The first public track-run of the prototype!
In 2013, when tech billionaire Elon Musk first pitched the idea of a new supersonic transportation system known as the Hyperloop, no one imagined it would be coming so soon.
The idea Musk proposed was to send people or cargo through a tubular transportation system in little levitating pod-capsules at rates close to the speed of sound.
Now a major step towards making Hyperloop technology a reality has been taken by Hyperloop One (formerly Hyperloop Technologies), which pulled off its first public display of the technology in the Nevada desert yesterday (May 11).
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The test did not involve any vacuum tubes or pods, instead it was used to demonstrate the acceleration of the propulsion system in open air. The test produced astonishing propulsion speeds of zero to 100 miles (160 kilometers) per hour in just 4 seconds.
Watch the test in the Nevada desert here:
All the technology to make Hyperloop transport a reality already exists, but it’s putting it all together that seems to be the harder and time consuming part. During the test demonstration, Hyperloop one said that they have secured funding and partnerships with the engineering firm AECOM, who had an interest in using the transportation technology to move cargo in Los Angeles and Long Beach ports.
"AECOMs partnership with Hyperloop One has the potential to transform the movement of both people and freight," said Mike Burke, AECOM's chairman and CEO. "Our expertise working with cities, building port infrastructure and delivering highly challenging transit projects provides the depth of knowledge essential for safely and effectively developing and maximizing a new mode of transportation."
Now that funding for technology has been secured, Hyperloop One hopes to move cargo by 2019, and people by 2021 with their technology. But, the company will still need to overcome some technological and logistical hurdles before their transport system will become a reality, according to a BBC report.
Learn how the Hyperloop technology works: Planes, Trains, Automobiles… and soon this.
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