By plane, by train, by car - what is in the future?



    The development of transport infrastructure is moving to a new stage. The requirements of society for speed, safety, comfort and cost-effectiveness of movements are increasing. Intelligent systems are becoming an integral part of transport infrastructure in both traffic management and vehicle management. Unmanned vehicles come onto the roads - safer and more predictable than cars driven by humans. What specialists will be in demand in this regard in the future? Let's try to see.

    I continue to deal with the Atlas of new professions that were released this year ( first part , second part ). Today we’ll take a closer look at what Atlas says about the transportation industry.

    After the first two publications, Pavel Luksha, the Atlas lead developer, contacted me and suggested collecting meaningful comments on the professions in order to supplement the Atlas when the version 2.0 is being prepared - it is now clear that there are both overlooked and unnecessary professions. So if there is something to improve, let's try to improve. Another important comment from the authors of the Atlas regarding what kind of “professions” were proposed in the Atlas: “We mean by the new profession a“ bunch ”of new competencies that are needed to solve new working tasks that appear. New work tasks are connected with the fact that technologies, rules of work in the industry, etc. are changing. ”

    Ground transportation

    Professions that will appear before 2020.
    Transport network security engineer. Specialist in the analysis, calculation and monitoring of information, environmental and technological threats to transport networks.
    Unlike road safety experts, these engineers analyze and prevent problems associated with the functioning of transport networks in general. It is clear that with an increase in the speed of information transfer, there will also be a demand for faster movement in space and an increase in transport speeds, which means that the requirements for network infrastructure and their security will increase.

    Cross-logistics operator.A professional whose competence includes selecting the best way to deliver goods and moving people using various modes of transport, monitoring and debugging the flow of flows through a network of different modes of transport, monitoring the patency of transport hubs, redistributing the flows of transport networks
    In essence, it is a specialist in multimodal transportation. Just given the significant increase in the volume and complexity of transportation, the requirements for such a specialist will be much higher. Today it is, in general, a dispatcher and organizer, in the future it is a specialist who is able to design traffic flows, changing them on the fly if necessary.

    Designer of intermodal transport nodes.He designs intermodal transport junctions (transfer systems from one type of transport to another), calculates their throughput (for goods and passengers), wear resistance and evaluates their development potential.

    Technician of intermodal transport solutions. It solves the problem of servicing a technologically uneven transport structure, intermodal freight and transport hubs, infrastructure and station premises.
    Such transport hubs, in fact, are transfer stations(only transplant is carried out not only by passengers, but also by cargo). In Moscow, a situation occurs quite often when a person lives in the region, arrives every morning in Moscow by train or bus, after which he transfers to the metro and leaves for work. What it looks like in the morning, everyone who is not lucky enough to be at that time, say, in Vykhino knows perfectly well.



    It is clear that specialists who will systematically approach the design of such intermodal nodes are critically needed in the future.

    In turn, a technician for intermodal transport solutions is needed in order to “land” everything on real soil after the design stage and continue to serve this infrastructure .

    Designer of composite structures for vehicles.This is a specialist who develops structures (frames, lining, parts) made of composite materials with a given weight, strength level, wear resistance, etc.
    Composites have been used in cars for more than a dozen years, carbon fiber is used in racing cars. However, due to carbon fiber shortages, carbon fiber prices have risen significantly, which today hinders their wider distribution. It is clear, however, that the properties of carbon fiber are so attractive (stronger and lighter than steel, for example) that today a significant number of laboratories are working to obtain cheaper composites, in particular, the Oak Ridge National Laboratory has made significant progress in this area.

    Designer of high-speed transport systems.A specialist in the design of tracks, interchanges and stations for high-speed railways, taking into account the characteristics of the territories and climatic conditions.
    High-speed trains are a global topic, because, for example, MIT has a special project for this - High Speed ​​Rail Learning System .

    Russian Railways also plans to develop high-speed railways in Russia (so far, high-speed trains run only on the Moscow-St. Petersburg, Moscow-Nizhny Novgorod, St. Petersburg-Helsinki routes), today's roads are not designed specifically for them, and the number of claims to the Sapsans from the side of people living along the roads, it was off scale, although now people got used to it. So industry experts forecast demand for designers of such systems at a fairly high level.



    Professions that will appear after 2020.

    Operator of robotic systems. A specialist who manages the maintenance of robotic transport networks, the configuration of computer programs for robotic mechanisms and vehicles.
    Robotic transport systems are, first of all, unmanned vehicles, which, according to Google, which is here ahead of the rest, will allow to reduce by 90% the number of accidents, fuel costs and the total number of cars. Today, only 10 cars participate in the project (6 Toyota Prius, 3 Lexus and one Audi TT), but BMW has already announced its plans , and other manufacturers will catch up. It is clear that for unmanned vehicles will require appropriate infrastructure and relevant specialists.

    The builder of smart roads.This is a specialist who selects and installs adaptive road surface, marking and road signs with radio frequency identification, monitoring systems and sensors for monitoring the condition of the road. Smart roads are a relatively fresh idea. It is caused by the need to provide real-time information about what the car is waiting for ahead - traffic jam, problem with coating due to ice or something else. Today, such information is somehow provided by cartographic services, but this is still a reactive process - first, someone must be in a traffic jam so that the system understands that this information must be on the card. The “smart” road with the help of its sensors will transmit this information independently to the car, which will allow it to conduct itself more efficiently on the road and choose a route.



    Architect of intelligent control systems. Develops software for unmanned vehicles and traffic control systems, controls intelligent control systems.
    Of course, someone needs to program and develop the architecture of a traffic flow management system, from software development for unmanned vehicles to smart city and intercity transport management systems.

    Water transport

    Professions that will appear before 2020.
    Port environmentalist. A specialist who monitors and controls the environmental safety indicators of the port, ships, and the environment (water, air, surrounding areas, plant and animal populations in the water area and surrounding areas). He is engaged in the development of environmental restoration programs for the port and water area.
    Like any large man-made facility, the port presents environmental risks in the broadest sense: it is not only pollution of the water area, but also air pollution, various wastes, climate change (due to excavation, for example), etc. Worldwide, port operators order or conduct the research themselves.related to the environmental situation of the port and its environs, environmental enthusiasts usually do this for us. So, the environmentalists' long-standing complaints about the situation around the port of Ust-Luga are known, following the results of many meetings in 2013, it was announced that the port operator is still launching an integrated eco-monitoring system . It is clear that the presence of environmental specialists at the stage of creating the port would help solve such problems with less blood. Now a huge number of similar claims are voiced against the construction of a Chinese port in the Crimea.

    Systems engineer for marine infrastructure. A professional involved in the development and implementation of technologies that increase the stability of coastal structures and ships to various types of threats (natural, man-made).
    Similar specialists are already being trained today (specialty “System engineering of marine infrastructure facilities”), it’s another matter that a significant updating of technologies (in particular, the growth of environmental requirements, intelligent water transport management systems, etc.) will change the requirements for such specialists.

    Arctic Navigation Specialist. He well understands the features of ice navigation in the Far North, knows how to lay optimal routes for swimming facilities and make quick decisions about their change in unusual situations.

    Experts predict an increase in freight traffic along the Northern Sea Route in the near future. After the collapse of the USSR, transportation decreased by 5-6 timeshowever, in recent years, when this route was open to foreign companies, this figure is growing. Given that it almost halves the time for delivering goods from Europe to Asia, there is every chance that navigation specialists in the North will be in demand.



    Aviation

    Professions that will appear before 2020.
    Small-scale aviation production engineer. He is engaged in the design and modeling of low-cost aircraft of small civil aviation of varying complexity.

    Small aircraft in our country is an extremely painful topic. On the one hand, everyone says that it is necessary, on the other hand, little has been done until recently. In the last two years, some kind of movement has begun: the production of Sigma light aircraft started in Lipetsk , Shoigu ordered that the An-2 production be resumed in the Moscow region. So there is a future for small aviation engineers.

    Professions that will appear after 2020.

    Unmanned Aviation Interface Architect.Specialist in the development of interfaces and software technology package for unmanned aerial vehicle control, is responsible for programming and operation of systems for ensuring, navigation and safety of unmanned aerial vehicles.

    The technology of unmanned aerial vehicles, originally developed for military purposes, today is increasingly becoming a part of civil aviation. True, so far mainly abroad. The list of applications is extremely wide - from use in filming and cartography to geological exploration. Amazon announced plans to use drones to deliver light cargo, but ran into resistance from the US Federal Aviation Agency. So far, these plans have been postponed for 2015. Nevertheless, even in Russia they recognize that drones are necessary, which means that sooner or later there will be a demand for UAV interface architects.



    Technological engineer for aircraft recycling. Specialist involved in the development of recycling schemes for materials, raw materials, equipment and frame elements of aircraft.
    Oddly enough, this profession already exists in some form in the world. So, there is an international Aircraft Fleet Recycling Association), which includes manufacturers (such as Boeing, Bombardier), engine manufacturers (Pratt & Wittney, Rolls-Royce), recycling companies and many others. There are currently no Russian companies in the association. The reason, probably, is the lack of a systematic approach to recycling and the full life cycle of technology in our country. At the same time, according to AFRA estimates, over 12 thousand aircraft will be decommissioned in the next 15-20 years. The figures, of course, are Western, but I am sure that our situation is no better.

    Design engineer of airships. A specialist who develops airship models taking into account the tasks of their use (freight / passenger) and aeronautical conditions.
    Aeronautics Infrastructure Designer.The specialist who designs airfields, hangars, maintenance stations and navigation infrastructure elements for airships is
    amazing, but the airships, which I personally perceive as something from the last century, do not leave the stage, on the contrary, there is a small but constant niche for them and plans on their development. In Russia, in particular, airships can be attractive because they will allow the delivery of goods and people to places that are difficult to access due to poor transport infrastructure. For example, the Russian Amur Minerals Corporation is considering the option of delivering heavy equipment with airships instead of building a road that will cost more than $ 150 million.

    A developer of intelligent control systems for dynamic dispatch.A professional who develops software solutions for traffic control in the airspace of cities and regions with heavy traffic (in a situation of rapid development of unmanned and small aircraft, when the airspace load increases sharply and there is a transition to flexible control of traffic flows).

    It is clear that an increase in the number of objects in the air will require fundamentally different traffic control systems. Say, Ozon.ru sends over 2 million orders a year, that is, more than 200 orders per hour. If they begin to use drones en masse - in the air it will be pretty tight.


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