“O PRT é um sistema de transporte rápido. Estes veículos guiam, de forma autónoma, os passageiros empresariais, do parque de estacionamento, até ao terminal onde apanham o seu voo”, explica Fraser Brown, diretor-geral da empresa que gere o sistema de veículos de transporte sem condutor, em Heathrow, Londres.
Chamam-lhe “Heathrow pod” e é uma nova forma de fugir ao caos do aeroporto. Em vez de esperarem, os viajantes empresariais têm à disposição um transporte futurista, em Londres.
“Este sistema tem 21 veículos que trabalham consoante a procura. É só subir e, tal com num elevador, carrega-se no botão, as portas abrem depois é deixar-se ir”, acrescenta Brown.
Foi preciso uma década de investigação para aperfeiçoar o sistema, que beneficia da tecnologia criada em vários projetos de União Europeia. Para os tornar seguros, é utilizada também tecnologia já existente.
“As baterias vêm de Espanha, já estavam a ser produzidas quando falámos com a empresa. Os motores vêm de Itália e estavam a ser utilizados em veículos elétricos”, diz Adam Ruddle, o engenheiro responsável pelos veículos.
A sala de controlo mantém tudo debaixo de olho, enquanto os veículos circulam, sem carris, mas sabendo sempre que caminho seguir.
“O veículo mede a rotação das rodas, por isso sabe até que distância foi. Depois usa sensores a laser para medir a distância em relação às curvas e de cada lado do caminho, isso permite reconhecer a sua posição”, esclarece Ruddle.
A fiabilidade é de cerca de 99%.
Mas há ainda alguns fatores que os engenheiros não conseguem prever e isso inclui o comportamento dos passageiros.
“Quando estávamos sentados, a pensar onde colocar os botões dentro do veículo, sentámo-nos muito direitos nos assentos e os botões estavam na posição perfeita. O que descobrimos agora foi que as pessoas relaxam nos veículos, viram-se ligeiramente, apoiam-se num lado e acabam por premir os botões com os ombros”, acrescenta Ruddle.
Este sistema gratuito é único na Europa e pretende continuar a evoluir. Segundo Fraser Brown: “o que pretendemos para seguir em frente, é aproveitar a tecnologia de outros setores, como o automóvel, para melhorar a operacionalidade do sistema e reduzir ainda mais os custos.”
"The PRT is a rapid transport system. These guided vehicles, trains, passenger business, the parking lot, where they picked up the terminal your flight, "said Fraser Brown, general manager of the company that manages the system of transport vehicles without driver at Heathrow, London.
They call it "Heathrow pod" and is a new way to escape the chaos of the airport.Instead of waiting, business travelers have at their disposal a futuristic transport in London.
"This system 21 has working vehicle according to demand. Just get on and, as with an elevator, pushed the button, the doors open after it is let go, "Brown adds.
It took a decade of research to improve the system, benefiting from the technology developed in several European Union projects. To make them safe, is also used existing technology.
"The batteries come from Spain, were already being produced when we talked to the company. The engines come from Italy and were being used in electric vehicles, "says Adam Ruddle, the engineer responsible for the vehicles.
The control room keeps an eye on everything, while the vehicles are driven, not rails, but always knowing which way to go.
"The vehicle measures the rotation of the wheels, so you know how far it was. He then uses laser sensors to measure the distance between the curves and on each side of the road, it can recognize its position, "says Ruddle.
The reliability is about 99%.
But there are still some factors that engineers can not predict and that includes the behavior of passengers.
"When we were sitting, thinking where to put the buttons inside the car, we sat down right in the very seats and the buttons were in perfect position. What we found was that people now relax in vehicles, they were slightly, stand on one side and end up pressing the buttons at the shoulders, "says Ruddle.
This free system is unique in Europe and intends to continue to evolve. According to Fraser Brown: "What we intend to move forward, is to leverage technology from other industries such as automobile, to improve the operability of the system and further reduce costs."
They call it "Heathrow pod" and is a new way to escape the chaos of the airport.Instead of waiting, business travelers have at their disposal a futuristic transport in London.
"This system 21 has working vehicle according to demand. Just get on and, as with an elevator, pushed the button, the doors open after it is let go, "Brown adds.
It took a decade of research to improve the system, benefiting from the technology developed in several European Union projects. To make them safe, is also used existing technology.
"The batteries come from Spain, were already being produced when we talked to the company. The engines come from Italy and were being used in electric vehicles, "says Adam Ruddle, the engineer responsible for the vehicles.
The control room keeps an eye on everything, while the vehicles are driven, not rails, but always knowing which way to go.
"The vehicle measures the rotation of the wheels, so you know how far it was. He then uses laser sensors to measure the distance between the curves and on each side of the road, it can recognize its position, "says Ruddle.
The reliability is about 99%.
But there are still some factors that engineers can not predict and that includes the behavior of passengers.
"When we were sitting, thinking where to put the buttons inside the car, we sat down right in the very seats and the buttons were in perfect position. What we found was that people now relax in vehicles, they were slightly, stand on one side and end up pressing the buttons at the shoulders, "says Ruddle.
This free system is unique in Europe and intends to continue to evolve. According to Fraser Brown: "What we intend to move forward, is to leverage technology from other industries such as automobile, to improve the operability of the system and further reduce costs."
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