“California Hyperloop
Test Track Will Start Construction Soon”
The
Hyperloop is a transportation idea proposed by Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, in
2013. It involves the performance of whisking people between cities in sealed
pods through vacuum tubes at breathtaking speeds. It is said that the first
test track will begin construction in California soon. It is a five-mile test track
and the first of its kind. The goal is to be able to transport passengers at
speeds up to 760 miles per hour.
While this
sounds like an awesome and innovating business model, there are many flaws with
this plan that need to be analyzed. Firstly, it is very costly. Initial reports
estimated the price of the project at $150 million. This is a lot of money for
a startup model. This can hurt the culmination of this plan, as it will be
difficult to acquire such a considerable amount of money just to get this
project started.
Additionally,
there is discussion that this Hyperloop network may not even end up being built
here in the United States. Although it is being tested and developed in the
United States, it is unlikely that the first full network will be built here.
The chief operating officer Bipop Gabrile Gresta stated, “There are other
countries that are in a more advanced discussion phase and they have the
political will, the lack of infrastructure, a high density of population, and
less regulatory problems to make it happen” (Gresta). While this is frustrating
for the United States that another country will end up building the network,
they may save some costs by involving other countries, which is something that
Hyperlook employees will analyze.
Aside from
the regulatory environment around infrastructure, the company has to focus on
the testing in the first place. While it is important to analyze the
infrastructure and logistics, the company needs a working network before a full
Hyperloop can be built. A working Hyperloop and pods need to be invented and
the California test track is being build as a planned sustainable community.
There is
also a Hyperloop Pod Competition. This engages the community in brainstorming
ideas for the different prototypes for the different types of pods. Once the
teams progress past the first stage, a select few will proceed to actually
building prototype pods. The winners will be judged by how fast they can go
through the test track/tube without crashing and then assessed with a rubric
consisting of four different categories. With this engagement, the word will
heavily spread. This will drastically increase the awareness of the Hyperloop,
which will improve the image of the company. Numerous people will now be
thoroughly engaged in the culmination of the Hyperloop and that is crucial in
getting the word out for the company. The more people aware about the
Hyperloop, the better off the company will be in the creation and
implementation of the overall success.
Source: http://www.popsci.com/construction-on-hyperloop-test-track-to-start-soon-in-california
Elon Musk continues to shock the world by continually producing new innovative ideas that will shape the future of our world, such as Tesla, Space X, and the Hyperloop. Hyperloop has the potential to change the transportation industry and propel us further into the future. By creating this type of transportation, it could make our current means of transportation obsolete. My question for this system however, is how the hyperloop will work. Will it be powered by magnetism propelling the pod forwards through the system, or will it be powered by some other force? Also, how safe will these pods be travelling at 760 MPH? What will be used to keep passengers safe while using the Hyperloop?
ReplyDeleteI think that this innovation developed by Musk is undoubtedly amazing and unlike anything ever created before. It seems ideal in theory but unfortunately, theory is not reality. Some concerns I have for the Hyperloop involve safety. When traveling at speeds of up to 760 miles per hour, if something were to go wrong or fails, the passengers would absolutely be seriously injured. Another concern of mine is the sector of the market that would use this service. Since the cost of implementation of the Hyperloop is high, it would only make sense that the cost of use would be high as well. Therefore, since so many people already have ways of transportation and that this process is a safety risk, I am concerned that this product will not be very successful or highly demanded. Finally, the transportation market is currently a huge market in our economy and, like Andrew said, if this product were to be successful it could make our current products obsolete. As a result, what would happen to the current market? Would it be damaged by the introduction of this new product? The Hyperloop initially sounds groundbreaking and something that could change everyday lives, however, some of the concerns that it creates require attention before anything is implemented.
ReplyDelete