SkyTran — a NASA Space Act company — is finally building a pilot of its computer-controlled, two-person, high-speed maglev transport system. Cars run six metres above the ground and can be ordered by a smartphone app.
While the initial trial in Israel will only involve a 450m closed campus loop, the plan is to build something much larger in the near future. My dream commute just got a step closer.
Maglev vehicles are levitated and both lift and thrust are produced by electromagnets.
Each skyTran car can carry two-people at over 60km/h and can be ordered by smartphone apps. The cost is anticipated to be less than a taxi-ride.
The skyTran trial is expected to be up and running by the end of 2015. If it is a success, a commercial roll-out in Tel-Aviv and other major global cities may follow.
