Cela fait maintenant presque deux ans que l'on habitude de voir dans les rues de New-York se côtoyer taxis hybrids et pedicabs.
La semaine dernière c'est un nouvel engin qui a fait son apparition dans les rues de Manhattan, le P.U.M.A (pour Personal Urban Mobility and Accessibility) né de la collaboration a priori assez improbable entre General Motor et Segway.
Vous pouvez lire ci-dessus la façon dont les deux sociétés présentent leur projet. Il était, il y a encore quelques mois, difficile d'imaginer que GM puisse écrire certaines de ces lignes.
Mais crise oblige, GM bouge et commence à penser autrement la mobilité urbaine, et cela de façon beaucoup plus rapide, imaginative et radicale que bien d'autres constructeurs, notamment français.
"Project P.U.M.A. represents a unique solution to moving about and interacting in cities, where more than half of the world's people live," said Larry Burns, GM vice president of research and development, and strategic planning.
"Imagine small, nimble electric vehicles that know where other moving objects are and avoid running into them. Now, connect those vehicles in an Internet-like web and you can greatly enhance the ability of people to move through cities, find places to park and connect to their social and business networks."
Trends indicate that urbanization is growing, and with that comes increased congestion and more competition for parking. Cities around the world are actively looking for solutions to alleviate congestion and pollution.
Project P.U.M.A. addresses those concerns. It combines several technologies demonstrated by GM and Segway, including electric drive and batteries; dynamic stabilization (two-wheel balancing); all-electronic acceleration, steering and braking; vehicle-to-vehicle communications; and autonomous driving and parking. Those technologies integrate in Project P.U.M.A. to increase mobility freedom, while also enabling energy efficiency, zero emissions, enhanced safety, seamless connectivity and reduced congestion in cities.
"We are excited to be working together to demonstrate a dramatically different approach to urban mobility," said Jim Norrod, CEO of Segway Inc. "There's an emotional connection you get when using Segway products. The Project P.U.M.A. prototype vehicle embodies this through the combination of advanced technologies that Segway and GM bring to the table to complete the connection between the rider, environment, and others."
Project P.U.M.A. vehicles will also allow designers to create new fashion trends for cars, and to focus on the passion and emotion that people express through their vehicles while creating solutions that anticipate the future needs of urban customers.
The Project P.U.M.A. prototype vehicle integrates a lithium-ion battery, digital smart energy management, two-wheel balancing, dual electric wheel motors, and a dockable user interface that allows off-board connectivity. The result is an advanced and functional concept that demonstrates the capabilities of technology that exists today.
Built to carry two or more passengers, it can travel at speeds up to 35 miles per hour (56 kph), with a range up to 35 miles (56 km) between recharges.." (Plus là)
Deux rapides et courtes remarques :
- La première concerne la forme de cet engin qui semble directement inspirée des recherches conduites par les constructeurs japonais, et notamment Toyota, depuis plusieurs années sur les nouvelles formes de la mobilité individuelle et urbaine, et qui faisaient encore rire du côté de Chicago et de Détroit il y a moins d'un an.
Voir sur ce sujet de l'avance japonaise, Entre robots et fauteuils-roulants, mais aussi là et là.
- La deuxième remarque concerne le nom de l'engin P.U.M.A qui ne peut évidement que faire penser à la célèbre marque de sport d'origine allemande. Puma vient là de se faire piquer un territoire de développement et de communication que le très malin Nike a déjà ,lui, préempté depuis quelques années avec son concept car Nike One.
