2getthere’s Group Rapid Transit vehicle passes desert climate test

2getthere’s Group Rapid Tansit (GRT) autonomous vehicle has proven in a simulated desert climate that it can maintain an indoor temperature of 23˚C even in the worst scenario (52˚C outside temperature and 3% humidity). The climate test took place in the Utrecht province and is one of many tests regarding the mega-order received from United Arab Emirates earlier this year. From 2020, five vehicles will perform fully autonomous shuttle services to and from Bluewater Island in Dubai.
October 26, 2017 Read time: 2 mins

8172 2getthere’s Group Rapid Tansit (GRT) autonomous vehicle has proven in a simulated desert climate that it can maintain an indoor temperature of 23˚C even in the worst scenario (52˚C outside temperature and 3% humidity). The climate test took place in the Utrecht province and is one of many tests regarding the mega-order received from United Arab Emirates earlier this year. From 2020, five vehicles will perform fully autonomous shuttle services to and from Bluewater Island in Dubai.

GRT was subject to three tests in weather conditions such as ‘hot dry’ and ‘hot humid’ with a focus on the performance of the air conditioning system (ACS) at the vehicles maximum capacity of 24 passengers.

13 ACS has been developed in collaboration with suppliers DC Airco and Netherlands Aerospace Centre (NLR) who used the simulation of heat management in relation to airflow within the vehicle in its design of the air conditioning. Its development has been partly financed through a 2024 Massachusetts Institute of Technology research grant in which DC Airco and 2getthere have both participated.

The simulated weather conditions included extremely high temperatures and sun radiation with average peaks in the sun radiation of 1,040 Watts per square metre and peaks in temperature of 52˚C around 3.30pm. In the climatic chamber, both peaks were simulated at the same time.

The GRT’s 16 standing passengers represented 120 Watts each and eight seated passengers each represented 100 Watts were simulated by placing a 3000-Watt heat source inside the vehicle. Part of the test focused on performance during transition: the speed at which indoor conditions are brought back to the most comfortable level for passengers after the doors close and the vehicle starts its journey. The most extreme test was based on the vehicle standing still with the doors open for six minutes, but in actual circumstances much shorter stops will be sufficient to allow 24 passengers to enter the vehicle and find their seats.

According to 2getthere the test marks another step towards the operational deployment of the system, scheduled for 2019/2020.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • ICEX promotes Spanish ITS expertise in Vienna
    October 22, 2012
    ICEX España Exportación e Inversiones, the Spanish public organisation in charge of the promotion of Spanish companies internationally in cooperation with Spain’s commercial offices abroad, is here at the ITS World Congress to promote Spanish ITS competence on stand E 52. And it is not a difficult task. The Spanish ITS industry has built up an enviable reputation in planning, building, equipping and operating transport infrastructures, and ICEX points to four examples of Spanish companies who are showcasing
    Read More
  • Necessity is the mother of invention
    April 6, 2016
    The Netherlands aims to lead Europe, and the world, in the area of cooperative ITS and smart mobility. That’s not an aspiration – it’s a necessity as Frans op de Beek, principal advisor for traffic management and ITS within the Rijkswaterstaat, the Ministry for Infrastructure and the Environment, explains.
    Read More
  • The rise of V2X: it’s time for ITS to put up the shields in cyberspace
    May 14, 2018
    Traffic management has largely been shielded from the sort of malicious hacking that is commonplace in other industries – but with billions of connected devices in the world it won’t stay that way, warn internet experts Keith Golden and Brandon Johnson. Traditionally isolated from networks and the internet over most of its history, the traffic management industry has largely been shielded from malicious hacking and system intrusion that have become commonplace in other industries. However, as the rate of
    Read More
  • Hong Kong's integrated traffic management system
    May 22, 2012
    Hong Kong’s Route 8 now features an extensive and advanced traffic control and surveillance system developed to overcome challenges of great scale and complexity, write Delcan vice president Rex Lee and MD Joseph Lam
    Read More

Highlighted Content