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The autonomous revolution

By: Lesley Brown 21 October 2017 no comments

The autonomous revolution

Hosted by consultancy firm Oliver Wyman on 12 October, a press breakfast in Paris explored in ins and out of  ‘the autonomous revolution’.

Automation is influencing transport in all directions – cars of course, but also bikes (Hoverbike), trains (automatic metro systems and even heavy rail), drones, commercial vessels (Rolls Royce), submarines, and logistics robots in depots. Oliver Wyman expects the market to accelerate over the next decade with sales of all types of vehicle (all modes) to soar from today’s 20 billion euros to 640 billion euros by 2030.

Strategic questions raised by this turning point: who will be the winners and the losers? The big transport giants or new players, start-ups, and other millenial visionaries and entrepreneurs? What about disruption to established business models? Tomorrow, estimates Oliver Wyman, the value of the vehicle market alone will only account for 10% of the total market value.

Nicolas Pollet, managing director of Altametris,  presented the activities of this dedicated drone (or unmanned aerial vehicle/UAV) branch of SNCF Réseau (a Futura-Mobility member). The team, comprising 20 engineers, telepilots, developers, and a fleet of 12 UAVs, offers 3D monitoring services for upstream detection of works required on tracks and infrastructure.