The Acabion project suggests to have the three major problems of world energy resources and consumption, global warming and sustainable transport solved all at the same time by a radical paradigm change in future technologies and by a complete step by step system change of all mobility and technology systems known today.
The meaning of such a radical change can be seen in the Acabion potential to reduce the total amount of energy needed for a given mobility task by a factor 5 to 25, compared to today’s mobility systems such as cars, buses, trains and airplanes. This correlates to an efficiency improvement of + 500% up to +2500%. This potential was verified by the ETH Zurich and by the University of Bremen within a 2010 EU research proposal.
The Acabion two seat vehicle is a fully electric individual future mobility shuttle with a dolphin-shaped body. The two passengers, both of a size up to 2.05 m, are placed behind each others in ergonomic seats with enough space for a stretched legs position up to a body size of 1.9 m. The Acabion system uses a lot of impulses and strategies from Bionics.
This way it is able to improve its effectiveness compared e. g. to a fully electric Smart by a factor of about 10, in other words by plus one thousand percent. This dramatic efficiency increase is based on mere physics an can be calculated with the standard mobility efficiency formula set, primarily with the drag equation. The increase was verified by the ETH Zurich and by Prof. Ernst Fiala, a former member of the board of Volkswagen and father of the Volkswagen Golf, too.
As the most important fact about the Acabion vehicle may be seen, that at only 20 km/h speed the efficiency advantage towards a fully electric Smart is a factor 8 already (+800%). This fact was verified by the University of Bremen as a part of a 2010 EU Acabion research proposal within the EU Sustainable Surface Transport program.
According to data provided by the producer, the projected area of each shuttle is 0.66 square meters, the aerodynamic drag coefficient is 0.1, the vehicle empty weight is 400 kg (882 lb) including batteries. The powertrain is based on electric engines built as brushless DC and powered by lithium polymer batteries. Under normal conditions the Acabion concept drives on its two main wheels like a motorcycle, but a balance system comparable to the intelligence of a Segway scooter is under development.
The balance system will allow the Acabion to stand on two wheels at a red traffic light or even to drive backwards on two wheels. The system can be compared top robots riding a bicycle such as the Murata Boy concept by the electronics company Murata in Japan. Just for operation in rough terrain or on ice and snow two side wheels are designed to lower themselves automatically to aid stability even under such extreme conditions. That side wheel system replaces the former systems that were just provisional.
Based on a notary certificate the Acabion vehicle is mentioned as the first technology system worldwide in the category "Successor of Cars". This is certified in English as well as in German language, where it is described as the first "Nachfolger des Automobils".
Acabion designed smaller two seat vehicles with just 3.3 m length and bigger vehicles with up to nine seats, too. The four and nine seater are still jet shaped, but run on a conventional four wheel configuration. They have a conventional seat configuration, too, with two to three seats next to each other. The different Acabion versions are described in a book written by Dr. Peter Maskus and published as ISBN 978-3-9523395-3-4.
Acabion future traffic system plan
The Acabion global future traffic system is a long term future oriented fully electric mobility project that was worked out on request of the German Parliament (Deutscher Bundestag) and that is directly linked to the European Commission, too. (Acabion was an official participant of the European Union Sustainable Energy Week EUSEW 2010 and it is an official part of other EU green energy initiatives).
The 2010 status of the Acabion system will be presented in the main building of the German Parliament in September 2010. Location is Berlin, Platz der Republik No. 1, Paul Löbe Haus. On request of the German Parliament Acabion worked out the following long term global mobility plan:
Phase 1 from 2000 to 2015
In a phase 1 from about 2000 to 2015 first two-seat Acabion type shuttle vehicles were and will be built according to the standard of Acabion type track profiles. This track profile standard is predefined by the Acabion type urban and global mobility system: Vehicle width in maximum will be about 90 cm with retracted side gear system, with lowered side wheels it will be in maximum ca. 1.8 m. Maximum vehicle height will be around 1.40 m, or 2.3 m with opened canopies, maximum length will be about 5.5 m.
The vehicle must be single track to fit into the standard Acabion V-rail of the future high efficiency automated systems, that stabilizes the crafts in open track passages in winter times in severest conditions like ice rain etc.. Tire width is at least 120 mm and in maximum 200 mm. This standard has nothing to do with the fact that there may be four-seat Acabion vehicles or nine seat vehicles, too, because these larger vehicles will be traveling outside of the future mobility standards and only on the old road networks, but not on the new automated high efficiency track systems.
Phase 2 from 2010 to 2030
In a phase 2 from about 2010 to 2030 the two wheel electric Acabion type vehicles start to use the roads like we have them today. These "successors of cars" will use all today’s roads exactly like cars use them today. That will create a mixed occupancy of the current road and parking areas by cars and Acabions type crafts. The number of Acabion type vehicles will rise as time goes by. This is a continuous process controlled by the market, by politics and by vehicle providers.
Phase 3 from 2020 to 2060
In a Phase 3 from about 2020 to 2060 a new Acabion type shuttle "train sytem" will be built, associated with new hubs with their own very large parking spaces (underground parking or at least fully covered). The Acabion type train actually will be a sequence of individual Acabion type shuttles following each other in a very close distance even at high speeds, behaving just like a former train, but based on a fully individual concept now, to achieve further positive aerodynamic and logistic effects. The Acabion type train hubs would be located very close to today’s commuter train or subway stations.
The Acabion type shuttle train system itself would necessarily run in a tube, since they would require no winter services etc. and tube operation would be the only way to operate even in very bad weather with absolute reliability. Additionally the tubes follow the Acabion philosophy that the technology of the 21st Century has to step into the background, to place nature in the destinct foreground of future art of living. It can also be built as elevated track partially, either where tunnels are impossible to build or where specifically lovely views are to be granted. Open sections at ground level like todays roads are to be avoided, however: They are much too dangerous and the space on the ground belongs to the people and especially to the children. In this phase Acabion type automatically operated shuttles would exist parallel to the still functioning cars as well as to multi seated bigger Acabion vehicles, to subways, buses and railways. Subways and trains remain untouched in this phase.
In phase 3 a part of the plan is to eliminate cars and all kinds of future individual shuttles from the city centers completely. The target is to have people walking or using rentable bicycles. It is well known that a human being is a life form that must walk and move to stay healthy. This will not change in the next tenthousand years. And hence even the most sophisticated future human mobility system must guarantee that people walk and move enough to stay healthy. To walk or to ride a bicycle in the open air has to do with bewaring or developing a close relation of all people to nature, too.
Phase 4 from 2050 to 2080
In a Phase 4 from about 2050 to 2080, the Acabion type shuttle train system would be expanded further and further. First Acabion type long-distance shuttle train sections would be added, such as Berlin-Munich or Seattle-NewYork, etc. The major number of persons travelling would be slowly shifted to the Acabion type shuttle system. The old systems of conventional trains and cars cars still would exist, but first routes would be ready to become abandoned and dismantled.
Phase 5 from 2080 onwards
A Phase 5 would be seen from the year 2080 onwards. Now it would unveil how best to proceed. It could probably be started to incorporate the former S-and U-Bahn systems fully into the use of the Acabion type shuttle system. From that phase onwards one would be able to enter ones own Acabion shuttle accurately in every subway station, requested by mobile internet devices, exactly at the desired time. And in ones own car one would be able to travel directly to Moscow or Miami or Paris, precisely to the desired location.
Phase 6 from 2090 onwards
In a Phase 6 from approximately the year 2090 onwards pressure reduced and vacuum system high-speed tunnels could begin to replace the aircraft.
All phases can be run through much faster. That depends solely on the will of the responsible generations.
A preferred version for the Acabion shuttle train tubes in inner-city area could be tunnels that are prefabricated in concrete. The diameter would be 3 m per tube. It will only operate one fully automated lane, but there is an emergency lane in each tube. An emergency tube is not needed, as exits to the outside are everywhere. The tunnels are covered with soil so that a planted pretty new city wall is created, where you can stroll or go cycling.
The described Acabion plan was worked out for the German Parliament and for the EU commission in July 2010 and it is under Acabion copyright. The Acabion system as well as related other copyright claims are described in several books, written by Dr. Peter Maskus and archived in the German and the Swiss National Library under ISBN 978-3-9523395-0-3, ISBN 978-3-9523395-2-7, ISBN 978-3-9523395-3-4. All books were published in German language by MIKOVA Systems Publishing, Lucerne, Switzerland. A book in English language is in a translation process and has the ISBN number 978-3-9523395-4-1. It can be seen as an extract at www.acabion.com.
Awards
The Acabion was awarded with the German future-award 2008 as the best prototype of the year.(Zukunftsaward, Frankfurt Main,
www.zukunftsinstitut.de).
Performance
The designers claim that the 2010 Acabion weighs 400 kg (882 lb) and has a DC brushless electric engine. They claim as well that a 24 KWh lithium polymer battery will guarantee a range from one battery charge of 700 miles at 60 mph speed (1100 km at 100 km/h). Also claimed is that 40 kW power will allow a speed of 300 km/h already.
knol.google.com/k/alex-lopez/acabion-successor-of-cars/3hc4f18s5at3s/1#
