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Tests have begun in a desert site near Las Vegas on a "hyperloop" system that could propel passengers overland at speeds of over 1,100km per hour within five years.
Tests have begun in a desert site near Las Vegas on a "hyperloop" system that could propel passengers overland at speeds of over 1,100km per hour within five years.
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Hyperloop One test bodes well for transit's fast future
Las Vegas, May 11, 2016, AFP – The possible future of transit zipped along a short track in the desert outside Las Vegas on Wednesday before sliding to a stop in a bed of sand, sending up a tan wave.
Hyperloop One, a start-up hoping to revolutionise transport systems, held its first public test of engine components being designed to rocket pods carrying people or cargo through tubes at speeds of 1,125 kilometers or more.
Sand rises from the track as a test sled is slowed during the first test of the propulsion system at the Hyperloop One Test. / AFP PHOTO / John GURZINSKI
Hyperloop One promised a full-scale, full-speed test involving two kilometers of tube-enclosed track at the desert site by the end of this year.
"Today, we are one step closer to making Hyperloop real," said the start-up's chief executive Rob Lloyd.
"We will be moving cargo in 2019, and we think we will have passengers safely transported by Hyperloop in 2021."
The company hopes to realise a futuristic vision laid out three years ago by billionaire Elon Musk, the entrepreneur behind electric car company Tesla and private space exploration endeavour Space X.
Its research and testing in the desert is not simply aimed at making a Hyperloop system possible – its goal is to do it in a low-cost way that makes it possible to spread the technology around the world.
The test was only two-seconds long, so it was not especially exciting – except for the Hyperloop One developers.
"This is a significant moment for us as a team," Hyperloop One co-founder Shervin Pishevar said to an invitation-only crowd seated in grandstand seats set up opposite the length of the electrified track.
The test under the Nevada desert sun was a step in developing a propulsion system that would give super high-speed motion to passenger or cargo pods gliding above magnetically charged rails enclosed in tubes.
A sled bracketed to the rail was slung into motion using magnetic force generated by motors referred to as "stators" set in a line at the start of the track.
Eventually the sled, which will evolve into a chassis of sorts for a pod, will accelerate to more than 640 kilometres an hour in a few seconds, according to Hyperloop One co-founder Brogan BamBrogan.
Hyperloop One Co-Founder & Chief Technology Officer Brogan BamBrogan speaks during the first test of the propulsion system at the Hyperloop One Test and Safety site.
The long-term vision for Hyperloop One – which is vying to be the first start-up to bring the system to life – is to create something that moves at near-supersonic speeds.
"When you think about passengers traveling on this, you will feel no more acceleration than you would on an airplane taking off," BamBrogan said after the successful test.
After accelerating, the pods will essentially glide for long distances, making for smooth rides and low power consumption, according to BamBrogan.
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