Hyperloop Transportation Technologies and Hyperloop One, two main firms competing to bring Elon Musk’s concept of a Jetsons-like futuristic mode of transportation to market first are confident that a super high-speed mode of transportation will be in working condition by 2020.
Basically, the idea is for passengers seated in pods to shoot through a tube above the ground, and this will apparently change travel as we know it. Pods? It seems like Hanna-Barbera could see into the future since that concept was well-documented in their animated sitcom.
Sorry folks – Hanna-Barbera had the idea first
“We are not the train, we are not the car, we are not the plane,” said Bibop Gresta, chairman of Hyperloop Transportation Technologies (HTT). HTT predicts its pods will travel at up to 1,220 kilometres per hour (760 mph), approximately half as fast as an airliner.
California-based Hyperloop One has carried out preliminary tests of its propulsion system in the Nevada desert, and plans to bring its project to market in “2020-2021”, according to engineering chief Josh Giegel.
Both companies attended the InnoTrans, the world’s largest rail transport industry trade fair, where they gave consumers a sneak peek at what a Hyperloop future might look like. HTT leveraged virtual reality for a more realistic demonstration.