The UAE’s first high-speed electric sky pod has been tested and — for the first time – tested with passengers seated in the four-seater UCar for a “less than a minute,”, 50-kmph ride across the 400-metre test track at the Sharjah Research, Technology and Innovation Park, a local media report pointed out.
However, the pod developers — uSky Transport and Unitsky String Technologies of Belarus – are looking at taking it to a bigger test track by November, before constructing a permanent commercial line, reported The National.
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Describing this sky pod as the riding system of the future, Oleg Zaretskiy, chief executive of uSky Transport reportedly said that longer tracks — using super-strong string rail technology – would operate at up to 500kph in transporting cargo and passengers between key points across cities.
Noting that prominent UAE developers have expressed interest in this sky pod, he said this alternative transport system offered safety, comfort, and affordability, while construction of the first commercial project would begin soon for launching in the UAE by September 2023.
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The elevated system– designed in Minsk by Dr Anatoli Unitsky, a scientist and member of the Russian Cosmonautics Federation has a cargo version that is capable of delivering 12-metre containers at high speed, while also heavy goods vehicles off the roads and into the sky. Creation of hubs connecting residential or office spaces also was possible by setting up various points across the network of suspended steel cables that featured high-tensile steel wire, he added.