1. Evacuated Tube Transport
An intriguing thing about air is that although we can’t feel it when we are standing still or moving slowly, the quicker you travel, the more air resistance you face, and the more it slows you down. However, if there was no air, we could move about much more easily. Of course if there was no air we’d all die, but that’s neither here nor there. Anyway, a lack of air resistance is the notion behind evacuated tube transport, which would employ frictionless vehicles in an airless or near airless tube.
One example of an evacuated tube transport system is Elon Musk’s Hyperloop. The Hyperloop eliminates most of the air from a steel tube, and then vehicles are propelled by a minimal amount of air compression. Musk predicted that the first Hyperloop would link Los Angeles to San Francisco, a distance of around 380 miles. The passenger vehicles could depart every 10 seconds and they could reach 760 MPH, indicating the journey would be done in half an hour (whereas by automobile, it would be nearly a six hour travel). The cost of the Hyperloop is $6 billion, which seems like a lot of money. However, California is already developing a much-delayed, high speed rail, and it’s costing them 10 times more with a price tag of at least $64 billion. Then when it is done, it will only reach 220 MPH - not quite as fast as the Hyperloop. Musk has already gathered $120 million in investor money and hopes to have the system flying passengers by 2021.
Beyond California, another business named ET3 intends to employ the same technology and create frictionless trains that move from continent to continent. Their vacuum tube employs electromagnets and automobiles would transport six passengers, reaching speeds of 4,000 MPH, which is more than five times faster than the existing land speed record. However, because to the manner the automobile gains its velocity, people inside never feel like they are travelling faster than a quick bend in a car.
2. Passenger Drones
Flying automobiles may seem fantastic in movies like Blade Runner, but there are some severe difficulties with them. For example, if you get into your flying vehicle stalls in the sky, it may be a lot more catastrophic than having a head-on accident on the ground. Plus, instead of having a driver’s license, they would also need a pilot’s license, which would be far tougher to earn since flying is clearly more sophisticated than driving. And if you’ve done any driving in a city with a lot of traffic, you know that many individuals should have never been issued their driver’s license (Toronto, we’re looking in your way), so why would anyone risk utilising a flying car?
Tackling several of these possible challenges is EHang Inc., a Chinese drone firm. At the 2016 Consumer Electronics Show, they debuted the 184, a personal autonomous aerial vehicle, which is the world’s first passenger drone. It’s a single person drone that utilises eight propellers and reaches 1,000 to 1,650 feet above the ground, but it has a maximum height of 11,500 feet . It has a peak speed of 62 MPH, and it can transport 264 pounds. The major drawback is that it can only keep a passenger aloft at sea level for 23 minutes and it takes two hours to charge it.
The controls for flying one are Idiocracy-type easy. There are two orders that can be controlled on a tablet: take off, and land. Once the drone is in the air, it will direct itself to your location and land securely on its own.
The EHang is slated to be on sale later in 2016 with a price tag between $200,000 and $300,000.
3. skyTran
Bordering the boundary between transportation and amusement park attraction is NASA’s skyTran. The device employs rocket shaped vehicles that carry four passengers and swing on a wire. Using electromagnets, each automobile can achieve 60 MPH, yet they only require one-third of the energy of a hybrid car.
To establish a skyTran system, it would cost a city $8 million for a kilometer and then it’s $25,000 to $30,000 each vehicle, which is very inexpensive compared to the alternatives. For example, it costs anything from $100 million to $2 billion to create one kilometer of an underground system. Another plus is that the skyTran may be put up in a matter of days, instead of months or years. The electromagnets also imply that it requires less energy, making the automobiles cheaper to operate. SkyTran would be a personal transportation system where power isn’t reliant on.
Currently, skyTran is being tested in Tel Aviv, Israel. If the testing prove successful, three more cities in Israel and many in the United States will be building skyTran systems in 2018.
4. The Horizon System
An innovative, but far off technique to travel large distances is the Horizon System, which was designed by a group of Scottish students. How it works is that you arrive at the airports of the future, which they name SkyStations. They will be located across the city and outfitted with eateries, bars, and an augmented reality mall. Which we assume is a thing that could exist at some point?
Once your SkyLink pod comes, you board it, and you may head to another SkyStation nearby, or if you have a longer distance to go, your pod will meet up with other pods on a dedicated airfield. Then, a drone will swoop down and, using strong magnets, the SkyShip will pick up your pod like a “Eagle catching its prey.” This recharges the SkyShips’ battery, which enables the SkyShips to constantly be functioning.
After scooping up the pods, the SkyShip will start to rise. Once it reaches a certain height, the pods will open up and you’ll be allowed to exit your seat. When you reach your destination, the SkyShip will drop off your pod at the airfield and it will transport you to the closest SkyStation.
Of course, there is many ways to go before we have drones that can pick up trains, but the Horizon System demonstrates what wonderful things may come with developments in transportation.
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