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

  • ACE report: private sector and user-pay for English roads
    May 16, 2018
    It’s one minute to midnight for funding England’s roads, according to a timely new report - and the clock’s big hand is pointing to some form of user-pay solution, reports David Arminas. Is there any way out of future user-pay funding for England’s highway infrastructure? The answer is a resounding ‘no’, according to the recently-published report Funding Roads for the Future. The 25-page document by the London-based Association for Consultancy and Engineering (ACE) calls for a radical rethink about how to
    Read More
  • Consortium gets £4.7m to investigate AV technologies
    April 26, 2018
    An industry group led by Jaguar Land Rover has been given a multi-million pound grant to increase the road performance and safety of autonomous vehicle (AV) technologies. The AutopleX consortium – which also includes INRIX, Highways England, Siemens, Transport for West Midlands and University of Warwick - is to receive £4.7 million as part of the Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles’ CAV3 competition. It is tasked with developing fully- and semi-automated vehicle technologies through simulation an
    Read More
  • SP Group to implement 1,000 EV chargers in Singapore by 2020
    October 30, 2018
    Electricity and gas company SP Group says it will build a network of 1,000 electric vehicle (EV) chargers in Singapore by 2020 to meet public demand. Wong Kim Yin, SP group chief executive officer, says the initiative will enable greater adoption of EVs, help its customers go green and save energy and cost. The deployment will include 250 high-powered direct current (DC) chargers which are expected to offer power ratings up to 350kW to support EV models with bigger battery capacities and longer driv
    Read More
  • Study develops mixed-use transport hub for Amsterdam
    November 11, 2016
    Commissioned by the Royal Institute of Dutch Architects (BNA), a multidisciplinary team consisting has collaborated on a study that examines the future potential of the integration of infrastructure and city development around the area of Amsterdam’s A10 ring road and the Lelylaan area.
    Read More

Highlighted Content