Dubai is constantly pushing the frontiers of technology and innovation in a bid to establish itself as a global city and a regional hub for growth and advancement.
With the global introduction of high speed modes of transportation the UAE government sprang to the challenge of advancing these highly automated future transport systems on its home ground.
Which is why the first ever hyper loop passenger pods were unveiled at UAE’s Innovation exhibit at the final week of UAE innovation Month. The exhibit which was open to the public gave visitors a chance to witness the futuristic transportation system that is believed to revolutionize all aspects of terrestrial transportation.
Previously, a prototype of the Hyperloop which was initially conceptualized as a low cost, energy efficient model was unveiled by the Dubai Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), in collaboration with Virgin Hyperloop One at City Walk. This move comes in the wake of one of many tangible efforts by the country to make 25 per cent of all journeys to be driverless by 2030.
The Hyperloop pod which is slated to be launched by 2020, is furnished with leather seats and high definition screens for displaying information. Each pod has the capacity to accommodate 12 passengers who will be travelling at speeds of over 1,000 kilometers an hour, making the normal 2 hour journey in under 12 minutes only. The Hyperloop will initially make journeys between Dubai and Abu Dhabi, and Sharjah and Dubai.
The hyperloop is designed in a way that the passenger pod is enclosed in a tube under a partial vacuum. The pods are made to levitate through the vacuum tube with the help of an electromagnetic propulsion system. The system hovers above the ground and is held in place by concrete columns thereby maintaining a straight trajectory. The pods do not have windows to avoid motion sickness.
A statement revealed that His Excellency Mattar Al Tayer, director general of the RTA, said: ‘When introduced in future, the hyperloop technology will impact the town planning and the availability of parking spaces. ‘It will revolutionize people mobility between various destinations in the city, logistical hubs like airports and ports, and shipping patterns.
‘These pods, the first of their kind worldwide, have been designed to travel over short and medium distances on dedicated lanes. ‘They can be coupled in 15 to 20 seconds or detached, depending on the destination of riders, in five seconds. ‘They are fitted with cameras and electro-mechanical technologies to carry out the coupling and detaching processes, and this feature can be activated in-motion.’
Sources:
https://www.thenational.ae/uae/transport/first-look-prototype-for-hyperloop-unveiled-in-dubai-1.706889
https://www.khaleejtimes.com/news/transport/video-rta-unveils-hyperloop-prototype-in-uae-innovation-month-
