Elon Musk’s Hyperloop One Inc. on Wednesday conducted the first successful test run of the so-called hyperloop propulsion system – moving one step closer to reality.
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The Hyperloop test is just an early step for the creation of the future’s transport system and it would still take years to ideal it.
French national rail company joins Hyperloops growing list of backers.
The motor is of the key technologies that could eventually power the hyperloop, a high-speed transportation concept initially devised by Elon Musk, founder of rocket maker SpaceX and electric vehicle company Tesla.
The reasons for all the hype around Hyperloop is that unlike traditional Maglev trains, which also use magnets for lift and propulsion, a Hyperloop could transport passengers at speeds upwards of 700 miles per hour – fast enough to go from San Francisco to Los Angeles in less than 45 minutes.
“What if you took a whole port and moved it off shore, off-load ships out there and Hyperloop all of it inland and then open up the shore for what it’s supposed to be, which is enjoyed by human beings”, co-founder Broan BamBrogan said, according to USA Today.
Hyperloop Technologies, the company developing some real, revolutionising personal transport tech, announced on Tuesday that it is all set for the first major Hyperloop test.
“We are standing on hallowed ground for us”, said Shervin Pishevar, cofounder of Los Angeles-based Hyperloop One, which is among a few companies focused on the hyperloop technology.
The company successfully propelled a sled 100 yards.
Should the concept become a reality, the above-ground transport network – consisting of hundreds of miles of tubes – would allow people to travel at supersonic speed. By 2021, in five years, Hyperloop One expects passengers to be riding in the tubes.
Hyperloop One CEO Rob Lloyd believes Hyperloop technology offers the best investment opportunity since the Internet.
The long-term vision for Hyperloop One which is vying to be the first startup to bring the system to life is to create something that moves at near-supersonic speeds.
“To support this competition, SpaceX will construct a one-mile test track adjacent to our Hawthorne (Calif.) headquarters”, says SpaceX spokesman Phil Larson. HTT announced on Monday that it had exclusively licensed passive magnetic levitation technology that would serve to keep Hyperloop pods off the track, minimizing friction as they speed through a tube.
Company officials also announced that they are studying hyperloop projects in Finland, Sweden, Stockholm and Switzerland.
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A series of companies have been working on hyperloop projects. The deadline is September 15 and the best projects will be selected by March 2017.
