E-buses are one of the many ways the vehicle industry is trying to help save the planet. However, these come with several inconveniences. Up until now, the only way to charge e-buses is in parking spots, limiting the vehicle’s autonomy. Additionally, the e-vehicles need to install batteries, which add around 3 tons to the average 12 buses usually have and occupy space which could otherwise be filled by the travellers.

However, Alstom is currently working on improving this by developing another major technological advancement towards a sustainable world: recharging systems in the ground. Alstom is a promoter of sustainability mobility which develops and markets systems, equipment and services for the transport sector (Alstom, 2019). Recently it presented in Malaga, Spain a prototype of SRS for e-buses operating at a bus stop in front of the University of Malaga.

Without passengers noticing, the e-buses make use of the final stop to charge its batteries. On the ground of the bus stop, there are three plates which link to three arms from the bus that descend when the bus arrives at the stop. Through that contact, the bus charges fast, silently, and invisible in 2 – 5 minutes, offering autonomy to the vehicle without delaying the time of the journey.

This system brings many benefits; for example, it does not disrupt the rest of the vehicles travelling, nor the landscape, as it is built underground. Additionally, the system brings very low energy expenditure, safety and speed to load the bus. As soon as the bus arrives, radio communication activates the device.

The key to this technology is using a lot of energy in very little time. It can still be improved; in 2 months Alstom is expecting to have the first results of the project.
In fact, similar technology is already in place for trams; now it’s buses; the next step will be cars. What if garages had this system: private and public?
Technology has a lot to offer and can be used to improve almost everything. The challenge is to be able to use it for a good purpose. Alstom has been able to provide beneficial use of technology by using it to save the environment, which is currently in big danger.

What do you think about this initiative; will it be successful?

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Alstom. (2019). About Alstom. [online] Available at: https://www.alstom.com/ [Accessed 6 Oct. 2019].

Alstom. (2019). Alstom presents SRS ground-based recharging system for electric buses. [online] Available at: https://www.alstom.com/press-releases-news/2019/9/alstom-presents-srs-ground-based-recharging-system-electric-buses [Accessed 6 Oct. 2019].

Sánchez, N. (2019). Málaga prueba un sistema de recarga de autobuses eléctricos desde el suelo. [online] EL PAÍS. Available at: https://elpais.com/tecnologia/2019/09/25/actualidad/1569433009_234547.html [Accessed 6 Oct. 2019].

Self-driving cars are one of the most recurring debates nowadays. In 2024 it is estimated that self-driving will reach level 5, which is the same as saying that the vehicle will be completely in charge of driving. This allows a couple of years for scientists to develop and define the best protocols for autonomous driving.

Most people agree that AI should behave like a human’s brain in case of danger. However, it is still unclear how the human brain acts when you are put in a controversial situation, when deaths can occur. So, how will scientists develop an algorithm for this?

Wolff, Gomez-Pilar, Nakao and Northoff (2019) investigated in their report the activity of neurons while undertaking moral decisions. To investigate this moral dilemma the researchers based their experiment on Philippa Foot’s (1967) “The trolley problem”. Briefly, there is a moral dilemma between choosing to save 5 people and kill 1 person or vice versa when a tram is out of control running through the rail. Wolff et al. (2019) tried to determine what are the processes the human brain takes to answer this dilemma. For this they used an electroencephalograph (EEG), placing electrodes around the head of 41 participants. The participants were posed several times the trolley dilemma, varying the number of people; they also undertook a situation where no moral dilemma arose to be able to compare it to the rest of the trials.
The findings of this study showed that neural activity is different when placed in a controversial situation which implies a moral dilemma. The researchers found that slower brainwaves – delta, theta and alfa – have the highest impact when taking moral decisions (Wolff et al., 2019).

These findings allow the scientific community to imitate in smart cars the neural activity that takes place in human brains when faced when moral dilemmas. However, will it really be successful? I believe most parents would rather choose saving their children, and giving them the opportunity to grow and live their life than saving the largest number of people. Will cars become smart enough to read human’s feelings and act as a human driving? For the moment, I believe the answer is no. Even though smart cars facilitate daily driving and offer a better traveling experience, I do think it will be quite hard for cars to take moral decisions as you would.

Wolff, A., Gomez-Pilar, J., Nakao, T. and Northoff, G. (2019). Interindividual neural differences in moral decision-making are mediated by alpha power and delta/theta phase coherence. Scientific Reports, 9(1).

Philippa Foot, “The Problem of Abortion and the Doctrine of the Double Effect” in Virtues and Vices (Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1978) (originally appeared in the Oxford Review, Number 5, 1967.)

SINC, A. (2019). Cómo tomarán decisiones morales los vehículos autónomos. [online] EL PAÍS. Available at: https://elpais.com/tecnologia/2019/08/29/actualidad/1567075686_288176.html [Accessed 11 Sep. 2019].

Cdn.cbtnews.com. (2019). [online] Available at: https://cdn.cbtnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/shutterstock_631212983.jpg [Accessed 11 Sep. 2019].