Dubai: Hyperloop One, the new mode of transport that is supposed to cut travel time between Dubai and Abu Dhabi is getting closer to reality.
The company who is bringing the technology to the UAE announced on Wednesday that it has just completed the first full scale real-world test run.
“We’re proud to announce the completion of the world’s first successful Hyperloop full systems test,” the transportation start-up said on Twitter.
Introducing the world’s only vehicle that achieves autonomous high-speed propulsion and levitation in a vacuum environment: our pod! pic.twitter.com/f65gD1asu5
— HyperloopOne (@HyperloopOne) July 12, 2017
During the test that lasted a few seconds, the vehicle blast through a track at 70 miles per hour. The speed may still be slow compared to what has been advertised (more than 700 miles per hour), the company said the ground-breaking trial is still considered a milestone.
"The sled shot off down the track, chased by the electromagnetic force from the stator. The wheel mounts rumbled along for a second, and then the rumbling stopped as the pod lifted off the track and glided for three seconds before coming to a halt on its own," wrote Josh Giegel and Shervin Pishevar, co-founders of Hyperloop One in a blog post.
The company completed the first test run in mid-May but only announced it this week. The trial was carried out in a vacuum environment at the company’s test track in Nevada.
“Two minutes after midnight, we finally hit that milestone, the debut of the first new mode of transportation since the Wright Brothers flew over the dunes near Kitty Hawk, N.C., on a chilly morning in December 1903,” wrote Giegel and Pishevar.
“Back then, only a few locals bore witness to the moment. It would be five more years before the public got to see a Wright flyer. We’re not about to wait that long. We’re sharing our Kitty Hawk moment today.
Check out the video to witness the historic moment:
