Mock Rear Hover Car

For decades, science fiction movies have depicted a future with hover cars, and Israel Aerospace is set to finally make them a reality, or at least a close facsimile. San Francisco based skyTran is building a test system of their electromagnetic monorail at the Israel Aerospace Industries campus that will be 1,640 feet (500 meter) long, with a plan to continue across Tel Aviv with a commercial network.

How Does it Work?

skyTran’s monorail uses the same electromagnetic technology that powers the Japanese bullet train. It will be a network of “jet-like” vehicles controlled by computers that use the Magnetic Levitation (Maglev) technology and electromagnets. The carriages typically float over the track using the basic magnetic principle of attraction and repulsion. For the Israel Aerospace monorail, the track will be located above, rather than below, the cars.

Electrified coils create a magnetic field around each pod, connecting them to and moving them along the track. However, there is no physical contact between the vehicle and the rail; instead, it hovers nearby, connected by the electromagnetic field. Because there is no physical contact, there is limited maintenance and wear and tear.

Increasing the Speed and Efficiency of Public Transportation

The pods will travel at speeds up to 43 miles per hour, and they have the ability to reach 150 miles per hour for commercial trains. Electromagnetic power makes the speed of each car easily controlled. The technology also allows for a seamless flow of vehicles on the system that do not get interrupted by the boarding or exiting of the pods of other passengers. Passengers that board faster can circumvent the vehicles of those taking a longer time to board.

Additionally, the pod only goes to the chosen destination with no delays or stops. The system will run 24 hours with no schedules. Passengers just have to request a pod using their smartphones. For larger groups, multiple vehicles can be ordered and go along the rail in a computer-linked caravan, so that no one is left behind. The cars will hold two passengers and will be luxurious, plush and private.

The Future of Transportation

skyTran believes this system has the ability to create an alternative to congested roads and traffic, especially as the tracks could be made to travel through buildings. They provide fast, safe, and economical travel. The system in Israel is set to charge about five dollars per person. skyTran and Isreal Aerospace hope to revolutionize public transportation and what urban and suburban commuting looks like.

This system also has the possibility of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. It is an electric system, and to further make it environmentally friendly, it could be powered by wind or solar.

Expanding Beyond Israel

The test track at Israel Aerospace is a demonstration to the Tel Aviv town planners about the efficiency of the technology so that it can expand to the rest of the city. In the future, residents would be able to order a vehicle using a smartphone to be picked up from a specific station and then take it to their chosen destination on a fully automated system. Each guideway, which is what they call the rail system, could handle about 12,000 people in one hour. With the building of additional guideways, that number could increase exponentially.

The construction of the commercial system will take roughly two years and cost around $80 million. It is set to cover the ‘Gush Dan’ area of Tel Aviv. It will be over 200 kilometers and cover most of Central Israel. With the success of the test and commercial rollout of the system could lead to further systems in other locations. skyTran is in the advanced planning stage for systems in Kerala, India, San Francisco Bay, Californian, and Toulouse France. If skyTran is successful in Tel Aviv, they could revolutionize public transportation and bring hover cars to the rest of the world.

photo credit: Kiel Bryant