Why have Potholes, why not Drone Trucks!
We need to redesign ‘HGVs’, to be driverless, and to run down the underused ‘hard shoulders’ of motorways (with appropriate detection of obstacles, such as broken cars in way).
An alternative charging solution could be ‘pitstop stations’, which are areas set off the motorway hard shoulder, allowing the vehicle to stop and charge, whilst not obstructing the hard shoulder traffic lane.
Driverless HGVs could also be electric-powered, self-charging, using under road wireless charging.
This blog post is about my ideas for the future road ahead.
Roads as we know them today, have been around for millennia, in one shape or form.
Although they are probably better than they have ever been, from a historical perspective, they are not perfect.
Heavy traffic levels, combined with restricted road maintenance budgets in many countries, have led to crumbling road surfaces.
Flying Trucks!
If trucks could fly then you solve the problem of the road wear.
Of course, trucks don’t fly, well at least not yet they don’t.
Drone Trucks!
Drone trucks could replace conventional road trucks, and save road wear.
Road wear would be eliminated because the drone trucks would hover off the ground.
The drone trucks would be guided using radio waves, guided by radio beacons, and GPS.
Drone Truck Safety.
Trucks are obviously heavy, so having one hovering above other road users could be potentially dangerous.
Power Issues
The issue with conventional drones is that they use propellers to make them fly.
The size of propellers needed to lift the drone truck, and its cargo, would need to be large.
Large propellers need large electric motors to power them, which require lots of power.
An alternative hybrid solution involving an airship combined with a traditional drone might be the solution.
The drone truck I have in mind (and have designed in principle) would be capable of carrying heavy loads for long distances.
More Efficiency
The drone truck would be guided by wireless beacons and GPS tracking.
The drone truck would not require a driver, which would save money for the haulage operator.
Not having a driver would also eliminate the need for drivers to stop for statutory rest breaks.
This improves the operational efficiency of the vehicle and greater return on investment.
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