AirShip Technologies Group | Don't Tell Us We Can't Change The World!

The Green Agenda

The transportation sector of most industrialized economies is one of the largest producers of air quality pollutants. In order to improve the air quality in many regions with high population density, the amount of pollution caused by the auto must be reduced. Reduction in other areas will not produce a large enough benefit to off set the pollution caused by the automobile. While air quality has continued to improve in the U.S. and cars are getting cleaner, in some areas it is still unhealthy. Even with the cars getting cleaner, the world is buying more cars, cars that pollute more and we are driving them more each year. Therefore cars are putting more pollutants into the air. When we compare the emissions from alternative fuels, clearly, electric is the least polluting and using electric vehicles also saves oil.

While it is traditional to believe that cars will improve incrementally in gas mileage performance, it is a realistic approach that seemingly grows very slowly. Overall the US car market averages 23.6 miles per gallon. The AirShip's Green Agenda challenges this approach to incremental improvement and sets its sights on deep change or dramatic improvement in alternative propulsion. Today's worldwide car fleets are doing the best they can with alternative fuels and hybrids, but they are tied to the basic vehicle architecture we've seen for the past 100 years. The basic vehicle configuration remains the same with an internal combustion engine and the emergence of various fuel alternatives delivering power to the vehicle's wheels. Seating configurations remain the same and conform to a vehicle dynamic that prevents out of the box thinking on what vehicle transportation can be. These factors create tough conditions for automobile makers to make dramatic improvements. For we see little overall vehicle architecture change from the Model-T of the past to today's vehicle footprint on the road. The turn of the century may have ushered in the internal combustion engine, but gradually we are moving society and the world to hybrid and alternative fuel vehicles.

In the Green Ecology times of today, business as usual no longer suffices. The world is looking for deep change in how we develop our transportation vehicles, organize our development teams and push our thinking on a 100 mile per gallon threshold. For the world is saying "let's go," and this is the only way to get the performance boost demanded by the public. Yet as many automakers and the public have learned to our chagrin, vehicle transformation is very hard to pull off. AirShipTG's Green Agenda is focused on making vehicle transformation succeed by creating a compelling vision for the vehicle of the future and by building enthusiasm at all levels of the organization. We plan to master the complexities of hybrid vehicle development by fashioning a car that adapts and is self-supporting with Lithium-ion Battery Packs, Bio-Diesel, Regenerative Braking and a new visionary architecture for Regenerative Driving based on miniature turbine generators and magnetic induction coils. We plan to have the AirShip ignite a worldwide culture for sustainable transportation.

Dual Lithium-ion Battery Packs. Introducing the Lithium-ion batteries provides the AirShip with a robust and rechargeable power plant. Using hydraulic lifts, we stack the Lithium-ion packs for ease of service and distributed air cooling. The battery to cooling fan design is absolutely necessary for more efficient cooling. With AirShip's cooling and dual stack Lithium-ion batteries, the target miles-traveled range on one full electric charge is 400 miles, more than competitive for the field of electric and hybrid electric vehicles. Additionally, we are targeting 3.5 to 4 hours for a full electric recharge from home or the office.

One of the reasons the vehicle is called the AirShip is due to its use of Helium bags strategically located within the body of the vehicle that lift the weight of much of the vehicle off the 24 ball bearings that hold each Track Sphere. Remember, the vehicle does not leave the ground, but it will have a baseline helium lift for the overall weight of the AirShip with the ability to automatically sense onboard added weight and apply compensating helium. AirShip’s Track Sphere drive train creates more friction than typical vehicle cylinder wheels, especially at highway speeds.

Regenerative Braking. Once reversed for deceleration, AirShip's braking will be performed by Track Sphere motors acting as very efficient electrical generators. Synchronized reversing of each forward and aft motor returns almost all of the energy generated back to the Lithium-ion battery system. Serving the Green Agenda, this safe dual-circuit approach restores energy during vehicle braking instead of the lost of heat energy as seen in traditional brake systems. Because Track Spheres are in constant computer control, ABS is also possible while accelerating and decelerating. Because the Track Sphere assemblies include high performance motors, ABS is built into each Track Sphere software. Anti-skid is applied to acceleration since the motors scan smoothly control torque delivery to/from the road in both cases. Flooring the brake or accelerator hard results in controlled maximum torque, giving the shortest possible stopping or acceleration time.

Track Spheres are in constant communication with each other deciding 1,000 times each second how much torque share is optimum for current driving conditions. Should one Track Sphere detect a slippery surface and take appropriate anti-skid actions, the other spheres will be made aware of this instantly and adopt an appropriate compensating strategy to keep the vehicle as stable as possible.

The vehicle can be recharged by low cost main electricity plug-in from home or alternative locations while at rest. This reduces the concern about battery capacity limits or how to recharge. During vehicle operation with battery levels falling, the bio-diesel motor/generator cuts in. This enables sustained highway speeds and an overall top end speed target of 125 to135 mph with no further battery depletion.

Regenerative Drive. The Track Sphere Assembly contains the Sphere and a frame that supports a balanced placement by 24 large ball bearings (4 ball bearings on each of the assembly’s 6 sides). The ball bearings are precision fit into the assembly frame and rests on anti-rust track sphere rings. With the 24 ball bearings, the inner position of the assembly holds in balance the large sphere. The AirShip's weight is equally distributed across each of the Track Sphere assemblies. The outer position of each ball bearing is covered by and engaged with a mini-electric generator device called Regenerative Drive Mini Generator Turbines. During Track Sphere motion, the mini-electric generators restore energy and return it to the battery system. Regenerative drive serves to replenish electricity to the battery system and the 24 accumulative turbines can a mass a sustainable reservoir of energy.

Solar Fabric. Solar Fabric will serve as AirShip's exterior covering source and is considered green house gas friendly. Thin-film photovoltaic (PV) materials and modules will be used to generate the electrical power to help propel the vehicle or as an additional power source for onboard electronics. Thin film photovoltaic power offers unique advantages over earlier solar cell product generations and other comparable technologies in the marketplace. For example, some manufacturers of solar fabric are creating it in large roll formats at the module level using proprietary monolithic laser-patterned cell integration processes that enable individual solar cells to be interconnected during production. Innovations like this eliminate time-intensive cell-to-cell connections and assembly operations required with other technologies to build up modules. Modules are produced on durable, light weight plastic in contrast to first generation products on metal foils that were developed over 12 years ago. The plastic substrate materials result in extremely high specific power levels, compactness and flexibility that enable the products to be configured into a wide variety of rolls, foldable packs, or traditional module formats. The roll formats could allow for direct integration into the external skin surface of the AirShip, significantly reducing the number of modules required for a typical application.

Hybrid Competitors

Tesla Roadster. With an initial 2008 run of 600-plus cars now set to begin production late this year, the Tesla has attracted unprecedented interest in E.V.’s thanks to its sexy looks, its blistering acceleration (0 to 60 m.p.h. in less than four seconds) and a driving range that was just revised upward to 245 miles. The Silicon Valley start-up has benefited from tens of millions of development dollars from Elon Musk, the PayPal founder who is Tesla’s chief executive and is developing his own space program; backers include Sergey Brin, co-founder of Google.

The Tesla has provoked a worldwide outpouring of fait accompli press coverage: the technology will put Detroit’s dinosaurs out of business, it is said, and render the internal combustion engine obsolete. Yet that would be a tall order for a company with no experience in the brutal auto business, one that has yet to build its first production car, open its first showroom or build its first service facility.

In August 2007, a co-founder, Martin Eberhard, was shunted aside for a new interim chief executive, and the start of production was delayed for about four months. Yet company executives said that their desire to deliver a top-quality car is the only reason for the delay. To alleviate concerns, Tesla has allowed some buyers to test-drive pre-production models and post unedited comments on the company’s Web site: (teslamotors.com).

The first to emphasize that the $100,000 British-built roadster aims to prove the fun and feasibility of E.V.’s, not solve the transportation issues of average Americans. But Tesla is developing a second E.V. (its code name is White Star), a generously sized, $50,000-$70,000 sport sedan. Starting in 2010, Tesla plans to make 10,000 White Stars at a new plant in Albuquerque. Certainly, the celebrity-friendly Roadster is a marketing smash. But the White Star will be the real test of Tesla’s technology and long-term prospects.

Zap-X. The company name, Zap, sounds like something from a Batman comic. (It stands for Zero Air Pollution.) But if the project gets off the ground, the Zap-X would be one super powered E.V., with a claimed top speed of 155 m.p.h. and a 350-mile range. While the car has been derided by skeptics as “vaporware” that will never see production, the Zap-X would be based on the APX concept car by Lotus, which is also building the Tesla at its Hethel, England, factory. The five-passenger aluminum-intensive crossover would use high-tech electric hub motors at all four wheels, delivering 644 horsepower to the ground from a lithium-ion battery pack. The hub motors would eliminate the need for transmission, axles and conventional brakes, opening up space beneath the floor for a giant battery pack.

The chief executive of Zap, closed a long-brewing deal with China’s Youngman Automotive Group to manufacture E.V. passenger cars, buses and heavy equipment. Mr. Schneider said the alliance opens the door to bringing the Zap-X, and possibly other electric models, to the United States by about 2010 for around $60,000.

Chevrolet Volt. G.M. doesn’t like the Volt to be called a plug-in hybrid, since it considers the car more of an E.V. But the concept car has a tiny gasoline engine, albeit one that’s used exclusively to pump electricity into lithium-ion batteries, not to power the wheels. And there’s definitely a cord attached, requiring eight hours to recharge from a household plug but far less with higher-voltage current. G.M. is designing the Volt to run on electricity alone for up to 40 miles. So for more than 85 percent of American commuters, the Volt would indeed work like a pure E.V., using no gasoline and delivering up to 150 m.p.g. G.M. hopes to bring a car like the Volt to market by 2011 or 2012.

Think City. The Think company illustrates the hurdles faced by E.V. makers. Founded in Norway in 1990 as Pivco Industries, the company has run out of money, gone into receivership and passed through multiple owners. Now it has been revived as Think Nordic. Yet over 17 years, it has produced little of note. Under Ford’s ownership beginning in 1999 and driven by California’s electric-vehicle mandate, the company produced 1,000 sluggish 50-mile-range Think City cars. Ford dumped the disastrous project in 2003, crushing leftover American models (as G.M. did with the EV1). Now, the company plans a second-generation two-seat Think City for Europe in 2008, powered by lithium-ion batteries provided by Tesla in a $43 million deal. The company has floated vague plans to sell the car in some American cities in 2009.

Beyond urban use, the new model’s performance may not satisfy Americans: the company claims a mere 110-mile driving range and top speed of only 62 m.p.h.

Phoenix S.U.T. Looking like the offspring of a Honda Ridgeline and a Subaru Baja, the Phoenix S.U.T. starts life as a South Korean pickup, the Ssangyong Actyon. Phoenix adds a tiny twist: its lithium-ion batteries are said to employ nanotechnology — in this case, incredibly small lithium-titanate particles — to deliver faster recharging, safer operation and longer life. Ssangyong will ship the pickups, minus a powertrain, to Ontario, Calif., where Phoenix will install the batteries and electronics. Using a special high-voltage charger, Phoenix claims the truck could store enough juice in 10 minutes to cover 100 miles. (A full charge would take six or seven hours from household current.) For now, only utility companies and other fleet customers can buy one of the $45,000 sport utility trucks from the initial 500-unit run. The company plans a small public introduction in 2008.

Wrightspeed X1. The racy Wrightspeed E.V. is the brainchild of Ian Wright, a New Zealander who was formerly chief engineer at Tesla. Essentially a juiced-up, lithium-ion version of the Ariel Atom tube-frame racer, the Wrightspeed is sickeningly fast. It is also stripped-down and devoid of comforts — a track car that’s nearly useless on public roads. Wright hopes to bring the X1 to market for around $120,000. But even more so than the Tesla, the only thing the Wrightspeed would solve is the need to roar into the pits for a quick fuel stop.

Electrum Spyder.

Another bit of California dreaming, this is a convertible E.V. from Universal Electric Vehicle of Thousand Oaks. The company, which is seeking corporate financing, claims the Electrum Spyder (estimated price: $69,900) could reach 100 m.p.h. and travel up to 150 miles on a charge of its nickel-zinc batteries. A $25,000 upgrade would add lithium-ion cells, increasing the range to 250 miles. The company says it is taking orders for the car, with deliveries beginning 10 months after an unspecified start of production. The company said it was also designing a two-door four-passenger model with a target price below $45,000.

Venturi Fetish. Consider the Venturi Fetish. First shown at the Paris auto show in 2004, the two-seat roadster, powered by lithium-ion batteries, has a claimed top speed of 100 m.p.h. and a one-hour charging time. The Monaco-based company says it plans to build 25 Fetishes, priced at a cool $500,000 each.

Tango. It looks like a car that got caught in a trash compactor. Only three inches wider than a yardstick, the Commuter Cars Corporation’s Tango is an all-electric two-seater. George Clooney, who is to get one of the first 10 Teslas sold to the general public, has reportedly bought a Tango, too.