Transforming Urban Transportation via Safe, Innovative Light Vehicles

To reduce carbon emissions and mitigate traffic congestion in urban environments, new innovative transportation concepts are required. While public transportation covers certain segments, it cannot supply all possible routes, use cases, and preferences and hence, other solutions are needed as well. Urban drive missions are not typically calling for huge powers or even large energy capacities. In the vehicle design, this should be shown as rightsizing. It is not only the powertrain that should be rightsized but also the vehicle physical dimensions, to enable, e.g., convenient maneuvering. Furthermore, due to the variety of options (walking, biking, scooters, public transportation etc.), one might need a personal vehicle only occasionally, and therefore, a vehicle with shared and multipurpose capabilities would be an asset. Lastly, since small urban vehicles are considered unsafe, improving the safety and general confidence on small vehicles is vital for the market penetration. "Reconfigurable light electric vehicle"REFLECTIVE project targets at developing a light, fully electric vehicle capable of performing safely, efficiently, and multifacetedly in urban environments. Our solutions will enable private and shared concepts and passenger and goods transportation, accommodating increased convenience with charging alternatives. In this article, we present the overall idea of the project. We discuss the background and underlying needs for the developments with the key innovative features proposed by the 10 REFLECTIVE partners from eight different European countries.