Q&A on MDI.lu's AirPod with Cyril Negre 2 of 2

[karsunsky]

это поможет популяризировать новый вид экологически чистого транспортного средства. Новинка уже успел заинтересовать производителей: лицензии на выпуск Airpod уже приобрели Tata Motors и американская фирма Zero Pollution Motors.

Начиная с 2011 года, Zero Pollution Motors планирует выпускать до 8 000 транспортных средств на сжатом воздухе в год, на заводах, которые разместятся почти в каждом штате. Это будут более мощные, варианты AirPod. А индийский завод Tata будет делать их для своего рынка.

[karsunsky]

Низкоскоростная модификация Airpod будет приравнена к скутерам, и для управления этой версией не понадобятся водительские права.

К сожалению, это авто не предназначено для автомагистралей между штатами. AirPod станет частью объединенной программы с авиалиниями AirFrance/KLM, и будет развозить пассажиров между пунктами прибытия и отъезда в Париже и Амстердамских аэропортах.

Основная часть потребителей, как полагают разработчики, придется на муниципальные службы, аэропорты и прочие госучреждения

[karsunsky]

Серийное производство автомобилей ожидается уже в этом году. Полагается, что машина будет представлена в двух комплектациях: легковой, рассчитанной на водителя и двух пассажиров, и грузовой, рассчитанной на водителя и багаж (около 300 кг). Максимальная скорость AirPod не будет превышать 70 км/час, к тому же жителям Франции будет предложена еще одна версия, максимальная скорость которой будет ограничена 45 км/час.

[karsunsky]

Автором этого занимательного проекта стал изобретатель Гай Негре(Guy N?gre), бывший инженер Формулы 1, который экспериментировал с технологией сжатого воздуха в легковых автомобилях в течение почти двух десятилетий.

[karsunsky]

Внешне AirPod представляет собой четырехколесный автомобиль с пластмассовым корпусом, 82 дюйма длиной, 63 дюйма шириной и 79 дюймов высотой.

[karsunsky]

В течение 1,5 минут машину можно основательно «заправить», накачав воздухом с помощью компрессора, одна такая заправка обойдется владельцу AirPod примерно в 1 евро. Около 200 км может проехать такое авто без перезаправки.

[karsunsky]

Идея использовать сжатый воздух для движения автомобилей бередила технические круги в течение многих лет. И вот французская компания MID разработала автомобиль под названием AirPod, двигатель которого работает на сжатом воздухе. При помощи электричества воздух нагнетается в специальные емкости, откуда выпускается потом постепенно под давлением, приводя в движение поршни мотора.

[MsLilyGoleva]

That's great! I want one! Genius!

[yogi5guru]

The aerodynamics are no better than a flying brick...it easily wastes half its power

pushing air and its noisier than hell....its more of the same boxy design that all

mainstream manufacturers are guilty of...I dont see any real innovations here, just

a lot of BS...

[daswada9]

i still think hydrogen and electric is the future,but if they can make the "air car" go faster and with better millage then it will be perfect.

[busguy100]

WOW IT ALMOST WENT AS FAST AS I CAN WALK

[busguy100]

WOW IT ALMOST WENT S FAST AS I CAN WALK

[espido]

i want to see it with an Hayabusa engine XD

[hollymanhollyman]

gas is still better...organic i mean

[amigaurab]

i dont understand how people find petrol to smell great. man.. these are the remains of dead animals and plants that rot for 1000s of years. Such people will kill their own cat and leave it to rot in their open verandah and say it smells great!!!

prices of food and consumables are soaring high today because the world economy depends on petrol. we live in a fast world that looks great from outside. but no one is happy from his heart.

[amigaurab]

there is no doubt this airpod is just a toy.

1. its noisy

2. 45kmph max speed is slow. but whats the acceleration?

3. Design is not aerodynamic. Also safety is a big concern. looks like it will fall on sharp turns.

4. Is this the best MDI has got upto today?

5. I read TATAs response that there is a distance factor and over-cooling problem with this design of citycat and minicat. Are you using veggie oil or solar to heat it?

[busguy100]

WOW you green people are nuts, no opening windows, no heat, no air, one seat and even at the slow speed they are running it at it looks like they are almost losing control. What happens if even two of this shit cars run into each other at 30= 2 dead people

[gnomopocho]

It is slow and noisy. Does this guy really think he will be able to sell this car?

[WELLGURU]

THE OWNER IS TRYING TO BRAINWASH THE ENTIRE NATION TO HAVE CITIES RUN THEIR CARS AT 6 MPH WITH A LOUD ASS ENGINE THIS IS ALL THIS IPROB CAN DO YOU NEVER SEE IT DO ANYTHING EXCEPT SIT THERE SCAM

[kjplive]

yes, horrible demonstration. If those front wheels went into a pot hole, the whole car would flip forward and roll over. Looks very tippy, noisey, gutless and why are they not showing it at a faster speed? It's top speed is said to be 70kph! Scary!

[amigaurab]

@kjplive guys u should drive the first petrol car in the world. I dont know how speedy it was. fossil fuel cars make a hell lot of pollution. but you dont care right?

[kjplive]

@amigaurab Maybe you have poor english, but I'm not sure what you mean by any of that.

[amigaurab]

@kjplive . Air cars are being tested for just 3 years whereas petrol cars have been there for more than 100 years. Petrol cars have been researched and improved for 100 years compared to 3 years of air cars. Still the results of air cars look more promising to people due to rising price of petrol. Seems you do know english but you have no intelligence or you are possibly a petrol hugger.

[fizzguts]

@amigaurab Air cars date back well over 100 years. MDI have been pulling their scam for 15 years and you are a nitwit

[amigaurab]

@fizzguts if i am a nitwit you are a moron. you had been farting in your car and that why you think its an air car

[fizzguts]

@amigaurab I see you can't dispute my facts and can't handle tenses thus proving my contention you are a cretin. Repeating as you obviously need it driven into your stupid head

FACT air powered vehicles have a 150 year history Google the Douglas Self Museum of Retro Tech

FACT the energy stored means a 5 mile range is all these lying scam artists can achieve.

So far MDI has taken over $20 million and has sold NO cars in 15 years.

How many products from infomercials have you bought 100's 1000's

[amigaurab]

@fizzguts if you are so intelligent then why dont you design a better one. You are such a cockamamie person (haha). Are you a petrol pump owner or something? efficiency of petrol cars is 10 to 13%. Even if this petrol is used to refill the air in the tank using compressor then also it will give more miles per litre. How come petrol cars have suddenly become efficient with E-series and K-series engines? Was there a technology gap? or was this research not done so as to make people pay more?

[fizzguts]

@amigaurab So you use a 13% efficient (your figures & wrong but never mind) to run an efficient compressor that only wastes 50% of the energy as heat (yes inescapable FACT) to fill a tank that passes through a regulator that wastes 50% of the energy that feeds an air engine with about a 50% (optimistic) efficiency giving an overall efficiency of 1.625% vs 13% for pure petrol. That is why this POC has a 5 mile range.

E & K series are not especially efficient vs turbo compound aero engines

[amigaurab]

@fizzguts lets accept that no matter how good you think petrol cars are, they are a pollutant and is harmful to our ecosphere. compressed air turns cold on expansion, This means you dont need to fit an AC in your air car. In tropical countries where we have lot of sunlight, solar/air hybrid cars can prove very useful. The rising price of fuel is not just the concern, but also the environment. Even fossil fuels will get depleted if consumption at this level does not stop.

[fizzguts]

@amigaurab "solar/air hybrid cars can prove very useful." Nope 5 times less efficient then an electric vehicle. A pointless waste of time. "you dont need to fit an AC in your air car" Completely stuffed in winter aren't you. Reread what I wrote rather than making things up

[amigaurab]

@fizzguts nope. I live in the tropics. The winter are just over and its sweating here already. Solar energy is abundant here in india. Its free and unlimited, not what the petrol companies want us to think on.

i am still waiting for reva to launch the solar electric hybrid reva nxr. the solar panels on top help in patrtial recharging of the car cells. keep your car in the sun instead of the covered parking lot. WOLLAH!! you get a free drive home :)

[fizzguts]

@amigaurab Nope 5 times less efficient then an electric vehicle. A pointless waste of time. "you dont need to fit an AC in your air car" Completely stuffed in winter aren't you. Reread what I wrote rather than making things up

"Solar energy is abundant here in india. Its free and unlimited" Right so the $40,000 solar panels that run your house and are needed to recharge this POC with its 7 km range were give to you at no cost by WHO? Don't post stupid lies

[amigaurab]

@fizzguts electric cars may be efficient when you use it. But after every 30,000 km you need to get a new battery and that costs almost 1/2 the car if not more. Not cost effective ultimately. air cars seem promising, but since air is just a carrier of energy, not an energy source as in petrol cars, it certainly has some drawbacks. But if lighter cars are built, i think air cars will get an upper hand. As per my knowledge, air cars are noisy and have bad acceleration. though speed is good.

[yogi5guru]

give me a break, these cars are the most idiotic designs I've seen yet...in an age when even the big car makers are paying attention to aerodynamics, this car wastes half its energy pushing air, it has the aerodynamics of a flying brick...who is funding this idiot?

[stonerj0e]

HORRIBLE !

[daswada9]

they don't have to make the engine smaller they have to make it like normal engine V6 or V8

[jonnyzz139]

What a horrible demonstration.

Noisy, gutless and slower than walking.

The old lady next door would drag me off on her mobility scooter.

[bellapier]

secondo mè potrà essere una bella alternativa ma bisognerà studiarla ancora un pò perchè e troppo lenta alle partenze ti suonerebbero tutti forse così puoi usarla sulle piste ciclabili

[mikehanoo33]

2002 Participation of MDI at the Paris “Mondial de l'automobile” car show with the Minicats . « From that point on a real complot has been mounted to get us down, says the engineer. 200 legal proceedings have been launched against MDI and we have been repeatedly harassed”.

[Gruntol5]

These must be the most unimpressive demos of all time. They must have spent multi-millions to get this far - and what do we have? Hideously ugly, noisey, slow-moving, plastic snails. Guy Negre is following in the steps of Paul Moller of Skycar fame. He's gone so far with this absurd project, he just can't stop. Next destination surely for him is the "Looney Bin?"

[amigaurab]

@Gruntol5 wtf why dont you stop. This car has received its certification as a Lightwight Motor Vehicle(LMV).

[yogi5guru]

@Gruntol5

Exactly my thoughts...just another flying brick concept that wastes half its power pushing air...

[MrLetsgotrojans]

steve urkel car haha! opens in the front

[arbonac]

How fast can they go?

[nephil1977]

If they're going to go with a trike design, they should put the large wheelbase in the front for cornering.

[Gloomshadow1]

I looks French..fuck that1

[southsiderom]

sounds like a scooter......a broken one...but its cool...zero polution...2 bad is not in production....always next year...:(((

[donkeyfanc78]

this car looks neat!

[abztrktrockerz]

@donkeyfanc78 YEA BUT IT SOUNDS NOISY, IF THEY COULD DO AWAY WITH THAT. I THINK IT WOULD BE PERFECT FOR DRIVING AROUND TOWN

[ke4uyp]

This car will never be sold in the U.S. can you imagine trying to pull out into traffic even in the city with this car, it has an acceleration of zero to 10 miles an hour in about 30 seconds. Anyone on a bicycle could easily out accelerate this car from a dead stop.

[ke4uyp]

I will tell you the one thing that MDI will never talk about on camera and that is its crash survival rating. Just look at this design can you imagine being struck by another vehicle traveling as little as 30 miles an hour? I guarantee you each person in the vehicle would suffer some serious injuries regardless of the point of impact.

[abztrktrockerz]

@ke4uyp U KNOW WHAT WE'VE BEEN SAYING THAT ABOUT EVERY SMALL CAR . EXAMPLE- "THE FIERO"

SAFETY SHOULD B A CONCERN AND USUALLY ANY CAR THAT IS PUT I THE ROAD I'M SURE HAS TO HAVE STANDARDS. OIL IS TOO EXPENSIVE NOT ONLY MONETARY BUT IT CREATES WARS ETC...

[sweetgyy]

we have to admit that we've been spoiled for decades with the combustion engine.

i see tons of limitations in this prototype.

[brankas2]

futuristic Trotters' Reliant Regal

[juanchow56]

I think so the wrong is the design. They must think more in the safety. The design is too tall, doesn't have a good stability with 3 wheels. If some car it this one in a intersection, this one will flip like a ball.

[thegreatkoua]

i drove a 3 wheels forklift and it run fine not going to flip over. safety really driving a motorcycle is.

[daswada9]

@juanchow56 yes i think they have to make it more sporty car like porshe

[tvwank]

They must have some way of heating the compressed air as it needs heat to expand.

[unclesonnyonutube]

compressing the air is what makes it hot the more it is compressed the hotter it becomes (or visa versa)...hints why turbos need intercoolers. air compressors for tools have no heating unit on them. nor is the air hot when you release it. if hot air is held compressed for too long it becomes helium-4.

[tvwank]

When the car is running, the air is being decompressed which makes it cold. So to improve efficiency it should be heated to get increased expansion from the air. In this application a simple air heat exchanger would do. Though it probably already has one.

[fizzguts]

"if hot air is held compressed for too long it becomes helium-4."

Congratulations you have won the stupidest statement by a mouth breathing fool of all time.

[bivvyfox]

they have plans for this. it will be an option to use in hybrid mode.

[fizzguts]

They have no plans for this The trial with Air France is in the someday one day state typical of MDI

The so called hybrid motor does not exist except in MDI's imagination

[744682532]

A bicycle can go faster than that. Good freaking grief. That thing sucks

[Nerd517]

then don't buy that bitch

[744682532]

I don't plan to.

[bbmmxx]

bitch this is still a project

[BigCheese285]

well, regardless of what you lot think, I think this is a fantastic wee car, look at it go! :D

[fizzguts]

"Look at it go"

Ah nope, look at it crawl.

Short range, expensive recharge. Aced by an electric go cart.

[omnivorousdave]

And as for blind spots - have you ever tried driving one of those fucking stupid 4x4s? My boss used to have one and when he asked me to move it for him I could see jack shit out of the back. To the point where I had to stick my head out of the window to see what the back end was doing. And personally, if I was crossing the road, I'd rather be bumped by a "glorified golf kart" than have something akin to a fucking tractor roll over me. By the way, saying "silly fucking French fucks" is racist.

[omnivorousdave]

For fuck's sake. Worst camera work ever? So fucking what. Yeah, they could have hired James Cameron to direct, but seeing as how the fucking thing is supposed to be economical it would be something of an extravagance to waste that kind of money. As for rolling it on corners, haven't you been listening to the bloke? It's designed for city driving. It has a maximum speed of 45mph. My mates S40 has a top speed of 127 but you wouldn't take the bastard into a hairpin bend flat out, would you?

[FireOFK]

isn't a bicycle better than this turtle?

[FunkyJJ777]

OMG why is it going so fast?

[CosmoCarter]

You people are idiots...I mean first off, you UTube people. Secondly. Leave it up to the French to design a contraption which is nothing more than a glorified golf cart. The design is obviously "roll worthy" as well as being superfluous with blind spots. I would no sooner drive this on public roads than I would drive a motorized skate board. 2 thumbs down. Silly fucking French fucks.

[rickzters]

I can already see that thing knocking itself out of balance and rolling over on a steep turn.

[remingtonh]

worst camera work ever.

[sangwria]

you american idiots need a hummer to climb the sidewalk, but not evrybody is big and dumb, or small and flat for your females

[jaekib]

Hang on. I'll forward this to the astronauts in the shuttle, have them rush over to see you on our fastest airliner, and call you first via our satellites and have them broadcast your message to the world via the television network. It's okay. The American Idiots invented all those dumb things. So, I'm sure we'll be happy to use those and many other life improving innovations to bring your enlightened message to the world.

Please stand by.

[sangwria]

fail

[jaekib]

fail yourself

[sangwria]

no u

[popkinj]

Please be kind everybody. It is extremely difficult to pioneer new ideas.

This is a fantastic technology.... Those involved in developing the AirPod should be really proud!

I hope to see a related product in my country someday. :-)

[jaekib]

You're right. Too much junk clouds what should be intelligent discussions.

[ksway19]

C'MON MAN!!!!! I CAN'T PICK CHICKS UP WITH THIS!!!!!! WHAT THE HECK!!!!! I mean really how am i gonna tell a hot chick "hop in the back". thats weird yo!!!

[jaekib]

That's funny. But you can, man. Just look for the girl with the hippie beads.

[DingoBabyEat]

he has his arms crossed when he says it's a good product

[NickNolteSpeaking]

that's because he knows he's full of shit and people want his ass ran over by his own car. The reasons they like it are the reasons we don't want it. It's lightweight, able to get knocked around by bigger cars in an accident, it only goes 35 on it's own air BRILLIANT!! It's a HASSLE to refuel. It's small, an added convenience, Right, for those of us not desiring to haul anything. Wow! Another 'SMART' car.

[NickNolteSpeaking]

I guess there's another selling point they're trying to show us. It has no power and puts out a sound as annoying as a Roto-Tiller! Oh, Where do I sign??

[Loosegoat]

I had higher hopes for this vehicle but after having seen this I fear I will never buy one. Too jerky/shak/noisy...

[shizzbop]

As an avid cyclist, I would almost prefer some noise from any vehicle so I can hear it coming from behind.

[chrisbanach]

love the design, but the noise makes it a big no no. a totally silent electric version would be much better.

[paF4uko]

Well, all they have to do is to work on reducing the noise! I'm sure it's possible. And this transporter is much better than electric transporters because its air tanks get refilled in 1,5 minutes against several hours for recharging a battery.

[DominikDrinkhahn]

today it is possible to recharge a car battery in a few minutes too! all you need is a special plug in station offering high voltage supply. a lot of energy is wasted thru compressing the air. The tanks offer a storage capacity compareable to old fashioned lead acid batteries.

[paF4uko]

I thought recharging time depends mostly on the current, not the voltage ^_^

Besides electric cars are way too expensive, compared to this thingie. :)

Btw, the sound is not worst than a French diesel train. ;)

[DominikDrinkhahn]

current depends on how high the voltage ist.

[ruskijager]

compressing air is one of the most efficient ways of storing energy, the energy used to compress the air is still inside the air, and it is used to move the car. it is much more efficient than any battery. this project in particular though is quite rediculous

[DominikDrinkhahn]

get more information about energy density! A lot of energy is beeing wasted. A lot of heat is produced while compressing air.

[fizzguts]

Quote "compressing air is one of the most efficient ways of storing energy, the energy used to compress the air is still inside the air, and it is used to move the car. it is much more efficient than any battery"

Wrong, wrong and then wrong again.

Look up Boyles law to get a clue as to why what you wrote is wrong

PV=nRT

[jaekib]

Sir, there is no entrophy in this equation. The relation PV=nRT actually says ruskijager is right.

Rather, any losses would be found in dS=Integral (dq/T), where q is specific heat transfer, and T temperature (K). However, the losses may be reversible if the air is compressed quickly enough that little heat is transferred through the pipes & container. Not likely though.

Cheers,

j

[fizzguts]

The relation PV=nRT actually says ruskijager is WRONG. Compression increases temperature . The receiver volume is unchanged therefore temperature rises this has to be removed by radiators. As an exercise I'll leave you to calculate the temperature rise (use degrees Kelvin) if the compressor lines and tank were insulated. . Scary stuff

[jaekib]

I agree that there will be a temperature rise. But that heat "trAnsfer" is not considered in pv=nRT. And if entropy is not increased in the universe outside the pressure vessel, then the temperature doesn't matter. The system would be reversible, and the energy put in would be regained during expansion. That's what I'm getting at.

However, there will be loss due to heat transfer across the container walls, thus use the relation that has entropy, "s" to calculate the inefficiency

Cheers,

j

[amigaurab]

@fizzguts you can use the rising temperature of the cylinder to heat up water in winter haha.

[strongmeasures]

it's a great concept but they need to show some speed and power ....

[Xxson40xX]

@strongmeasures 5,4 or 8 PS and only 50 km/h = 30 mph

so, there is no Speed and Power

[dac999]

wow, that is fast....

[jerryaltman]

The side view (profile) makes remamber the film The Love Bug, when Herbie is cut in two and the rear half won the race. But is that pod car safe for big cities, in case of crash, since big cities use to have cars in high speed ??

[Kdarkov]

A great invention but it always happens the same. Big companies like Sh*ll or others buy patents like these and keep the invention inside a wooden box for ever because that kind of vehicles are a menace to their profits based on petroleum and gas.

[silverghost97]

Ruidoso y Feo...

[kreator83adam]

funny stuff, how much it could cost after adding TAX :D? It sounds like old eastern-europe motorbikes ;D 50cc ;), but when i drive to work in the city i rarely drive faster than 50km/h. So if it's a REALLY cheap product it could be HIT ON THE SMALL CITY CARS MARKET...