The
so-called skyTran system of passive magnetic levitation (MagLev) pod vehicles
is to be trialled in the grounds of Israel Aerospace Industries’ (IAI)
corporate campus.
Developed
by the eponymously named NASA Space Act company based at NASA’s Ames Research
Center in California, skyTran is a network of computer-controlled, two-person
vehicles designed to deliver passengers to their destination in an
energy-efficient and high-speed manner.
Evaluation
of the Technology Demonstration System (TDS) will include testing, refinement,
and validation of skyTran’s technology in IAI’s controlled environment and will
provide a platform for skyTran vehicles to travel at high speeds with full
payloads while levitating.
SkyTran
expects the TDS to be followed by deployment of the first commercial skyTran
system in Tel Aviv, Israel. The first commercial system will be completed
within 24-months of start of construction, which is projected for the fourth
quarter of 2016.
Total
construction cost for the entire system is estimated at $80m. The company said
this system would be Phase One of a much larger urban/suburban network that
will cover Tel Aviv’s ‘Gush Dan’ metropolitan area. Other skyTran routes in
advanced planning are in Toulouse, France; Kerala, India; and the San Francisco
Bay Area, California.
Once commercially deployed, skyTran envisages passengers requesting a vehicle
with computer or smartphone for embarkation at a location convenient to the
traveller.
Once in
transit, the computer-controlled system provides optimal spacing of the skyTran
vehicles that are designed to travel at over 62mph on an overhead network. The
fastest routes on the network are identified and all vehicles are sent along at
speed with vehicles entering and exiting the skyTran stream with no
interruption to the flow of traffic.
SkyTran claims that because
its system can be built as an expandable grid, it will never be filled to
capacity. As the demand grows, more track can be installed and additional
vehicles can be added the network.
The
company further claims that skyTrans’ modular rails and supports are
off-the-shelf components that can be put up - and repaired - quickly and easily.
The vehicles themselves are said to be lightweight, streamlined, and
inexpensive to mass-produce.
Source:
The Engineers.
