Elon’s vision: Dubai eyes Hyperloop-style system
Dubai: Congested Dubai is looking to the future with a radical new mass transit system able to carry passengers at speeds faster than some airliners.
It may seem like science fiction, but the city plans to host an international competition in September, where designs will be invited for a system that uses a pipeline to propel people and goods in capsules.
Known as a “Hyperloop” link, electric propulsion moves the capsule, or autonomous vehicle, along the pipe in a low pressure environment, to reach speeds of at least 740 miles (1,200 km) per hour -- unprecedented for a ground-based system.
Hyperloop is the vision of Elon Musk, the man behind Tesla and SpaceX, who made the technology patent-free in a bid to encourage international scientific collaboration around the futuristic concept.
And now, Dubai is seeking someone “to shape the future of transportation” by designing a similar transport system that would take people from Dubai to the emirate of Fujairah -- on the opposite side of the Arabian peninsula -- in just 10 minutes.
The 102-mile (165 km) journey currently takes more than two hours and experts say the cost of building Hyperloop pipes could ultimately be cheaper than building conventional high speed trains.
The Dubai Future Foundation said it will host the “Build Earth Live” event in September, with engineering and scientific teams from across the globe presenting their designs to judges over a 48-hour period.
“Dubai is hosting this global event as part of the vision of Vice President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, to make the UAE and Dubai a global platform for innovative minds to come together to create futuristic solutions on issues of relevance to humanity,” said Mohammed Al Gergawi, Vice Chairman of the Board of Trustees and Managing Director of Dubai Future Foundation.
What is Hyperloop?
The Hyperloop is the concept for a new high-speed transportation system. While the idea of people travelling in tubes has been around for more than a century, entrepreneur Elon Musk drafted actual blueprints for the Hyperloop in 2013. He then challenged the engineering community to build it. On the pages that follow are artists’ renderings and mockups of what the Hyperloop could look like.
What would be the speed?
The Hyperloop would travel more than 700 miles per hour, around the speed of sound. That blows away current modes of transportation. Airplanes average 500 miles per hour and the world’s fastest trains run at 200 miles per hour.
Is it safe?
Hyperloop Transportation Technologies says that unlike train and air travel, there’s no chance for human error with the Hyperloop because it would be a closed system completely managed by computer.
The capsules would be climate-controlled, and travel inside a reinforced tube so the system can operate in any weather, according to Hyperloop Transportation Technologies. And thanks to the use of pylons, it should be earthquake-safe too, the company says.
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