Tag Archives: Hyperloop

Virgin Hyperloop’s Ultra high-speed Pods are a Utopian Vision of Tomorrow

Video August 27, 2021 Wiley Simms

Ongoing attempts to enable travel between cities within a matter of minutes take form and shape…

A new concept video of the company’s plans for its Hyperloop system has been released, and if realized, the system will be a very fast one. The trains would travel inside a near-vacuum environment within a tube. The absence of air allows for the luxury train-like pods to travel at low power yet at extremely fast speeds, reaching up to 1,080km/hour or 670 mph.

The concept of a Hyperloop system is not a new one, and actually it was Elon Musk that initially brought the idea of developing a hyperloop transportation concept into the mainstream via the Boring Company.

Plans to build fully realized systems did not materialize under his watch, perhaps due to his very full agenda with sustainable energy, EVs, the moon and mars all on his plate, and now Virgin appears to be picking up the mantel and aiming for a complete transport system. With jet speeds, comfort of luxury train travel and the flexibility of car individuality the concept projections are, at the very least, beautifully imagined.

While the slick, enjoyable video (below) might make you eager to jump into a pod pronto, the reality, if realized, of the system in some kind of full commercial operations, is projected for 2027 and beyond.

All of this is promised, along with nearly zero emissions. Looking forward using a 30 year time horizon the company’s studies estimated that there could be a reduction CO2 emissions by 2.4 million tons with a connection built between three cities creating $300 billion in overall economic benefits.

This somewhat utopian vision would enable incredibly smooth, clean, cheap transportation between cities and be fast. Really fast. Although it may be easy to scoff at this rosy view of the future – it is exactly the kind of bold utopian vision that will be required if humanity is going to be saved from oblivion. Climate crisis disasters, financial meltdowns, political gridlock and corruption, these are the obvious likely candidates for a believable future.

On the other hand, ideas like universal basic income (paid in bitcoin mined by cell phone), emission free ultra luxurious hi-speed transport systems, powered with renewable energy, a world where scarcity and want are not the measurement of reality, these are the necessities of utopia.

Perhaps it’s time to start thinking it could be possible. Since the alternative is oblivion and extinction, why not?

“It starts off with two people riding a Hyperloop. It ends with hundreds of millions of people riding on a Hyperloop and that’s what the 2020s, the roaring ’20s will be”
Virgin Hyperloop Co-founder and Chief Executive Josh Giegel

One difference between the Virgin Hyperloop and a high-speed maglev train system, for example, is the idea of an individual pod system which would allow for individual pods to break away and head to secondary tubes leading towards a different destination.

Virgin Hyperloop is part of the Virgin empire created by Richard Branson, below he shared the video explaining how travel pods work.

https://youtu.be/80hJfhWfjKY

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News

This Week: Stories from the Climate Crisis, Tech, Tesla, Apple and more

Video October 18, 2019 Madison Santel

Just in case you missed our recent coverage on the intersections of the Climate Crisis, Tech and Entertainment, we’ve compiled a list of articles for you to check out:

Greta Thunberg: Climate Activist focused on Change now, not hopes for an Uncertain Future

Greta Thunberg is a sixteen-year-old Swedish girl who is rapidly becoming a flash point for those in the movement to raise awareness of the global emergency of global warming and climate change.

The Potential of Self-Driving Cars in Entertainment Media: First Foray

While it might be easy to imagine people in self-driving cars perpetually staring at their smart phones or laptops, there is the possibility that entertainment companies could collaborate with vehicle manufacturers to change the very design of vehicles and make car-riding a transmedia experience.

iOS 13 Tips: How to Use and Manage the new Share Menu for iPhone and iPadOS

The share menu can vary from app to app, many use it most often from within Safari or the Mail app, however, for this video, we chose the Apple News app as the operations are essentially the same.

Leonardo DiCaprio headlines Global Citizens Festival, continues fight to raise awareness of Climate Crisis

Leonardo DiCaprio had made several stances against climate change over the years. The actor spearheaded the issue in his 2016 documentary “Before The Flood” and even used the stage during his long-awaited Oscar acceptance speech to talk about the importance of preserving our natural world. Evidently, the man is a passionate environmentalist.

Tesla and Elon Musk are Smiling: Gas Pumps Out, Charging Stations In

The news here, however is that these are stations that have decided to abandon gas, oil and, presumably, gasoline-based auto maintenance for EV charging and convenience. This is a trend that, hopefully, will accelerate.

‘Scandalous’: National Inquirer sets the Standard for Questionable News Coverage

If one even notices the title of the film printed in smaller letters in enormous tagline’s shadows, one might expect that “Scandalous” isa movie about conspiracy theories or some great national collusion that ties all of these pop-culture headlines in some absurd way. However, beneath the title on the poster, seemingly hidden, is the film’s subtitle. It reads “The Untold Story Of The National Enquirer.“

5 New Trailers just Released: Check out the future fare from Sony, Disney and more

This week had a gaggle of new trailers hitting the street so we decided to choose five to showcase and feature in this post.

Eight Movies Out Now you might have missed

Just in case you missed our coverage of recent films, out now in theaters, we’ve compiled a graphic tour of a few noteworthy (or at least to be considered) titles among them.

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Climate Solutions, Earth and Ecology, Tech

Tesla and Elon Musk are Smiling: Gas Pumps Out, Charging Stations In –

September 29, 2019 Kat Lee

Is this a Canary in the Coal Mine moment?

Say what you want about radical engineer Elon Musk, but his companies have certainly produced some very innovative products over the years. None are perhaps as revolutionary as Tesla’s line-up of wildly popular and stylish electric vehicles that require no gasoline.

This past weekend, a beacon of progressive light shone through the clouds as two gas stations on different sides of the world got rid of all their fuel pumps and transitioned entirely to EV charging stations. One of the gas stations is in Norway and it is a branch of the global Circle K convenience store company. The other is a local gas station in Takoma Park, Maryland called RS Automotives.

This is significant, not due to the world adding two more charging stations, there are many already and Tesla’s network of stations is truly remarkable. The news here, however, is that these are stations that have decided to abandon gas, oil and, presumably, gasoline-based auto maintenance for EV charging and convenience. This is a trend that, hopefully, will accelerate.

In the wake of the UN 2019 Climate Action Summit, these initiatives are but small victories in the fight for environmental reformation. Nonetheless, we can take these updates as signs of individual improvement and solace. Either they are money-driven transformations reflective of more people turning to electric vehicles, or they are examples of non-money driven actions that we may need businesses to make in order to shift consumers in the superior, ecologically sensitive direction.

While gasoline-electric hybrid vehicles have been around for a while with popular older models such as the Toyota Prius and the Honda Insight, Tesla stands as the first widely popular electric car that runs on zero fluids excluding the windshield-wiper fluid (or tiny amounts for cooling batteries). Instead of filling it up with gas, you charge it up like a phone.

Admittedly, charging up a Tesla can, in some situations, take a while— close to an hour if fully discharged and topped off (Tesla suggests 80% maximum at any time to promote battery health and longevity). Although over half a million Teslas have been sold since their first all-electric Model-S debuted in 2012, some people still assume that the time it takes to charge one up is Tesla’s greatest weakness.

The “Range Anxiety” debate is not new, and not entirely real

This “weakness” is part propaganda, part wishful thinking and part scare tactic. The reality is, pumping gas also takes time and if you add in a bathroom break and a short stop to grab a drink to go, a supercharger can approximate, with ease, the turn-around time. Not to mention the peace of mind that comes with using a fill-up (charge up) as a break from driving rather than a hurried gas smelling pit-stop.

Charging stations have been popping up more frequently across the country and the world in the last few years. Tesla, Volkswagon and some venture capital-based start-ups have made initiatives to put up tens of thousands more EV charging stations along highways and roads.

This trend can be seen as a canary in the coal mine moment for the demise of fossil fuel based transportation and, ultimately, the fossil fuel based economic model. The looming climate crisis, breaking out virtually every day into the news, is but one reason to cheer this development. There are many more and many CitCM moments to come.

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Cutting Edge, Tech

Elon Musk’s Boring Company Snags 48M Deal

May 27, 2019 Danny Leeds

First Concrete Step Towards Transport Tunnel Proliferation

Despite receiving some pushback from two board members of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, The Boring Company has nevertheless secured a contract to build a transport tunnel under the Las Vegas Convention Center campus.

The project, which was approved following a vote by the board on Wednesday, will be comprised of two tunnels that are designed to transport passengers from the Convention Center’s New Exhibit Hall to the existing North/Central Hall. A third, pedestrian tunnel, may also be included in the project.

The Boring Company’s Las Vegas tunnel is expected to be completed in time for the 2021 Consumer Electronics Show, which will be held in January, as usual. Elon Musk has expressed his optimism at the project’s potential completion date, stating on Twitter that the transport tunnel could be operational by the end of 2019.

Looking forward to building a Boring Company tunnel in Vegas. Assuming to be operational by end of year! https://t.co/cSSO4SJ140
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 12, 2019

This is a very aggressive timetable, though the relatively short length of the tunnel, at less than one mile, could improve the Boring Company’s chances at completing the project within Musk’s target timeframe.

First Convention Center, Next to Vegas Strip?

The Las Vegas transport tunnel will utilize a Loop System, which is comprised of autonomous electric vehicles (AEV) that can carry passengers from one point to another. The Boring Company notes that standard AEVs are Tesla Model X and Model 3 vehicles, though high-occupancy AEVs are also under development.

The latter utilizes a modified Model X chassis that is capable of transporting up to 16 passengers with both sitting and standing room. Provided that The Boring Company could complete the transport tunnel without delays, test runs in the system could begin as early as November 2020, according to the project’s public contract.

In its vote on Wednesday, the LVCA granted a $48.6 million contract to the tunneling startup, though the total project is estimated to cost around $52.5 million. Two-thirds of the total funding for the project will not be released to the tunneling startup until the transport tunnel is complete. Previous reports also hinted that if the Boring Company is unable to receive a certificate of occupancy for the transport tunnel, the LVCA will get back its entire investment.

“Future expansions to augment LVCC Loop can include service extensions to McCarran International Airport, hotels on the Las Vegas Strip, downtown Las Vegas, Las Vegas Stadium, and, in the long term, Los Angeles”
– The Boring Company

Wanna race? pic.twitter.com/zDNpdsdHaM
— The Boring Company (@boringcompany) May 24, 2019

While the Boring Company was able to secure the Las Vegas contract, the tunneling startup’s proposal still met some pushback from two board members of the LVCA. In recent weeks, board members Michele Fiore and Carolyn Goodman argued against the Boring Company’s proposal, citing the startup’s inexperience. The two board members suggested that the LVCA adopt the proposal of Austria-based Doppelmayr Garaventa Group instead, which would create an above-ground transit system that at a projected cost of around $215 million to complete.

Las Vegas Signs Up For Elon Musk’s High Speed Dreams

March 17, 2019 Kat Lee

Convention Center Project gets green light for first phase

It looks as if Elon Musk is inching closer to realizing his express tunnel transit system. Projects are already at various stages of development in Los Angeles and Chicago with Musks’ Boring Company. But, it looks like Las Vegas is all-in on a Musk tunnel transit proposal. It received initial approval Tuesday after the board directors for the LVCVA voted in favor of the project.

The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority have been long looking for an alternative way to transport convention visitors. LVCVA CEO Steve Hill thinks that underground is the way to go. He also called it “innovative” and “an attraction in and of itself”.

High Speed Connection, Free to Attendees

The tunnel will initially be approximately one mile long, with a focus on moving convention goers to and from the convention halls. The visitors will be rocketed at an estimated 150 mph in Musk’s Model X, Model 3, and a new “High-occupancy AEV” that will use a modified Tesla Model X chassis and will carry up to 16 passengers, with both standing and sitting options. A 15 minute walk will be replaced by a 1 minute ride.

The transport system will be free to convention visitors. If approved by city officials the project should be ready in time for the CES 2021 Technology Show, the largest trade show of the year which attracted over 180,000 visitors in 2019.

Three Design Options are being considered, which will offer convenient access from five potential station locations placed in close proximity to key LVCC destinations and nearby transportation connections.
-The Boring Company

Projected additional destinations are also indicated by The Boring Company:

“Future expansions to augment LVCC Loop can include service extensions to McCarran International Airport, hotels on the Las Vegas Strip, downtown Las Vegas, Las Vegas Stadium, and, in the long term, Los Angeles”
-The Boring Company

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