I don't know if I've noted this in the EO pages before (probably have), but an idea that I've contemplated a long time is slot cars. It basically works like this;
An EV with a low capacity battery has a power pick-up. The pickup is smart and it contacts a rail that is smart. You charge in route, (especially when stopped at intersections) if you are signed up, funded to your account and password set in your vehicle.
The rails only need to be at strategic locations for the territory covered. The cars are limited to their battery range from the power rails, and to your home, where you have a very short rail installed (no password required).
These cars would be cheaper in cost of the battery, but also cheaper on the drive and suspension since this can be a very-very low-weight vehicle. Especially cheap would be an Elio type layout. If the rails deployments are dense enough, imagine a Li-pack about the size of your typical starter battery, and an Elio sized vehicle at about 700 lbs dry weight. Total vehicle price definitely a little less than the original Elio pricing. Remember no new tech other than the rail-pickup-system is needed and all the drive parts are relatively inexpensive to produce in volume. Well at least Sweden seems to have done the rail R&D with eRoadArlanda already.
Anyway, a rail system design is being tried/tested in Sweden
https://newatlas.com/eroadarlanda-sweden-electric-highway/54197/
It's actually not my favorite system. I prefer a powered overhead monorail with privately owned gondola's and smart-track switching for automated navigation. Steel-on-Steel wheels are as good as it gets, unless you fund expensive mag-lev (at high maintenance costs).
An EV with a low capacity battery has a power pick-up. The pickup is smart and it contacts a rail that is smart. You charge in route, (especially when stopped at intersections) if you are signed up, funded to your account and password set in your vehicle.
The rails only need to be at strategic locations for the territory covered. The cars are limited to their battery range from the power rails, and to your home, where you have a very short rail installed (no password required).
These cars would be cheaper in cost of the battery, but also cheaper on the drive and suspension since this can be a very-very low-weight vehicle. Especially cheap would be an Elio type layout. If the rails deployments are dense enough, imagine a Li-pack about the size of your typical starter battery, and an Elio sized vehicle at about 700 lbs dry weight. Total vehicle price definitely a little less than the original Elio pricing. Remember no new tech other than the rail-pickup-system is needed and all the drive parts are relatively inexpensive to produce in volume. Well at least Sweden seems to have done the rail R&D with eRoadArlanda already.
Anyway, a rail system design is being tried/tested in Sweden
https://newatlas.com/eroadarlanda-sweden-electric-highway/54197/
It's actually not my favorite system. I prefer a powered overhead monorail with privately owned gondola's and smart-track switching for automated navigation. Steel-on-Steel wheels are as good as it gets, unless you fund expensive mag-lev (at high maintenance costs).
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