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Future of Urban Mobility

35 years after Blade Runner transforMOTION realises Ridley Scott's future

transforMOTION

By 2050, more than six billion people will be living in megacities, with urban traffic tripling. In September 2017, Bosch UK organised a public event showcasing how technology can provide the solutions needed to address these challenges.

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In September 2017, Bosch UK invited the public alongside customers, journalists and decision makers to an interactive glimpse in to the future of mobility in cities.

“35 years after Blade Runner Bosch is realising Ridley Scott's future...”
Sir Simon McDonald - Permanent Under-Secretary, Foreign and Commonwealth Office

This tweet from the permanent Under-Secretary at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office sums up the first Bosch UK transforMOTION event, which highlighted Bosch’s role and expertise in shaping the future of mobility in cities.

TransforMOTION talks

Taking over The Courtyard and Embankment Galleries at Somerset House, transforMOTION not only showcased Bosch’s solutions to tackle these problems, it also brought together some of the biggest names, brains and leaders from the technology and transport industries. Throughout the day, there were public talks addressing key mobility topics.

TransforMOTION talks
TransforMOTION talks
TransforMOTION talks
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People involved in these talks included:

Carol Vorderman MBE

  • TV presenter and STEM campaigner, took part in a panel around ‘Women of the Future’

Hod Lipson

  • Professor of Engineering and Data Science at Columbia University and author, did a keynote speech entitled ‘Engineering the Brain and Robotics’

Jason Pontin

  • Former editor-in-chief and publisher of MIT Technology Review, moderated two discussions; one on ‘Connected, Automated and Electrified Mobility’ and the other on ‘The Challenge of Mobility in Cities’

Michael Hurwitz

  • Director of Transport Innovation at Transport for London

Technology demonstrators

In-between the talks and panel discussions, visitors were able to experience some of the technologies on a purpose-built track around the marquee, such as the easyMile. The autonomous shuttle seats 6-10 people and operates using a combination of features such as multi-sensor localisation techniques, obstacle detection and avoidance, as well as GPS.

The EasyMile autonomous shuttle
The EasyMile autonomous shuttle
The Bosch Connected Car
The Bosch Connected Car
The e.GO Life electric city car
The e.GO Life electric city car
The Schwalbe e-scooter, Bosch eBike and Elmoto city sports bike
The Schwalbe e-scooter, Bosch eBike and Elmoto city sports bike
Home Zone Park Assist
Home Zone Park Assist
The Bosch Highly Automated Driving car
The Bosch Highly Automated Driving car
Ford PHEV with Bosch range extender
Ford PHEV with Bosch range extender
Ford PHEV with Bosch range extender
Ford PHEV with Bosch range extender
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Also on show was the Bosch Connected Car from the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas with face recognition, intelligent personalisation and gesture controls with haptic feedback; the e.GO Life light-weight electric city car; the Schwalbe e-scooter from Govecs and the Elmoto city sports bike as well as the latest Bosch eBikes.

The Bosch Home Zone Park Assist, which can store up to ten parking procedures, making regular parking an automated experience, was showcased outside the tent.

Visitors were also able to sit in the Highly Automated Driving (HAD) Car, a Bosch real test vehicle equipped with autonomous driving technology. The start-up enterprise carpooling solution SPLT had also a stand in the transforMOTION tent. The goal of the app is to create a trusted community of carpoolers by matching co-workers to share their journey to work.

Another great showcase with the Royal Shakespeare Company demonstrated how sciences and arts are coming together to drive further innovation with a ground-breaking technology in theatres.