Testing of futuristic technology aimed at revolutionizing the transportation sector is currently underway in Nevada, USA. Hyperloop One, a Los-Angeles-based company responsible for developing the technology is working on a technical vision which was provided by Tesla founder and entrepreneur Elon Musk.
Engineers have initiated tests on the innovative and futuristic technology which intends to send passengers and cargo into pods through an intercity system of vacuum tubes. Reports have merged that tests are currently underway and that the company are currently preparing to send a 28-ft-long (8.5 meters long) pod gliding across a set of tracks in a test run in Nevada in the next few weeks.
Musk, who is the founder of rocket maker SpaceX and electric car manufacturer Tesla Motors, said in 2013, that sending pods with passengers through giant vacuum tubes between LA and San Francisco would alleviate the issues such as mobility, urban congestion and pollution. It has been disclosed that Hyperloop One aims to achieve speeds of 250mph (402km/h) in the forthcoming phase of its testing.
In a statement released earlier this week, the firm disclosed the details of its results from testing in May, which also took place in the Nevada desert. Spokeswoman, Marcy Simon said the HyperLoop One sled on wheels for the first time coasted above a track using electromagnetic propulsion and magnetic levitation. Simon said: "It levitated for 5.3 seconds in a vacuum-sealed tube and reached speeds of 70 mph."
Last year, Hyperloop One made headlines across the US when it conducted a test on an open-air track, not in a tube, which was claimed as being key in achieving high speeds. Those who support the project believe the pods can eventually reach speeds of up to 750mph, but those sceptical of the transportation solution which would revolutionize the sector insist it faces real-world challenges ranging from obtaining construction permits to making turns at jet speed.
Hyperloop One has raised $160m in funding and has long touted the technology's potential as a rapid-transit option. "Hyperloop One will move people and things faster than at any other time in the world," Shervin Pishevar, co-founder and executive chairman of Hyperloop One, said in a statement.