010 model availability
GPS vehicle tracking	2010 model availability
Multi-Camera Pano View	2010 model availability
Driver capability assessment	2010 model availability
In-car Internet	2010 model availability
We've outlined some of the best technological achievements of the past year, highlighting systems that made cars more advanced, faster, more economical and - in nearly all cases - just a little bit smarter.
…. Autotrader.comAutoTrader.com
Top Technology for 2012  - Posted at: http://www.autotrader.com/research/article/car-news/141830/top-technology-for-2012.jsp
inflatable seat belts	2013 model availability
small engines big power	2013 model availability
smartphone-capable infotainment	2013 model availability
rise to electric vehicle	2013 model availability
saving weight - new materials	2013 model availability
electronic driving assists	2013 model availability
automated driver health monitoring	2013 model availability
collision avoiding systems between cars	2013 model availability

As Bankrate.com suggested, new technologies for vehicles are appearing at a blistering pace, while most are related to safety, many are for pure convenience and even entertainment. As new technologies become more advanced such as gps communications, these tend to overflow into the auto market as well.  Many of these are first introduced in higher-end cars as options and eventually trickle down to less expensive vehicles as cost of the technologies decrease.

Future of Vehicle Technologies & Transportation

Browse to http://www1.eere.energy.gov/vehiclesandfuels/technologies/index.html

The Vehicle Technologies Program is developing more energy efficient and environmentally friendly highway transportation technologies that will enable America to use less petroleum. The long-term aim is to develop "leap frog" technologies that will provide Americans with greater freedom of mobility and energy security, while lowering costs and reducing impacts on the environment.

For More Information

It is not the intent of this post to address all facets of technology that can and will affect travel for the future as it is a rather complex issue, rather it was my intention to merely reach the reader with some basic ideas for consideration as they begin to form technology assessments of their own.

For additional thoughts and ideas, be sure to visit my post at

Innovation Idea & Two Forces