Project Leaders Magazine ISSUE03 JUN 2022

WORKPLACE OF THE FUTURE

At Denkoit's media & publishing group we are determined to bring to our audience, stories about projects that are truly making an impact, leaders who are driving transformation.

Mobility is facing revolutionary transformation across the globe with top countries strategizing the roadmap.

From the west to east, world's top countries are envisioning to go with the self-driving transport and the corporates are working on building energy efficient transport.

The developing research around MaaS (Mobility-as-a-Service) platforms, business models, is building strong, whilst China has already been ahead with it's tech giant in Beijing has implemented the autonomous MaaS services and plans on improving.

Dubai is not behind as it is working on a vision to make its 25% of the transport smarter and driver-less. Europe is preparing for its mobility week later this year and inviting towns and cities to participate.

We look for such exciting projects that are driving transformation in their respective industries and about the change makers who lead such initiatives to success, aiming to inspire and benefit our global community of project leaders.

"We look for such exciting projects that are driving transformation in their respective industries and about the change makers who lead such initiatives to success"

THE PRIME FOCUS

APTERA

A lightweight three-wheeler, Aptera is the first in a series of eco-friendly vehicles.

MOBILITY AS A SERVICE

A high population growth rate and increasing urbanization have intensified the need for efficient transportation.

14

SKY PODS

Transportation industries internationally are transforming at a fast pace and funding in cleaner, faster, and improved approach of shipping to facilitate the needs of the developing populace.

THE PRIME FOCUS APTERA

A lightweight threewheeler, Aptera is the first in a series of ecofriendly vehicles that will be offered for consumer and commercial use. It has the longest range of any production vehicle with 1,000 miles per charge and the ability to travel up to 40 miles a day on free power from its integrated solar panels.

With only six key structural parts, Aptera’s unique body shape allows it to slip through the air using far less energy than other electric and hybrid vehicles on the road today.

Advanced Motors

Efficient

Drivetrain

Drag coefficients, a measure of the amount of resistance an object encounters as it moves, compared: Aerodynamic Design

Lightweight Composite Materials

Aptera’s unique diamond shaped solar panels maximize the energy from the sun, giving fully equipped vehicles 700 Watts of continuous charging power — whether you’re driving or parked. That Eliminates the worry of finding charging stations.

Aptera weighs 65% less than other electric vehicles today.

Lighter cars require less energy to move.

Aptera’s body is built with ultralightweight composites and its arched shape mimics the physics of an eggshell — that protects the passengers with a safety cell that's seven times stronger than steel.

Aptera was built with one goal in mind from the start: energy efficiency. When compared to other electric and hybrid vehicles on the road today, the vehicle's unique design allows it to glide through the air while using 30% less energy. Aptera's Never Charge technology can provide up to 40 miles of free driving each day, all fuelled by the sun. Aptera takes the top because it has the least "rolling resistance," or friction between the wheels and the ground. Our three-wheel design, rather than four, avoids a possible energy loss point. To suit the adverse weather conditions, Aptera has been developed with a capability to handle well in the harshest conditions ranging from -20 up to 125 degrees Fahrenheit.

AWD – All Wheel drive and vectorized torque control, it can drive into snow, ice, sand, and gravel with no trouble.

PRESS RELEASE: San Diego, April 20, 2022 | Aptera Motors has acquired the Human Machine Interface company, Andromeda Interfaces, Inc. in an allequity deal. This strategic decision enables an expedited integration of Andromeda’s Central Infotainment Display (CID) solution and UI/UX functionality within Aptera production vehicles. The acquisition comes during a fundamental period of growth as Aptera ramps up to full scale production, indicating crucial forward momentum. As a local San Diego company, Andromeda brings a history of increasing valuation for EV companies, bridging the gap between what the UI/UX designers can envision and how engineers implement that vision onto the actual hardware.

image credit: APTERA

“Acquiring Andromeda was the strategic next step as we ramp to production, and we’re confident that this acquisition will not only benefit our timeline, but also the end-user experience for drivers.”

CHRIS ANTHONY, CO-CEO, APTERA

Aptera Motors delivers the world’s most technologically advanced solar electric vehicles (sEVs), made possible by breakthroughs in battery efficiency, aerodynamics, material science, and manufacturing.

Andromeda makes it simple and cost effective to integrate Human Machine Interface (HMI) displays for Commercial and Industrial transportation applications. The company’s goal is to provide customers with the software tools and HMIs to accelerate the development process to reliably launch quality solutions that improve humanmachine interactions.

image credit: APTERA

SHAPED LIKE A SMAL

To build the most efficient vehicle, we had to reimagine the shape of transportation.

Aptera has a curved nose, wide sides, tapered trunk, and undercarriage swoops like a dolphin’s belly.

LL SPEEDY AIRCRAFT

BY NATURE

This design reduces drag, or the force of air flowing against the motion of the vehicle.

SMART MOBILITY SKY PODS

WRITTEN

BY:

YASER ABDUL SATTAR

PRODUCED BY: NAVEED HASAN

“by 2030, 25% of all transportation trips in Dubai will be smart and driverless”

MIDDLE EAST

His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum

Transportation industries internationally are transforming at a fast pace and funding in cleaner, faster, and improved approach of shipping to facilitate the needs of the developing populace.

The UAE authorities is likewise striving to remain on top of the curve and fulfil the urban transport needs of residents with innovative and revolutionary technologies.

One latest step in that route is the improvement of the Dubai Sky Pod Transport System announced by the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA).

Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority has taken this initiative to implement The Dubai Sky Pod Transport System (also referred to as Dubai Sky Pod Transit System) following the government’s ambition to make 25% of public transport in Dubai smart, driverless and automated by 2030.

The work has already begun, and extensive efforts are being exerted on the project, to transform the transport network in the city. One of the largest developers of sky pods in the world - BeemCar Ltd. is building the light-weight power-efficient pods that would be mounted with steel wheels that run on suspended rails. The Dubai Sky Pod system will essentially feature high-speed cable car style transportation, that potentially will avoid the usual road congestions.

The pods would also be suspended in the air above the road from a hollow lightweight beam. It has also been revealed that the beam will be located at about 7.5 metres above the ground. At all times, however, the pod will remain horizontal to ensure a smooth journey. The RTA is yet to reveal if and when the Sky Pod project will be rolled out.

"The mobility system would use an area of land that is 100 times smaller than that used by conventional transport with the same capacity, while the pods' power efficiency is five times greater than electric vehicles,"

H.E MATTAR AL TAYER, RTA DIRECTOR GENERAL and CHAIRMAN

The Dubai Sky Pod would be powered by linear motors (providing the thrust) and the braking system. The Pods even though work independently, they are synchronous in operation. So, if one pod stops in the beam, all pods will become stationary.

The inbuilt air-conditioning and heating system act as climate controllers maintaining the pod temperatures pleasant regardless of the external weather conditions.

As per the announced plan, there will be a total of 21 Dubai Sky Pod Stations, and it will accommodate over 8,400 passengers per hour in one direction. Passengers will be able to board the pods at the ground level stops. Once aboard, the pod will move up to the main beam where there is a slot between the other pods.

Passengers will be able to enter their destination using the touch screen. At all times, passengers will be facing forwards. When the pod reaches a passenger’s destination, it will descend to the ground level and allow the individual to drop off. Facilities will be made available to ensure that passengers on wheelchairs, mobility scooter users and bicycles pushchairs can come on board.

The residents of Dubai will benefit from reaching their destinations without the hurdle and chaos of traffic jams which is the obvious advantage of having this new transport system. Furthermore, introducing sky pods would ease the burden on other public transportation modes like buses and the Dubai Metro.

"THE GOAL IS TO IMPROVE SAFETY, REDUCE TRAVEL TIME AND PROTECT THE ENVIRONMENT"

H.E MATTAR AL TAYER, RTA DIRECTOR GENERAL and CHAIRMAN

"For any company when it comes to future shift of transportation, there are four main common enabling factors which are also globally standardized, suitable legislations, infrastructure readiness based on the urban planning, affordability which is also linked to any country's economy, and commercial & technical viability." he added starting at 11:46 on the video timeline above.

DESIGNED FOR SAFETY AND PRIVACY

The biggest problem in urban areas is congestion, which causes massive financial losses to economies, and leads to increasing levels of air pollution that in turn causes avoidable premature deaths, and inefficient use of energy.

BeemCar has been designed specifically to tackle congestion at its core by providing a cost effective, zero carbon, energy efficient and attractive option to car users. It uses a mixture of existing technologies and is akin to a monorail with automobiles – pods – hanging under a lightweight beam. Each 4-seater pod is suspended from a drive unit that sits inside the hollow beam, mounted on low friction wheels that freewheel along tracks inside the beam.

Linear Induction Motors (LIMs) provide the forward propulsion and braking, as the pods zip along at 50 km/hr (30mph), at half second intervals.

The beams are arranged in a network that criss-cross the city with a clearance height of 5m below the pods. Unlike a rail-based system, there is no physical track switching, the intelligent pods choose the shortest route through diverging and converging junctions, travelling directly from origin to destination, without any stopping en route.

BeemCar uses modern, lightweight composite technology for the majority of its structural parts, based on the use of existing technology, proven in different applications across a broad range of industries, including the aerospace, rail, automotive and defence sectors – there is nothing new about the technology, only in the way that it has been brought together for this application. The design of BeemCar is driven by the key focus of passenger needs, guided by the following philosophy:

• KISS – Keep It Simple Stupid!

• Innovate and think outside of the box

• Provide a genuine alternative that will attract automobile users out of their vehicles

• Cater for all passenger types, irrespective of age or disability

• Ensure passengers are safe and secure during their journeys

• Minimise and manage risk

• Provide a reliable, low cost, fail safe system

• Be as environmentally friendly and green as possible

• Maintain an attitude of continuous improvement throughout the life of the system

• Work with, and bring benefits to local communities

• BeemCar is not designed to replace other forms of public transport, but to be complementary and to work as part of an integrated transport system.

imagecredit:BeemCar

The four-seater driverless pod’s external dimensions will measure 2 m wide x 2.5 m long x 2 m high. All four seats will be forwardfacing, arranged in two-tiered rows. The rear seats would be higher, so people can enjoy the same views as the passengers seated on the front row.

image credit: BeemCar

DUBAI'S SDT (SELF-DRIVING TRANSPORT)

IMPLEMENTATION PLAN TO ACHIEVE 25% SDT BY 2030

image credit: RTA DUBAI

MOBILITY-as

A high population growth rate and increasing urbanization have intensified the need for efficient transportation. Developing countries in Asia Oceania are expected to experience significant growth in urban transportation with many countries in the region shifting their focus toward smart personal mobility to reduce travel time and congestion.

ASIA

s-a-SERVICE

Baidu 'brings autonomous MaaS' to China

Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS), a concept which aims at promoting ecosystems, facilitating the integration of all transport services into a single mobility platform, is a promising solution to each this goal. In the Outline for Building China’s Strength in Transport, a top-level policy for the long-term development of China’s transport sector, which was released in September 2019, the aim of the promoting the integrated development of MaaS in China was emphasized. Following the set direction, now more and more Chinese cities are implementing MaaS pilot projects.

'Beijing Tech Giant' - Baidu has deployed a Mobility as a Service (MaaS) autonomous driving platform that will provide artificial intelligence (AI) transportation services in the Chinese city of Guangzhou. The project is part of an agreement with the Guangzhou Huangpu District government. Passengers can hail Apollo Robotaxis from more than 50 pick-up stations in the district. A batch of New Species Vehicles will drive around the city tasked with routine cleaning and disinfection.

Listed amongst the Top 10 mobility projects of 2021, by the project Management Institute, describing that “Beijing tech giant Baidu unveiled one option: what it’s billing as the world’s first “mobility as a service” (or MaaS) platform. Partnering with the Guangzhou Huangpu District government, the company rolled out a service to link locals with its fleet of 40 autonomous buses, taxis and other vehicles across more than 50 different pick-up stations.”

MaaS Platform

Apolong minibuses will shuttle sightseers to the flower blossoms around parks and lakes. Apollocop vehicles will operate along the main roads near key areas while the Baidu Robobus will ferry passengers along fixed routes, facilitating travel toward festive destinations.

Riders can make reservations on the Baidu Maps and Apollo Go mobile applications. Baidu's transportation is complemented by an intelligent network consisting of AI roadside infrastructure and a digital-twin cloud platform.

Real-time signal light information such as stoplight countdowns, traffic event alerts and intersection queue length are broadcast on the interactive monitors embedded in robobus or robotaxi cabins as well as the exterior screens fixed on the rear of robobuses.

Additionally, passengers can utilise the Baidu Maps app or DuerOS-powered smart rearview mirrors to receive voice alerts of electronic fence monitoring, access signal light reminders, live traffic event venue broadcasting and other connected online services.

As part of the initiative, Baidu is to deploy its ACE (autonomous driving, connected road, efficient mobility) Transportation Engine to help improve traffic flow around the district.

A large ACE smart traffic electronic display has been set up on an unnamed skyscraper to visually display the AI solutions coordinating smart transportation for local commuters by the transportation bureau.

Going forward, Baidu is to continue its trial by deploying more than 100 robotaxis and establishing almost 1,000 pick-up stations in Guangzhou Huangpu District.

THE EVOLUTION

Mobility-as-a-Service

As we know that technology is one of the key drivers that give birth to new projects, it is to our benefit that we keep an eye on R&D and position ourselves well for the future. MaaS is one of such fast evolving technology that drives our interest to take a note of the key developments in this industry as the mobility as a service market is projected to reach USD 40.1 billion by 2030.

Citymapper announced its Citymapper Pass, a subscription to all mobility with a smart travel card, integrated with its multimodal mobility app. The company launched it in London for public transport, cycles, and cabs.

Mobilleo included a Ride Hailing travel option that locates and calls a nearby taxi service. Partnerships with several taxi suppliers have enabled Mobilleo to aggregate all available taxi services into one, easy-to-navigate platform. Through Ride Hailing, a traveler can now use a single platform to book a taxi anywhere around the globe.

FEB 2021

MAY 2020

SkedGo launched a new feature that enables passengers to assess crowding levels before they travel, supporting journey planning during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond. The feature allows passengers to choose quieter routes and carriages, or switch to alternative forms of transport such as cycling or e-scooters to maintain social distancing. The occupancy feature has been trialed using open source data from Transport for New South Wales in Sydney, Australia, and can be rolled out worldwide, depending on data availability.

MAY 2020

FINLAND

Mobility as a service Global Oy partnered with Enfuce, Finland’s largest fintech startup, to launch a card payment offering on its Whim mobility app. The partnership enabled mobility as a service Global to issue Mastercard prepaid cards and expand its offering to new markets.

Beijing tech giant Baidu unveiled one option: what it’s billing as the world’s first “mobility as a service” (or MaaS) platform. Partnering with the Guangzhou Huangpu District government, the company rolled out a service to link locals with its fleet of 40 autonomous buses, taxis and other vehicles across more than 50 different pick-up stations.

OCT 2019

BRUSSELS

IRU has published its position on Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS) calling for improved awareness of the benefits and risks of MaaS as well as a balanced approach as the industry pushes to embrace MaaS. IRU is the world road transport organisation. We represent the entire industry – bus, coach, truck and taxi, and drive the sustainable mobility of people and goods across the planet.

APRIL 2020

ISRAEL

Moovit launched an Emergency Mobilization On-Demand solution to help essential workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Created for transit agencies and enterprises, Moovit’s technology transformed vehicle fleets into an on-demand service to get critical workers to their destination without endangering their health. The new solution has already been implemented in several cities to help employees commute safely to work.

Connecting people through seamless mobility

skills

WORKPLACE O hybrid mindset talent growth autom inc competency wellbeing risk

F THE FUTURE

WRITTEN & PRODUCED BY: NAVEED HASAN

mation

people diversity clusion demand capacity trust success failure learn lead data

Key emerging workplace trends in 2022

Companies have increasingly been focusing on work-life balance and the mental health of employees—and this will continue into 2022.

We couldn’t talk about emerging workplace trends in 2022 without mentioning remote and hybrid work, largely stemming from the pandemic. This phenomenon has affected millions of workers worldwide. Let's talk by numbers:

Job Seekers' Preference

Fully Remote Role: 58%

Hybrid Setup: 39%

Survey: FlexJobs

Added Benefit by Employers

Flexible Arrangements: 91%

survey: PwC

Prioritizing employee well-being also includes providing additional employee benefits, greater flexibility, sign-on bonuses, and an overall positive workplace experience.

During the pandemic, this focus on the “whole employee” has been a way for organizations to attract and retain talent.

• 53% of employers added mental health programs to their employee benefits due to the pandemic

• 44% of the organizations surveyed said they added or increased paid time off and wellness programs for their workforce

survey: PwC

The skills required in many industries are changing. And nearly 7 in 10 companies globally reported talent shortages and difficulties hiring in 2021, a 15-year high.

European organizations in specific are finding it difficult to fill in open roles. For employers, retaining existing employees to fill internal job positions has become one solution. In fact, according to a World Economic Forum report, about 40% of the global workforce will need reskilling of up to six months by 2024.

Leaders recognize that focusing on upskil help their organizations close skills gaps. Thi identify individual skill sets as opposed t development can help organizations meet skills can be measured using wh

lling employees and career pathing can s means using a whole new set of tools to to more traditional job grading. Skills t their most urgent business needs—and hat is referred to as “skill data.”

Workforces are going to focus much more on the DEI (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion) in 2022—with a vast majority of U.S. workers (nearly 80%) already saying they want to work for companies that make DEI a priority. survey: CNBC/SurveyMonkey Workforce .

Artificial intelligence and automation have transformed the workplace in countless ways. They’ve improved and expedited internal processes while ensuring consistent output and even increasing employee engagement.

With these workplace trends, the skills employees need to achieve positive business outcomes for their organizations are changing.