How will mobility change in the future?
A question to which many of the protagonists of Maker Faire Rome 2022 tried to answer, transforming their ideas in prototypes and effective projects
Sustainability as a central feature and inclusivity towards elders and people with impairments as desirable goal.
When talking about the mobility of the future, a massive diffusion of e-vehicles, the transition towards self-driving public and private transportation and the progressive expansion of car sharing opportunities are some of the easiest predictions.
During Maker Faire Rome 2022 we met many projects dealing with these subjects and addressing these challenges. Let’s see some of them.
Vision-aided positioning for autonomous vehicles
This project devises a positioning system for autonomous vehicles based on the integration of innovative visual technologies with the information provided by Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS).
The coming revolution in transportation systems will most likely lead to a considerable increase in the requirements for positioning systems. GNSSs will play an increasingly central role and it is for this reason that it is necessary to take into consideration the impact that failures, signal degradations and external threats could have on them.
“Vision-aided positioning for autonomous vehicles” was born starting from these considerations. This project has been realized by the COMLAB laboratory of the Industrial, Electronic and Mechanical Engineering department of the Roma Tre University, which integrates visual sensors with positioning systems based on GNSS.
An experimental setup consisting of an array of cameras, a stereo camera, a time of flight camera and a LIDAR was shown at MFR 2022, presenting the operating principle of the sensors, the type of data they provide and preliminary results.
Hydrobyke: hydrogen-based bikes
Why using the car to move through a city when you can take a long- sustainable hydrogen bike with high energy autonomy?
The main goal of the project, realized by the students of the I.I.S.S. A. Pacinotti from Taranto, is to make e-bikes more efficient reducing emission and recharging time. Hydrobyke uses photovoltaic energy to produce hydrogen, that will power the lithium batteries for FCEV fuel cells.
The project also involves the creation of a system that monitors the vehicle conditions and the development of an app to easily track hydrogen power stations.
DriveBox: messages and sensors for innovative driving
A project that makes driving vehicles on two wheels easier, safer and smarter thanks to a simple device that can be adapted to any helmet.
Using the DriveGloves on the device, it is possible to signal the change of direction in complete safety, without taking your hands off the handlebar.
The sensors, on the other hand, make it possible to increase the driver’s safety by intervening in accidents, reporting them to the app, and subsequently sending warning text messages to one or more of the driver’s contacts.
A project carried out by young students of the ITIS “E. Fermi” in Rome: Tommaso Abitante, Tommaso Coviello, Matteo De Vivo, Emma Pucci, Valerio Leonetti.
Italian e-mobility network for environmental sustainability
The italian e-mobility network is an association of schools that promotes sustainable mobility in teaching and currently consists of 44 upper secondary schools from 14 regions of Italy.
The Network was born on 21 October 2020 and, since its foundation, has collaborated with ANPAL Servizi, the National Agency for Active Labor Policies, thanks to which it has triggered contacts in many Italian regions.
The inspiring principles of this project are numerous: first of all environmental sustainability and the transition to electricity, passing through the training of students aimed at creating a culture of environmental sustainability towards energy issues.
Added to this is the desire to enhance communication and collaboration with companies in the sustainable mobility supply chain and in the world of energy, its generation and distribution, also promoting educational actions for the community.
Maker Faire Rome 2022 hosted various projects created by Italian schools belonging to the e-mobility network.
Roma Tre Transportation Lab: between tech and innovation
A project that adopts modern technologies for the survey, tracking and classification of vehicular and pedestrian flows applied to transport engineering.
At Maker Faire Rome 2022 were presented the technologies available to the transport laboratory of the Engineering Department of the Roma Tre University, which carries out research in the field of transportation and infrastructures, with a specialization in the development of traffic models, safety traffic and ITS systems.
Furthermore, among the stands of the fair, it was possible to view the instruments for the survey, tracking and classification of vehicular and pedestrian flows, such as radar systems, laser measurers, GPS, optical cameras and drones. Finally, the team illustrated the projects that see the use of the technologies supplied and some of the ongoing and future experiments on this subject.
Making Future Flights
During the project Making Future Flights, 60 students built as many detachable glider motorcycles with a wingspan of 1.36 meters, a good 40 minutes of autonomy and paper or vegetable aerostructures, propelled by stabilized mini-thrusters and controllable from smartphones.
A new way to experience aerodynamic principles and different piloting styles with flight simulators through a lesson that aims to consolidate soft-skills and popularize STEM subjects in a playful way.
The project was carried out by the MakingOpen.net team of the M. Massimo Institute school of the Jesuit Fathers in Rome, made up of professional volunteers, including engineers, professors, doctors and entrepreneurs who are dedicated to organizing open source courses related to the ‘hi-tech and humanitarian projects.
Maker Faire Rome – The European Edition has been committed since its very first edition to make innovation accessible, usable and profitable for all. This blog is always updated and full of opportunities and inspiration for makers, makers, SMEs and all the curious ones who wish to enrich their knowledge and expand their business, in Italy, in Europe and beyond.
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