Mobile classrooms - Swarms of Scooters and E-bikes

By now, everyone has seen the invasion of scooters, e-bikes, and other PETS (personalized electric transportation systems). Whether you love them or hate them, (or better yet, if you have a non-emotional response, which is probably a healthier way to approach new technology), PETS are here to stay.

PETS are seen as a disruption in transportation which is certainly true in my experience. They are especially disruptive when they are piled up and blocking my path, or when a pleasant walk on the Beltline is momentarily interrupted by a someone suddenly whizzing past me from behind with unsafe headphone volume, creating a terrifying Ariana Grande Doppler effect.

It should come as no surprise then, that self-driving scooters and bikes are under development. So it seems likely that, if you're reading this, you will live to see the day when you step outside and there will automatically be a vehicle there ready to take you to your next most probable destination, even if you never requested it. You can decide if you think this is creepy or if it's cool, like having a robot chauffeur who knows your habits. Or both.

But this blog is about Educational Disruption, so how does this trend affect Higher Education?

If you ask faculty and students to name one of the biggest challenges facing a modern university, you often get down to space (at least after people are done complaining about insufficient time and money). The classrooms aren't the right size, things are too spread out, classroom technology is outdated, bricks and mortar doesn't meet the needs of today's mobile student, etc.

Enter the first mobile classroom based on Scooter Swarms. Following a pilot in Summer 2019, Georgia Tech will debut the world's first online mobile classroom which will be spontaneously self-assembled from students on scooters and e-bikes who have installed the Scooter Swarm app (currently restricted only to GT accounts).

This breakthrough educational technology leverages and combines the cutting-edge research and innovation at Georgia Tech on Smart Cities, Transportation, Swarm Robotics, Online Education, and Autonomous Vehicles. Here's how it works.

Students install the Scooter Swarm app and agree to have their location monitored, because that makes sense, right? As they click through some funny gifs and memes and short introductory videos, they incrementally allow more access to their personal data including contacts (who will be invited to the swarm for study groups), their class schedule (so appropriate content can be provided), and their family credit history (to see if they qualify for admission to USC or Yale).

When the app detects that someone is on a scooter or e-bike, it takes over control of the driving so the student can use the time to do work (e.g. stream all or part of a lecture as a podcast, participate in a study session, or use speech-to-text features to dictate essays and reports). Alternately, the student can use the transit time to relax (e.g. take a nap, drink some coffee, catch up on sleep, review social media feeds, or even nap!).

What do you think of this potent blend of transportation disruption and educational disruption? Do you think autonomous PETS can help you be a more effective learner? After you're done napping, post a comment below!