Rethinking the future of mobility.
Integrated Urban MObility (IUMO) is an innovative transportation concept featuring demand-responsive autonomous electric vehicles (AEVs) operating within a segregated track transport system.
The on-demand service, controlled by an app, takes travelers directly to their destination station without stopping in between.
The AEVs are controlled via a dynamic platoon system, allowing them to move within milliseconds of each other. This way cars travel together in a continuous flow at a steady speed without ever slowing down.
IUMO could support existing transport systems and could radically change how we move around cities. With no more cross modal waiting, no more sardining in the underground and no more timetables, IUMO is the next best thing to teleportation.
What if we reimagine Crossrail 2 as a IUMO system?
IUMO is twice as fast, requires half the infrastructure and cost, and runs on less than a third of the energy of Crossrail 2 trains.
IUMO (Integrated Urban MObility) is a radically reimagined Crossrail 2, replacing conventional trains with high-speed platoons of shared Autonomous Electric Vehicles (AEVs) running in a single Crossrail tunnel.
Developed by PLP Labs, the research and innovation arm of PLP Architecture, IUMO is a bold vision for the next generation of transport.
TWICE
THE SPEED
Passengers on IUMO will arrive at their destination twice as fast.
While trains travel on fixed schedules and stop at every station, IUMO’s AEVs are on-demand. Passengers are grouped into vehicles by destination and complete each journey from start to finish without stopping. The anticipated IUMO wait time is based upon a pre-booked journey.
HALF THE
INFRASTRUCTURE
IUMO halves the amount of tunnel needed and allows for more efficient station infrastructure.
While Crossrail 2 requires two tunnels and stations of the same length regardless of local demand, IUMO fits all travel in one tunnel and has platform sizes tailored to the stations’ individual needs resulting in less capital investment for infrastructure.
MUCH MORE
ENERGY EFFICIENT
IUMO runs on less than a third of the energy of Crossrail 2 trains.
The compact nature of the system and AEVs amount to significant energy savings and less environmental impact compared to Crossrail 2. Nimble AEVs are 3.5 times more efficient and require less energy to transport passengers than traditional trains. The compact nature of the IUMO system also amounts to less construction and materials for tunnel and platform infrastructure, thus minimizing the overall environmental impact of the project.
*The IUMO-Crossrail 2 Study an initial assessment subject to further research.
IUMO is a long-running research project by PLP Labs. The IUMO- Crossrail 2 study was supported by an Epic Games MegaGrant and has received input from experts at the Transport Systems and Logistics Laboratory and Reed Mobility.
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