Think the
PRT podcar is the pod that will re-invent transportation? Prepare to get those opinions
railed, as the RailPod is on its way to get you where you're going -- and to put all those
striking cabbies out of work. The idea is that unused (or underused) railway lines can be turned into bi-directional traffic routes, with the RailPod using gyros to balance precariously on a single strip of iron, taking up only half the width of the line. Two passengers can ride facing away from each other on this car of the future (presumably to discourage any hanky-panky of the future), whisked away after swiping a credit card and punching in a destination. The Boston-based startup is still in the "please oh please give us money" phase, but hope to have a working prototype ready by the end of the year. Until then you'll have to simply enjoy the video after the break, which you might be surprised to learn was created entirely using computer graphics.
[Via
Mass High Tech]
posted April 6th 2009 7:43AM
Inferior Chinese Knockoff Thread "ivaio" Was Suddenly Disappeared... Tsk.. Tsk... Darren Murph, R U here??? LOL...
FailPod
Sorry. Had to.
Apple should sue. This is an oversize rip-off of the iPod.
Soooo, it's a self balancing monorail? As soon as two trains pass each other at speed, whoosh, they're both blow over by the compression of air between them. Agree with others, this idea is just bad.
This isn't a good time for that phase.
Actually, a lot of people are looking for innovation right now, and the little guys can move a lot faster than the (failing) big guys. If it creates jobs, it's a good thing.
No way those are computer graphics! It looks so real! LOL
Apparently so! I must admit I was amazed myself. We have come a long way since Luxo Jr. With a presentation like that I am sure they will raise the money :D
I believe it's done by the same company that did the Wolverine workprint.
"Is THIS real life?......I can't see anything"
"Hah, you think those are photorealistic, you should see what my PS3 can do!!"
I hate Sony fanboys.
I hear those things are awfully loud.Is there a chance the track could bend?
Not on your life, my Hindu friend.
monorail.............
..........monorail
....MONORAIL!!!!!!!!
Mono... D'oh!
Best.....Thread....ever.....
yes, best thread evar, is full of lulz
No hanky panky of the future? I don't even get any of the hanky panky of today...
I am so unwhelmed... but then it takes quite a bit to undewhelm me!
I need more information - more data - (do not disassemble).
I honestly am responsible for funding new projects that push the envelope of current technology and I would love to see the mimeographed business plan for this little puppy...
It takes me way back...
Cheers, M8ts...
I'm not at all underwhelmed. I'm actually fully whelmed.
I bet Apple will sue them for using the word "Pod"... lol
Wow, those graphics really give Crysis a run for its money!
Thanks for the heads up, Tim. I would've thought it was already being used.
The idea of using an existing infrastructure is a good one. But the fact the video shows stations, or at least drop off points, means that there is investment needed to finalise the infrastructure. As this is intended for disused railway lines, is it really going to take off when (in my experience) disused railway lines are not near business districts.
On the other hand maybe there are a fair number of inner city railway lines that would benefit from two way traffic.
Except for the problem with it making no sense whatsoever. 2 people per car isn’t efficient at all. Using stations - how much back-up would be involved? The center tracks wouldn't touch the stations themselves...so we have an unloading problem unless we make very complex switches all over the place to get them to outside tracks. There would have to be a lot of switching going on. What I'm getting at is that this idea is a joke.
What an iPod knockoff! It uses multiple colors and the glass reflects like shit! AND it uses "Pod" in it's name!
[/sarcasm for those unaware]
I was looking for a reality-resque like look at how the railpod works which supposely reflects it's real world use, and realised everyone was speaking in a sarcastic manner.
=(
So this is like the Segway for rails?
What benefit does this have over real rail transit? None I can see.
on-demand rail transport for one. These small pods could run much more regularly (no 59-minute wait when you miss the train by 1 minute on a sunday afternoon...damn you GO transit). They could theoretically stop and start much more quickly because of their low mass (better postive and negative acceleration), so you can have more stop locations along a line without slowing down over-all traffic (get off the train closer to your destination). Combine that last one with the fact that there are only one or two people in a train and suddenly you don't have to stop at every station unless one person is getting out or an empty seat has to be filled.
I guess the big question is how would this transit system play out in terms of efficiency vs. a typical rail network? Hard to say since rail networks tend to run well below capacity during off-peak hours, but these little railpod things would probably be much less efficient during peak hours.
I'd say a big question is 'how fast do they go?'
man I thought I was gonna be treated to a half decent computer generated vid. man was I let down. that sucked.
...mono........
..d'oh!
I think that is a really cool idea. I've been following PRT news for quite a while, but something like this would take advantage of existing and a lot of more.
something like this would take advantage of existing and a lot of the time unused infrastructure. I can see some pretty big hurdles for it though, but I think it's an idea worth developing.
One word: Switches.
This thing can't go over them if it has a double-flanged(pulley) wheel as it has to to stay on the single rail.
First, look at this: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/da/Railway_turnout_-_Oulu_Finland.jpg
And then look at the switch FROG in the center of it: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Cast_frog.jpg
There would have to be some SERIOUS infrastructure changes to accommodate these stupid little things.
Good call. I wonder if all the world's old rail tracks only accomodate a single-flange design.
This project still needs a lot of $$$ all the same.
99% or more of the world's rail only works with single flange, two rail vehicles.
There's a reason why monorails are so expensive to build...
How many switches are there really compared to the miles and miles of track, sure it would need some work but it's not like there's a switch every ten meters.
Sounds like a dirty porno... "Come here, enter the Rail Pod!!"
because when I think of mass transportation on rail lines, I think of pods on rails.
LOL wow, they asked some kid at an animation school to make this for them for an internship. This video is exactly what an animatix would look like when first animating a film. Cheap, unrendered, and low poly count! That means there should be a full blown rendered version coming! At least they didn't give us a flip page story board.
But how much music can it hold?
hah!
Ummm... has anyone else noticed that the "unused" track in the video splits off into a third rail for no reason? Maybe poor engineering is why this went unused for conventional trains.
I can't wait to be sitting at the railroad crossing in my care with the gates down while RailPod after RailPod passes by.
love it
Didn't I see Tom Cruise jumping on these things in Minority Report?