Innovation
Great changes are afoot in transportation in terms of how we move and what we move on. To help our clients deliver on their visions, we provide safe, sustainable, equitable and reliable systems that offer innovative ways of keeping people and goods moving.
From advanced air mobility, automated services in goods movement on highways and at marine port facilities, connected highways, dynamic charging lanes and much more, our experts are at the vanguard of a multi-modal future that promotes greater access for all.
Transforming mobility with eVTOL and AAM
Electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft and Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) are set to kickstart a new era of urban air mobility. Our comprehensive solutions will help vertiport developers, airports, eVTOL original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), infrastructure owners and operators (IOOs), and federal agencies to advance eVTOLs while lowering emissions, noise and costs — and safely and efficiently moving people in these environments.
As leaders in vertiport design, AAM, zero emissions technologies and transportation planning, our team is advancing the adoption of new mobility technologies.
Autonomous Bus Consortium
With the rapid advancement of driverless technologies and the urgent need to improve mobility options while safely and effectively mitigating congestion in cities across the United States, the Consortium’s collaborative effort to leverage its combined resources and launch its pilot deployment program of full-sized buses is groundbreaking. Using cost-efficient and standardized methodologies and assessment, the Consortium will lead the nation’s effort to test and evaluate driverless bus technology. The Consortium is actively seeking additional member transit and transportation agencies.
Autonomous and connected track conceptualization
As the transportation industry evolves, emerging technologies are transforming how we travel and move goods. To help the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign conceptualize its proposed high-speed, multimodal test track, (I-ACT), we created a plan that includes a roadmap for moving into the design and construction phases. The track includes a three-lane test track for high-speed, continuous testing of multimodal connected and autonomous transport such as freight trucks, cars and drones.
The track will contain simulated environments for research on urban, suburban and rural areas as well as all-weather conditions. I-ACT’s facilities will include research and fleet maintenance buildings as well as an adjacent data center to house data storage and computing facilities.
Hyperloop: AECOM is leading the way in ultra-fast transportation
While hyperloop is still in testing phases, it could be the high speed transportation of the future. We are leading the way, helping clients understand the potential and supporting the industry stretch into this uncharted territory.
Imagine traveling at airline speeds for the price of a bus ticket. AECOM is the only engineering company in the world to have planned, designed and constructed Hyperloop projects. Now we’re studying how the new high-speed transportation technology could efficiently transport goods between the ports, major transit hubs and inland distribution centers around the world.
To help America bridge its infrastructure gap, innovative funding and partnerships are needed
To help transform America’s crumbling infrastructure, public-private partnerships offer real promise and potential. If the federal government is serious about unleashing the power of the private sector, there are roadblocks that need addressing.
Here are four prominent roadblocks and ideas on how to fix them >
Smart curb management
Flex Zones are an innovative curbside management approach to city demands. Instead of having fixed-parking zones or double yellow lines, cities’ curbsides can be designed, cleared and priced to accommodate multiple transportation modes and to optimize use throughout the day — for residents, deliveries, pickups and drop offs, or fleets of shared vehicles to rent.
Charging lanes are becoming a reality
It's one thing to charge your car while at home or in a modern parking lot, but it's another thing to charge your car while it is in motion. We've helped pioneered electrified “Smart Powered” lanes – moving electrification for vehicles from batteries not optimal for long journeys, to the roadway itself. Coils embedded in roadways are activated when a receiver in an electric car passes over them, delivering power to the drivetrain which charges the battery. Our studies have provided a benchmark of this technology and identified locations and potential partners for the deployment.