Automotive News South Africa

#SingularityUSouthAfrica2019: Rewriting the rules of travel and mobility

These are the highlights of Andres de Leon's presentation at the SingularityU South Africa 2019 Summit.
Andres de Leon, COO of Hyperloop Transportation Technologies
Andres de Leon, COO of Hyperloop Transportation Technologies

Transportation is broken. It sucks. Nobody loves to travel – we don’t enjoy it anymore. From traffic jams to air pollution, rush hour on mass transportation and lost baggage – we’re not solving today’s traffic problems. Something needs to change.

1,200,000 people die every year in road accidents. What is the solution?

A new, connected, sustainable and human-centric form of mass transportation, or a hyperloop, currently being built by Hyperloop Transportation Technologies (TT).

A hyperloop brings airplane speeds to ground level, safely. Everyone is excited about the speed – up to 1,223 km/h – which means we’re breaking every limit of continental distance, redefining the urban landscape. Passengers and cargo capsules will hover through a network of low-pressure tubes between cities and transforming travel time from hours to minutes.

The future of mobility starts with HyperloopTT

HyperloopTT leverages all the latest technologies to build a new transportation system from scratch. It has many perks – when in a hyperloop, you’re safe, comfortable and immune to weather.

Passengers and goods will travel in pressurised capsules floating on a frictionless magnetic cushion within the tubes. Capsules are powered by a linear induction motor, an electromagnetic propulsion, and embedded rechargeable batteries. As a result, the system is silent and emission-free.

Built on proven technologies, each capsule is 30m in length and can carry 28 to 40 passengers Our system is designed for capsule departures every forty seconds and is capable of moving 164,000 passengers a day on one line at full efficiency.

HyperloopTT's technology breakthrough is a next-generation passive magnetic levitation system. It's called Inductrack. The company has also developed a new skin material for capsule safety called Vibranium.

We are creating a mobility system based on biometrics and blockchain (to protect your digital identity) and using AI-powered trip assistance.

HyperloopTT is reportedly the world’s first crowd-powered company – there are more than 800 professionals around the world working on this project and prototypes. They believe this is a new way of building companies in the future. There is a standing team on a day-to-day basis but they also are working with more than 50 strategic partners and at the same time, being resourceful with their capital.

From LA to the Great Lakes, Minas Gerais in Brazil, China and Abu Dhabi, the hyperloop is not something of the future, it’s happening now.

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