Crossing the Seven Seas [ 7 C ]

A few days back , speaking at the Global Mobility Summit , Shri Modiji said :

·         My vision for the future of mobility in India is based on 7 Cs :

         Common , Connected , Convenient , Congestion-free , Charged , Clean , Cutting Edge

·         The world is now in the middle of a NEW MOBILITY REVOLUTION and India has inherent advantages to leverage this opportunity

·         India can be the best place for rapidly evolving technology

·         Industry to invest in ,

     #   Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles

     #   Charging Infrastructure

     #   Battery manufacturing

·         Government will soon come out with a policy on electric vehicles to give a thrust to e-mobility

·         Public Transport must be the corner stone of our mobility initiatives

·         Our focus must go beyond cars to other vehicles such as scooters and rickshaws

·         Large segments of the developing world depend on these vehicles for mobility

·         As against other economies that carry the “ baggage “ of “ private car ownership “, India is still light on personal car population . This gives us the window of opportunity to create an all-new, seamless mobility eco-system

·         Charged mobility is the way forward for the country

·         There is a need to encourage pedestrians and cycling by making them safer

·         There is a need for generating power for electric mobility through renewable energy

·         Companies should tap into the knowledge of ISRO in developing cost-effective batteries

This policy might get released in the next 4 weeks But if you are curious / anxious to know what that policy might look like , here are the clues :

COMMON

     A Rickshaw by any other Name ?  ………………………….[  20  Aug  2016  ]

================================

 

CONNECTED

Internet of Vehicles ( IoV ) ?  …………………………………[  04  March  2017  ]

     Welcome !   Elon Musk    ………………………………………..[  10  Feb  2017  ]

     Smart Cars , Safe Cars , Social Cars ?  ………………….[  31  Aug  2017  ]

==============================================

 

  CONVENIENT

  A Radical Radial Revolution !  …………………………………[  18  Aug  2016  ]

 

 EESL : Lease cars , do not Buy !  ……………………………..[  16  Aug  2017  ]

 To Buy or not to Buy ?  ………………………………………………[  11  Oct  2017  ]

 

Cars on Subscription ? Convenience Redefined ………….[  11  Sept  2018  ]

================================= 

CONGESTION-FREE

Urban Transport Policy  ………………………………………………….[  09  June  2017  ]

==============================

CHARGED

All Charged Up ?  …………………………………………………………….[  15  Aug  2016  ]

A Take-Off Time ?  ………………………………………………………….[  20  April  2017  ]

More than one Solution  ………………………………………………….[  28  April  2017  ]

 

An Electric Future ?  ………………………………………………………..[  17  Aug  2017  ]

 

India : Energy Storage Mission  ………………………………………[  04  Dec  2017  ]

 

=========================================

 

CLEAN

Building Castles in the Air ?  ……………………………………………[  12  March  2017  ]

 

Carbon  Conspiracy  ?  ……………………………………………………..[  13  Nov  2017  ]

Is there a parallel ?  ………………………………………………………….[  08  Dec  2017  ]

 

=================================

CUTTING  EDGE

Solar Panels charging Li-ion Batteries of Electric Cars ?  [ 04  May  2017  ]

Look Before You Leap ……………………………………………………..[  22  May  2017  ]

A “ Reverse Toll “ ? Possible !  ………………………………………..[  07  May  2017  ]

Not Tough At All !  ……………………………………………………………[  08  May  2017  ]

Time to get Charged Up ?  ……………………………………………… [  27  May  2017  ]

 

The Missing Link  ……………………………………………………………..[  05  June  2017  ]

 

Sun  Rises  in  West ?  ……………………………………………………..[  16  Oct  2017  ]

 

Who  Will  Win  this  Race  ?  ……………………………………………[  07  Nov  2017  ]

 

NITI proposes : NITIN disposes  ……………………………………….[  20  Nov  2017  ]

 

ISRO : the EV Game-Changer  ………………………………………….[  22  Nov  2017  ]

 

 

11  Sept  2018

www.hemenparekh.in / blogs

Cars on Subscription ? Convenience Redefined

Principle business model for the Auto Industry , remains :

Selling  cars  offline ( and displaying ‘ online ‘ )

But this is slowly changing

Speaking at the recent Global Mobility Summit, Shri Nitin Gadkariji hinted that Tata Motors and Ashok Leyland could form an “ Operator Company “ on the pattern of London Transport Model

“ The government is ready to give " on a platter " all necessary regulatory clearances to investors ready to run public transport buses on electricity or alternative fuel…..

I have urged manufacturers that apart from manufacturing buses, you open an Operator Company. You will get business .” 

 

 [ https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/gadkari-offers-approvals-on-platter-for-electricity-run-public-transport/articleshow/65723083.cms  ]

Dear Shri Gadkariji ,

Whereas , citizens ( especially , of the metros ) would be very happy if TATA and Ashok Leyland grab your offer and start Operator Companies , you can only “ exhort “ them – but no more

But there is one company who you can give ( without it asking ),  all those “ regulatory clearances “ , and ( more or less ) “ order “ it to turn itself into a Operator Company  !

I mean , EESL which ,

·         placed an order for 10,000 electric cars ( Jan 2018 ) on TATA and M&M

·         has so far received ( 153 + 400 ) cars in 8 months

·         expects to receive the balance 9,000 + cars in the next 7 months

·         getting ready to release the second order ( also for 10,000 cars ) by Dec 2018

·         plans to replace the entire Petrol / Diesel car fleet of government ( 500,000 ) cars with electric cars in the next 5 years

[ Refer : https://energy.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/power/the-second-tender-for-10000-electric-cars-will-be-floated-soon-saurabh-kumar-md-eesl/65747701  ]

Currently , EESL business model consists of ,

·         Outright purchase of these cars

·         Leasing out the same to different government departments

This already makes EESL , somewhat of an Operator Company  !

After 5 years , when it leases out 500,000 electric cars to Central and State governments , would that not make EESL the biggest “ Operator Company “ in the world ?

During the past few months, I have been urging EESL to change its business model as follows :

·         Instead of “ buying “ , get these cars on “ Wet Lease “ from manufacturers

·         The “ sub-lease “ to the government departments

Not only will this save thousands of crore of initial capital investment but also save hundreds of crore of recurring operating / maintenance expenses

But , even this can be improved upon by tweaking its business model as follows :

·         EESL will not “ buy “ electric cars but take it from the manufacturers on “ subscription “

Here are some other options :

·         Govt departments buy “ Car Subscriptions “ directly from TATA / M&M etc , bypassing EESL ( - no value addition by going through EESL )

·         EESL enter into a “ Rate Contract “ with TATA / M&M etc , and government departments issue “ release orders “ with copies to EESL

Several foreign car manufacturers ( notably , BMW – Mercedez Benz – Porsche – GM etc ) , have started offering to the buyers , “ Subscription Deals “

A “ Car Subscription Company : CANVAS “ offers as follows :

$ 375-1125 per month ( for 500 miles per month / Additional $ 35 per month for another 350 miles )

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/auto/miscellaneous/soon-drive-your-car-on-monthly-subscription-model/articleshow/65728762.cms

Other References :

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/india-needs-30-lakh-buses-for-transport-has-only-3-lakh/articleshow/65726517.cms  ]

http://www.driveclutch.com/

https://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2018/08/eesl-grab-this-chance.html

11  Sept  2018

www.hemenparekh.in/ blogs

Drones Need Mid-Air Re-fueling

Currently most drones manage to fly for 15-30 minutes , before their onboard batteries run down

But there are many uses where drones need to keep flying for hours , eg :

·         Monitoring highways / pipelines

·         Rescuing persons lost at sea

A more glamorous application could be, drones  “ following / chasing “ our MPs / MLAs [ or film stars ? ] , as suggested in my following blog :

#    CCTV grabs ( through  Skydio R1  drones ? ) /  Skype Video Calls

{ Source : https://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2018/02/artificial-intelligence-to-fix-mp-mla.html   /  22  Feb  2018  }

Just learned that Skydio R1 is about to be commercially launched in a few weeks. Read :

https://medium.com/the-new-york-times/the-autonomous-selfie-drone-is-here-is-society-ready-for-it-e90f0f7d1571  

Highlights :

Skydio’s  basic goal was a drone that requires no pilot.

When you launch the R1 using a smartphone app, you have your subject stand in front of the drone, then tap that person on the screen — now it’s locked on.

You can also select one of several “cinematic modes,” which specify the direction from which the drone will try to record its subject. ( It can even predict your path and stay ahead of you to shoot a selfie from the front.)

the R1 gets 16 minutes per flight, compared with around 20 for competing drones (but it will ship with two batteries, allowing for another flight after a quick swap out).

What happens when dozens or hundreds of runners and bikers and skiers and hikers and tourists begin setting out their own self-flying GoPros to record themselves ? 

Colin Snow, a drone industry analyst, pointed out to me that federal regulations require users to keep drones in their line of sight — and a drone that follows you is technically not in your line of sight.


=============================

My  Take  :

Obviously, Skydio R1 is ideal for “ autonomous flying “ ( uncontrolled by an operator )

But how to overcome its limitation of battery lasting only 16 minutes ?

Answer : 

Mid-air “ re-charging “ of batteries, much the same way, fighter jets get mid-air refueling !

We already have mobile phones getting recharged “ wirelessly “ , using charging pads ( some , not even needing contact ! )

I have no doubt that the Chinese drone ( manufacturing ) giant , DJI  will someday soon, come up with this technology

{  Indian Drone Manufacturers take note of the potential of such an innovation !  }

And as far as the “ regulation “ ( India Drone Policy ),

*Drones must only be flown during daylight and maintain full visual line of sight at all times “   

I have suggested a solution at :

Drone – a – Charya  

07  Sept  2018

www.hemenparekh.in / blogs