Mobility as a Service: On the road to packet switching by Eric.Verhulst A few decades ago, telecom and internet spawned a new and disruptive socio-economic wave by bringing the marginal cost of communication and information sharing close to zero. This was largely made possible by a switch from circuit-switching to packet- switching networks. Information as well as voice and video is chopped up in small packets and flows over dynamically changing virtual highways and no longer over fixed wires. How can the key learnings from this revolution be applied to Mobility as a Service? Containers are like Packets Looking at mobility in all its forms, packet switching in some form is already in use. Logistic transport was one of the first to adopt the use of containers, hereby drastically reducing ship loading and unloading times and facilitating flexible transport on the road or by railway. However, ships transport containers in bulk with roads and railways still mainly operating like fixed connections. Calculating how the space taken up by the railway or road is used over time, it can be seen that there is a lot of idle time, which ultimately underutilizes the potential capacity. True packet switching provides the capability to fill each packet to its own capacity and to transmit the packets as a continuous stream. Applying packet switching to mobility Hence, it is necessary to work on several levels. At the level of the packet, it is possible to use more of its capacity if all vehicles and containers are always filled as much as possible and are on the road all the time. This is what vehicle and cost sharing schemes can give us. This also allows the user to select the best transport means as he sees fit; small lightweight vehicles for short local trips, but taking mass transit transport when it is more cost-and time-efficient. Diversity is key. Another difference is that packet switching equipment has a higher capacity than the incoming lines. On road and even public transport, this is often not the case. Roads merge over short narrow lanes or traffic is made to wait for traffic lights and very quickly intersections turn into bottlenecks, reducing the remaining throughput to a trickle. Hence, build high capacity road switches like roundabouts, under- or overpasses and eliminate traffic lights whenever possible. A four-way-stop can be more efficient, especially for local roads. Latency matters. A third difference is that packet switching systems will group smaller packets in larger frames and put them on high bandwidth “highways”. In terms of road transport this means vehicles and trucks connect and drive like a train, but because road vehicles are used instead of wagons on steel tracks, vehicles can join and leave when they need to. Automation is key.
Welcome message from author
This document is posted to help you gain knowledge. Please leave a comment to let me know what you think about it! Share it to your friends and learn new things together.
Transcript
MobilityasaService:OntheroadtopacketswitchingbyEric.VerhulstA few decades ago, telecom and internetspawnedanewanddisruptivesocio-economicwave by bringing the marginal cost ofcommunication and information sharing closeto zero. This was largely made possible by aswitch from circuit-switching to packet-switching networks. Information as well asvoiceandvideoischoppedupinsmallpacketsandflowsoverdynamicallychangingvirtualhighwaysandnolongeroverfixedwires.HowcanthekeylearningsfromthisrevolutionbeappliedtoMobilityasaService?ContainersarelikePacketsLookingatmobility inall its forms,packetswitchinginsomeformisalreadyinuse.Logistictransportwasoneofthefirsttoadopttheuseofcontainers,herebydrastically reducing ship loading and unloading times and facilitating flexibletransportontheroadorbyrailway.However,shipstransportcontainersinbulkwithroadsandrailwaysstillmainlyoperatinglikefixedconnections.Calculatinghowthespacetakenupbytherailwayorroadisusedovertime, itcan be seen that there is a lot of idle time,which ultimately underutilizes thepotential capacity. True packet switching provides the capability to fill eachpackettoitsowncapacityandtotransmitthepacketsasacontinuousstream.ApplyingpacketswitchingtomobilityHence, it isnecessary toworkonseveral levels.At the levelof thepacket, it ispossibletousemoreofitscapacityifallvehiclesandcontainersarealwaysfilledasmuchaspossibleandareontheroadallthetime.Thisiswhatvehicleandcostsharingschemescangiveus.Thisalsoallowstheusertoselectthebesttransportmeansashesees fit; small lightweightvehicles for short local trips,but takingmasstransittransportwhenitismorecost-andtime-efficient.Diversityiskey.Anotherdifferenceisthatpacketswitchingequipmenthasahighercapacitythantheincominglines.Onroadandevenpublictransport,thisisoftennotthecase.Roadsmergeovershortnarrowlanesortrafficismadetowaitfortrafficlightsand very quickly intersections turn into bottlenecks, reducing the remainingthroughput to a trickle. Hence, build high capacity road switches likeroundabouts, under- or overpasses and eliminate traffic lights wheneverpossible. A four-way-stop can be more efficient, especially for local roads.Latencymatters.Athirddifferenceisthatpacketswitchingsystemswillgroupsmallerpacketsinlarger frames and put them on high bandwidth “highways”. In terms of roadtransport this means vehicles and trucks connect and drive like a train, butbecause roadvehicles areused insteadofwagonson steel tracks, vehicles canjoinandleavewhentheyneedto.Automationiskey.
Similarly, the internet architecture is distributed, decentralised and evenredundant by design. There is no central authority that redirects each packetindividually, but the routing is done locally. This is important or else a singlefailure can bring the system to a halt. On the road aswell, it is better to havesimilarmechanisms.Everyoneisawareofthesituationwherebythenavigationsystemproposestoalldriversthesamealternativeroadthatobviouslybecomescloggedupveryfast.Decentralisationiskey.PacketswitchingworksOf course, even when packet switching is applied to mobility, it will not bepossible toreachazeromarginalcostascontrary to internetpackets,mobilityentailsmovingweightand that requiresa lotmoreenergy,but it cancertainlydrasticallyreducethecostbyusingtheavailablecapacitytoitsfullextentsothatweneed lessvehiclesand less spaceon theroad.A factor2 to10 is reachable(dependingonthescenario).Thiscanallbeeasilysimulatedsothatthemobilityindustry can seek the optimal scenarios in the samemanner as was done fortelecomyearsago.Crossdomainfertilizationpaysoff.Packetswitchingformobility:ThecostANDrideANDvehiclesharingAppIntheprevioussection,weadvocatedapplying some of the principles ofpacket switching, the backbonetechnologyofinternetandtelecom,tomobility and transport. After all, thesimilarity is clear. Packets carry bits,vehiclescarrypeopleandgoods. Inafirstofaseriesofthreearticles,we'llexploresomepossibilities.We'llstartbyanalysingtheimpactofsharingvehicles.In packet switching there is essentially a separation between the physicalmedium,thepacketsascarriersandthepayload. Inmobilitywehaveasimilarsituation.Roads are oftenownedby apublic orprivate authority, vehicles areoperatedonthoseroadsbycompaniesorindividualsandtheycarrygoodsandpeople.In telecom or Internet, a packet is not really physical. It is a bit stream thatcarriesencodedinformation.Ittakesasmallamountoftimeonthemediumandalittlebitofenergytotransmitandreceivethem.Thetransmissionisprovidedasaserviceandmanyuserssharethesamecarrier.Howdoesthistranslateontheroad?Ingoodstransportation,truckstransportforexample,parcelsandstandardizedcontainers. The latter for example drastically reduced ship loading andunloadingtimesinourharbours.Still,oftencontainersaremovedaroundempty
andmany trucksdrivearoundemptyaswell.Why?Mostlybecause the trucksandcontainersareownedbyaspecificentity.Whenwelookatforexamplecars,thesituationisworse.Notonlydocarsspendmostoftheirtimebeingparked,whendriventheaverageoccupationisamere1.3peoplepervehicle.Roughlyspeaking,wepotentiallycouldmove3timesasmanypeoplewiththesameamountofcarsandpotentiallywecoulddowithalotlesscars(ifwewoulddrivetheminsteadofparkingthem).Ofcourse,thisignoresthatthedemandhaspeaksduringspecificperiodsoftheday.Fortunately,thefactthatpeopleoftenneedtomoveataboutthesametime,givesusanimportantincentivetostartsharingmorevehicles.Let us take as an example the widespread and typical traffic queues in themorning and the late afternoon. Howmany people living within a few blocksfrom each other are notmoving all towards the same placewhere theyworkusingthesameroads?Thisisagoodstartingpointbecausedailydriveisboring,sometimesnerverackinganditisexpensive.HowdoesthevehiclesharingAppwork?LetusassumeweallhaveanApp(beitonthephone,tabletorhomecomputer)thatallowsustopostourdailytripstoacentralserver.Theservercouldthentrytomatchuppeoplewillingtosharetheride.Onlyregisteredmemberswouldbeallowed, so no unexpected surprises. Furthermore, the server could calculate(basedonaveragesforthecar'smodel)therealcostpriceofthetripandinvoiceeachuser,whilecompensatingthecar'sowner.Thelatterdoesn'tevenneedtobethedriver.Howcouldthiswork?Firstofall, thesystemwillonlyworkwell if ithasmanymembers. This increases the likelihood of finding a match between thecommuters.Secondly,thecostsharingwillbenefitall.Noneedreallytomakeasurplusprofit.TheAppsharingprovidercanbecompensatedbyasmall feeormembership contribution. After all, the cost price is low. Why, because thesharing App service itself makes heavily use of the already existing packetswitchingnetworkofInternetandtelecom.Needless to say, ifwe candouble the averageoccupancyof the cars,we couldhavehalfthenumberofcarsontheroad.Bye-byetrafficjams.Thesystemworksdayandnight,hencetheroadsandvehicleswillbebetterused,butlastlonger.Andofcourse,thesameprinciplecanbeappliedtotransportofgoods.Afurtherextension of the App could be to include public transport options, especiallyimportantforcitiesasspacethereisatapremium.
Packetswitchingformobility:measuringmobilityefficiencyIn earlier sections we advocatedapplyingsomeoftheprinciplesofpacketswitching, the backbone technology ofInternet and telecom, to mobility andtransport. After all, the similarity isclear. Packets carry bits, vehicles carrypeople and goods. How should wemeasureitsefficiency?
MobilityasaServiceIfMobilityisaService,thenweshouldhavewaystomeasuretheservicelevel.Inthe case of sustainablemobility, this is a fairly complexmatter. Many criteriacomeintoplayandnotasinglesolutioncanbeoptimal.Intheend,itisatrade-off exercise. In addition, mobility as a service is a lot more than a story ofvehicles. Vehicles need a road and energy infrastructure, both involving longterm investments.Themobilityserviceemergesasamixofall theseelements.Selectthewrongmixandtheeconomicimpactcanbedramatic.So, let’s go back to the basics. The goal is to move people and goods from astarting point to a destination. In otherwords,wemust think door-to-door asthisistheessenceoftheservice.Astothesolutions,wemustalsothink“welltoend-of-life”.All theelementsofourmobilityeco-systemwill requireresources.Resources to produce (materials, energy), resource to operate (energy andspace) and if nothing can be recycled, the end-of-life value will actually be adisposal cost. Some elements are more difficult to calculate. For example, avehicle also produces by-products while being operated: heat, noise and airpollution.Anotherissueisthatmobilityalsoinvolvestime.Timeassuchisalsoaresource.Itcanindirectlybetakenintoaccountbymeasuringtheaveragespeedoveragivendoor-to-doordistance.Ifwetakealltheseelementsintoaccount,thenthemeasuretocomparebecomeshowmuchcargo(e.g.measuredinkg)orpeople(assuminganaverageweight)we can move per unit of road (square m), per unit of production resources(measured inmoney value), per unit of energy usedwhilemoving for a givenaverage speed. It is clear that this can be a mix of different types of vehicles(airplanes, ships, trains,buses, cars, etc.)but that theconnection timemustbeincludedinthecalculation.MobilityasadensityproblemFrom above, one can also see that during operation, mobility is essentially a“density” problem. Roads are fixed resources and we can only increase theefficiencybyallowingmorepeopleandgoodstobemovedoverthem.Thishasseveral implications: smaller vehicles are better, driving closer is better, lessvehiclesontheroadisbetter,lessvehiclesnotdrivingbutbeingparkedisbetter.
Italsomeansthatlight-weightvehiclesthatcanberecycledarebetter.Afterall,the lawofphysicsremainvalid: theenergyneeded isproportional to themassandthesquareofthevelocity.Hence,alsothehiddencostslikeairpollutionwillbeproportionaltothemassofthevehicle.Whatdoesitmeanforelectro-mobility?Thesevehicleshaveaverylowpollutionin heat, noise and air. And it easier to automate them, even to let them driveautonomously. All things considered, this leads to scenarios whereby thevehicles are shared in time, else they use resources while not being used. Aparkedvehicle isactuallyvery inefficient, alsowhen itmoves tooslowly.Theyarealsostandardisedasthisreducestheproductioncost,butnotnecessarilybyusingcompositesandheavybatteries,butbyusinglight-weightmetalsandsmallbatteries. Ifwe compare different vehicle solutions, thanwe see also that thedefining classification depends on the average speed over a given distance.Hence,forlongerdistances,massislessimportantbecausetheenergyismostlyusedwhileacceleratingtothereachagivenspeed.Notjustenergy,mobilityalsorequiresspaceandtimeresourcesWhile above observations are not really new, the inclusion of space and timeusedasa resource isoftenneglectedbecausemobility is seenasavehicleandtrafficquestionnotasasustainableservice.Whendone,itleadstotheconceptofsharedandsmallvehiclesthatareoptimisedforaspecificenvironment.Citycarsareclearlynotthesameasopenroadcars,whetherelectricornot.Packetswitchingformobility:bringingitalltogetherinthesmartcity
In earlier sections we advocatedapplying some of the principles ofpacket switching, the backbonetechnologyofInternetandtelecom,tomobility and transport.After all,thesimilarityisclear.Packetscarrybits, vehicles carry people andgoods. Let’s now describe ascenario whereby all elements are
broughttogether.ThescenarioFirstofall,weassumeareferenceenvironmentwherebyconventionalvehicles(withinternalcombustionengines)arebannedforenteringthecityunlessthereisnoalternative.Forexamplesheavyequipmentandlargemovingtrucksarenoteasily replacedwith current electric equivalents.Dependingon the city, publictransportmightstillbeavailable.Thisislesslikelyforsmallandoldercities,butmorelikelyforlargemetropoles.Importantisthatalltransportisofferedatrealcostaselsethebestmixofmobilitysolutionsisnotlikelytoemerge.
People will most likely enter the city using public transport (e.g. by train ormetro)orby carwhereby they leave theirbig roadvehiclesat a largeparkingbeforeenteringcitywalls. Uponentering thecityperimeter,peoplecallupanAppontheirsmartphone,entertheirdestinationandacentralservergivesthemalltheoptions:publictransport,taxibotsortheycanrentasmallcitye-vehicle,likeKURT.Thelattervehiclescomein2shapes.Oneis60cmwide,thesecondoneis120cmwide.Theycanmoveoneortwopeoplewithalotofcargoortwoorfourpeoplewithsmallcargo.MixinggoodsandpeopletransportTrucksandvansalsostopatthedistributioncentreslocatedateachlargeroadenteringthecity.Unlesstoolarge,bulkgoodsorbroughtintooroutofthecityusing standardised containers that fit on the KURT vehicles platforms. Theycomeintwostandardisedsizesmakingiteasytostackthem.AtthecityentrypointthereisacontinuousstreamofKURTvehicles.Somecomebackfromthecitycentre,someleave.CargoandpeopletransportismixedanddependingonthedemandtheKURTsuperstructurecanbeswappedbetweenacargocontainerandpeople“cabin”.Thelattercanbeoptionallysharedwiththerenting fee depending on the number of occupied seats or on the cargo beingtransported.Thispromotesthefulluseofthevehicle.At theseconcentrationpoints, thevehiclesarequicklycheckedbefore theyareboarded and start their journey through the city. They drive mostlyautonomouslyatalimitedspeed.Wheneveranunforeseensituationhappens,acentral dispatcher can take over using the on-board vehicle cameras whilecommunicating with the passengers. When the vehicles arrives on itsdestination, it can be rented by another passenger and charge itself whilewaiting at the parking loading point. Given that the vehicles are small, eachbuildingprovidestheelectricityandtheownergetsasmallfeeontheelectricityused.Somehavesolarpanelsontherooforchargeabufferingbatteryduringthenightwhenelectricitychargesarelower.MobilityissustainablewhengoingelectricAstheKURTvehiclesaresmall,theroadcanhandletwiceasmanyasbeforeand
astheymovearoundallthetime,alotof space is freed up for pedestrians,socialactivitiesanda lotmoregreen.Music plays in the city onlyoccasionally disturbed by a heavyvehicle. The air is clean. The smartcity does not feel like a techno-hub,butonewheretechnologyoperatesinthe background and non-intrusivelyprovidestheservicesthatareneeded
inasustainable,greenercity.
Related Documents
