Interactive: What Futuristic Transport Will You See in Your Lifetime?

What Futuristic Transport Will You See in Your Lifetime?

We are on the cusp of a revolution in transportation.

While there are still no flying cars yet, perhaps that is for the better.

Instead, it is the integrated application of ultra-fast processors, high-tech sensors, the sharing economy, battery technology, and deep learning that will revolutionize how automobiles operate.

The impact will be profound: by 2035, 90% of cars are expected to be driverless and electric. Further, even the ownership of cars will likely be a thing of the past.

The Future of Transportation

Today’s interactive piece comes to us from RS Components, and it shows how the technology around transportation will change in our lifetimes.

And it’s not just driverless cars that are taking over.

For example, Hyperloop One and skyTran are two interesting transportation projects that could online in the next 10 years, changing how we move between cities. Originally based off Elon Musk’s famous 2013 whitepaper, the first commercial Hyperloop is expected to allow travellers to move between Dubai and Abu Dhabi in just 12 minutes. For smaller distances, the skyTran will be a new system of monorail that could travel up to 150 mph (240 kph) above existing roads, using very little energy.

Further into the future, the world of transportation will be very different.

If you thought in-flight WiFi is cool, then the future of flight in 2050 will be even more surreal. Airbus predicts that panoramic windows, holographic communications and entertainment hubs, and sonic disruptors will allow people to observe, chat, and be entertained via in-flight experiences without disrupting other passengers.

Around the same time, Japanese corporation Obayashi is planning for its space elevator to be built and operational, stemming directly from the Earth’s equator. Using a 60,000 mi (96,000 km) carbon nanotube cable, a 1,300 ft (400 m) diameter floating Earth Port, and a 12,500 ton counter-weight, it would ship people and objects into space at an extremely low cost.

Such a feat of engineering and technology would revolutionize how we approach space travel.