27 June 2014

Wired: “Israel is Building a Futuristic Transit System of Magnetic Pods”

Israel’s biggest defense contractor is getting into mass transit, building the world’s first aerial maglev to carry people in egg-like pods around its campus at 44 mph. If all goes according to plan, you may soon see it in Tel Aviv.

SkyTran is a personal rapid transit system that features two-person pods hanging from elevated maglev tracks. As futuristic as that sounds (and looks), the idea has been around since 1990. It’s been suggested in cities ranging from Tempe, Arizona to Kuala Lampur, but the idea never got off the, er, ground.

Alexander George

For improving mass transit in crowded cities, I think something like this would prove more efficient and revolutionary than self-driving cars. It would have less coverage, so it probably wouldn’t drive you to the front door, but reduced air pollution would make it more enjoyable to walk a couple of blocks from the nearest pod station. It would also allow transportation to take advantage of the third dimension, instead of being confined to the ground – skyscrapers for example could be connected directly at some arbitrary floor, reducing the need for elevators. It’s no flying car, but it would get pretty close! Unfortunately, the potential for data mining is rather low, so naturally Silicon Valley corporations are not interested in investing…

SkyTran concept magnetic pod

1 comment:

  1. I think the comment about "The potential for data mining is rather low, so naturally Silicon Valley corporations are not interested in investing" maybe wrong! Look at Uber for instance and how they use technology to get people and products to a destination, this new mode of transport could be used along the same way.

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