Inspiring Technology: Tube Transportation, Maglev, Automated Cars

There are very few technologies that are as old as transportation. As long as people have lived, transportation has been needed in civilization. From horses, camels, wagons, and sailboats to cars, trains, ships, and airplanes, the technology of our transportation has come a long way. However, in recent years, many new challenges have caused a shift in the way we design our technology. While it may seem that improvements in planes and cars in the last decade have been small compared to improvements in computers and communication, there are many company and research labs that are pushing for new technologies that both conserve energy and provide for the increasing population of  urban areas.

ET3 Tube System

The Evacuated Tube Transportation Technology company, or ET3 as it is called, is pioneering a new transportation system that provides incredibly fast transportation by making use of the same principals that keep the Earth in orbit. By using magnetized and vacuumed tubes to transport capsules that can hold both people and cargo, ET3's tube technology produces next to no friction. This lack of friction allows capsules to coast between locations, conserving much more energy than any other form of transportation. Another benefit of the tube system is capacity. By transporting people at speeds around 400 miles an hour, a 2-tube system between cities could have the same capacity as a massive highway.  The ET3 system is already being researched and prototyped, and a 3 mile test track is set to be constructed by 2016. ET3 hopes to have tube systems running in multiple countries and eventually hopes to replace up to 90% of commercial transportation.

Click here for more information on the ET3 system

Maglev Technology

 

 

Another technology that is already becoming a reality in many parts of the world is Magnetic Levitation technology, or Maglev for short. Maglev systems are being used in many places around the world, especially in Japan and China, instead of the subway, monorail, and train systems used in America. In the countries in which Maglev is used, the transportation systems can travel upwards of 300 miles per hour while using a fraction of the energy traditional trains use. These systems work well both for metropolitan transportation and long-distance transportation. Despite the benefits of Maglev technology, it has been slow to catch on in America. This is largely due to the fact that by the time new technologies like Maglev were being built the transportation infrastructure of America was already in place. However, now that some of our older systems are starting to fall into disrepair, some American cities are looking to Maglev technology to replace their outdated subway system.

Click here to learn more about magnetic levitation technology

Automated Driving

 

Most readers will probably remember that earlier in the year Google introduced a self-driving car in California. However, this new technology is more than just a nifty convenience that will let you eat and play on your iPhone while driving. Automated driving systems might change both personal transportation and the shipping industry. Automated cars might very well make car accidents a very rare occurrence, and using automated trucks and freight yards could increase the efficiency of shipping many times over. Making it both cheaper and faster. While it will be at least 2020 before we even see semi-automatic cars on the road, Google claims it will have its first automated cars ready in five years. Semi-automatic cars will have something similar to an auto pilot mode, which won't be good  for pulling into a driveway or navigating a parking garage but will be automatic when driving on highways or major streets.

Click here for more information on the Google automated car

Click here for last weeks Inspiring Technology on robotics