The project of a futuristic transport system, developed back in 2009 by Unimodal Systems specialists from California and finalized by the Ames Research Center, can be implemented in Tel Aviv.
The problem of traffic jams has long set the metropolitan authorities on edge. Standard measures to prevent traffic collapses do not justify themselves: fabulous money is spent on the construction of all kinds of tunnels, interchanges, ring and bypass, and cities continue to "stand".
The problem is that today's transport system is still based on the technologies of the last century and has long required a thorough reconstruction. It is strange that the first to embark on the "road" revolution was the relatively small Tel Aviv, with a population of just over 400,000.
Well, let this fact remain on the conscience of megacities with a population of over one million, but the Israeli capital will become the first city in the world where … a flying taxi will appear!
Apparently, good old cars running on fossil fuels do not have long to smoke the sky, and yet the roadway remains behind them. However, the transport of the new generation does not pretend to land - it rushes up into the sky.
We are talking about the SkyTran system, which is being developed by the American company of the same name based on NASA. Passenger cabins, which slide along rails set six meters above the ground, provide a comfortable alternative to buses and cars. NASA engineers, who played the first fiddle in the development of the system, have adopted the technology of magnetic levitation.
Promotional video:
The guides are stuffed with a plurality of electromagnets, and the field generated by them will be repelled by the field of a permanent magnet installed in the drive of the passenger capsule. The lack of mechanical contact during sliding will allow the capsule, made of lightweight composite materials, to accelerate to a speed of 240 kilometers per hour on straight sections. True, for a start, they plan to deliberately lower the speed so that the townspeople get used to the new possibilities of public transport.
In Tel Aviv, it is initially planned to use the connection of the transport system to the general energy network, but gradually the structures will be "overgrown" with solar panels, which will eventually turn SkyTran into an absolutely independent unit in terms of energy consumption.
This self-sufficiency, coupled with the fact that the system does not emit any harmful emissions into the atmosphere, will make this development the "greenest" public transport system in the world.
Undoubtedly, the engineers took care of the comfort of future passengers: the hustle and bustle will remain at the mercy of the traditional ground public transport, the cozy SkyTran Pod capsules are designed for a maximum of three people. At the same time, the system, according to its creators, is capable of providing a rather impressive passenger flow, since thousands of cabins will ply one after another on magnetic roads.
A natural question arises - will the problem of traffic jams be transferred to the sky after passenger transport? The authors of the concept assure that the automated infrastructure will take care of the absence of congestion by itself. Despite the large number of pick-up and drop-off points, traffic on the main track will not stop for a minute. When approaching a stop, the Pod will switch to a separate path, so that those capsules that rush after them do not have to slow down.
To use SkyTran, you need to download a special application on your mobile device, through which you can book a seat in the capsule and indicate the starting and ending point of the route. You can also order a Pod at a specific stop via the website. At the same time, passengers will not have to languish for a long time in anticipation of the arrival of the capsule: in the area of each station, special garages will be placed, in which there will always be free cabins. A trip to SkyTran will be more expensive than a shuttle bus, but much cheaper than a taxi. It will be possible to pay for travel through payment terminals installed inside the booths.
As for the total cost of implementing a test version of SkyTran in Tel Aviv, it will cost the city much less than building additional metro lines. The airways will be installed on special supports, the role of which in some cases can be played by elements of buildings and other parts of the city infrastructure, which will significantly save on project implementation. The construction of stops, which will be ordinary stairs and platforms, will not hit the city budget either.
All this may sound pretty fantastic, but the SkyTran project is no longer just a figment of the collective imagination of ecologists, designers and engineers. The development of a maglev public transportation system is under way at the NASA Ames Research Center in California. Work is now underway to manufacture guides, support structures and transport capsules, which will then be sent to Israel for the installation of a transport network.
It would seem that the SkyTran project was born under a lucky star - its implementation is going very smoothly. However, this story will not do without a fly in the ointment. A lot of bureaucratic problems can arise on the way of creating a unique transport system. SkyTran representatives are already thinking with horror how much time and effort it will take to agree on a plan for laying air routes in residential areas and business centers: not every building owner wants to see taxis flashing one by one in front of his windows.
And as soon as the creators of the project, the authorities and residents of the city manage to agree, the launch of the system can be considered a done deal. It is not excluded that after Tel Aviv many other cities of the world will pick up the baton of SkyTran creation. Already, some of the most "advanced" megacities of India, Indonesia, Malaysia and the United States are showing considerable interest in this idea.
Naked science, september 2013