21. Trends and Challenges in Mobility and Transportation

This chapter provides a short overview of the three most important transportation technologies: automotive, aerospace, and rail. It initially examines the economic impact of transportation. A strong economy is usually highly dependent on the transportation of people and goods. The effects of environmental and safety legislation on transportation technologies are also discussed. Processes that will transform transportation over the coming decades are then considered.

After that, relevant legislation for and development trends in automotive, aerospace, and rail technologies are described and analyzed, and the processes used to develop new automotive vehicles, aircraft, and rail vehicles are outlined. More specifically, a section on automotive technology explores the different types of powertrains used in automotive transportation, current trends in the development of automobile bodies, chassis, advanced driver-assistance systems, combustion engines, and electric drives, as well as the automotive vehicle development process. A section on aerospace technology considers the relationship between air transportation and society before discussing the history of and challenges facing aeronautical engineering. A generic development process for aerospace technologies is then signposted. Finally, a section on rail technology describes basic technologies relating to the efficiency of and resistance and traction forces associated with rail transportation. Other important factors in rail transportation are then discussed, such as guidance, the braking system, train protection, management, rail vehicle structure, and coupling, before the development process for rail vehicles is detailed.