Thomas Frey: Transportation technology is progressing at a much slower pace than some of the other sciences such as information technology, biotech, and nanotechnology. As an example, the world’s human speed record was set in 1969, a full 37 years ago, when Thomas Stafford, John Young, and Gene Cernan flew in Apollo 10 at 24,790 mph. While there is much talk about flying at a speed that approaches the speed of light, very little effort is actually being expended in this area. However, transportation technology is about to move ahead more rapidly in the coming years with the advent of two radically new technologies – frictionless vehicles and binary power.
In the near future, automotive companies will focus on fully automated vehicles where people can "punch in" or “speak” the place they want to go to and the vehicle will automatically take them there. This will open up huge additional markets for automotive companies to sell to the elderly, families with kids too young to drive, and the visually, physically, and mentally impaired. The arrival of fully automated navigation systems for ground-based vehicles will set the stage for fully automated navigation systems for flying vehicles.
- By 2010 personal transportation devices will be all the rage with electric shoes with built-in roller-skates gaining much of the attention. After nine years of heavy media coverage, the Segway Human Transporter will begin to gain serious market share.
- By 2015 traditional gas-powered autos will start to decline with electric automobiles and hybrids taking up most of the slack.
- By 2020 we will see an industry being built up around self-illuminating highways – highways that glow in the dark. Glow roads will be shown to improve driving safety at night and reduce the need for streetlights.
- By 2025 a first attempt at launching the space elevator will fail, setting the industry back a decade.
Around 2030 we will see the commercialization of the first friction-free no-moving-parts flying vehicles. Much like the transition from analog to digital in the world of information technology, the study of traditional mechanics and traditional aerodynamics will be replaced with a new physics governing vehicular movement.
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