Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1308523
OPINION 12.11.2020 S ounds like the stuff of science fiction but the technology is already available today. At the moment, it's undergoing heavy testing somewhere in the massive Ne- vada desert north of Lass Vegas. But for the first time, this new means of transport carried two humans from one place to an- other at blazing speeds. is technology is the brain- child of the tech-magnate Elon Musk (founder of Tesla and SpaceX) and is known as the Hyperloop. e Hyperloop is a sort of train which runs through a system of tubes having low air pressure. Since these tubes have virtually no air inside them, the pods travel free of air resistance or friction, thus allowing them to reach hyper- sonic speeds (more than five times the speed of sound). To increase the speed further, the pods float, using a form of magnetic levitation similar to the bullet trains found in Ja- pan. is combination of tech- nologies gives an incredible boost in speed. To help you understand the difference; the fastest train in the world reaches speeds of 431 km/hr, a commercial aero- plane typically flies at 926 km/ hr, whereas the Hyperloop can reach speeds of 1,223 km/hr. So travelling between Valletta and Gozo will effectively take one and a half minute. But this is not the only inno- vation we'll experience in the coming years. Self-driving cars will revolu- tionise the way we travel short distances. Let's think about cars for a second. ey are ex- pensive machines, used only around 8% of the day. So most of the time, they are parked somewhere and subject to the natural elements. eir value is continuously decreasing, and ownership in- volves other expenses such as running costs, servicing costs or accidents. Driving a car can be frustrat- ing at times, and the vehicle generally serves one purpose (i.e. a family car has a different function than a truck). Self-driving cars will practi- cally solve all of these issues. A commuter doesn't need to own a car anymore. When he re- quires a vehicle, he summons it, and it arrives behind his door in no time. T he type of car depends on the application too, if he's going for work, a small car might be enough, but if he has to carry some heavy furniture, a van will arrive. e stress associated with driving will disappear, and the commuting time can change into work or leisure time since people won't be driving an- ymore. Let's not forget that inside of the car will change too. People do not need to face forward either (unless they feel nauseous) and cars can be- come small meeting rooms on the go with a meeting table in the middle. When the vehicle arrives at its destination, it drops the passengers and proceeds to collect the next customer. Cars will not need to park or seek parking, and passengers dis- embark precisely at their des- tination. Parents do not need to chauffeur their kids anymore, spending endless hours travel- ling between a football match and private lessons. ey can schedule a self-driving vehicle to take them around. An exciting aspect of these cars is that they are connected vehicles. is term means that they are in constant communi- cation with a centralised Intel- ligent Transportation System (ITS). e scope of the ITS is to monitor the traffic situation in an area and manage it auto- matically using an Artificial In- telligence (AI) system. So if we have traffic in a particular mo- torway, an ITS might decide to speed up the traffic lights in adjacent roads to relieve the accumulating pressure in that motorway. When an accident occurs, the ITS will automatically re- route traffic through alternate destinations. If an emergency vehicle needs to reach a spe- cific location, the ITS will send alerts on the digital displays and synch the traffic lights so that the car passes without stopping. Having an ITS system in place together with connected vehi- cles will make the whole road network much more efficient. Finally, we will also see a sig- nificant surge in micro-mobil- ity. ese devices are relatively small, some of them slightly bigger than a bike or so small that they can fit in a bag. ey can carry one person at a time even though some of them manage to take two— these range from electric scooters, one wheeler, electric skates up to hybrid bicycles. e idea is that these devices serve to transport people be- tween short distances (around 5Kms). eir level of safety is much less than that of a car, but their maximum speed is also severe- ly restricted. Soon, micro-mobility will account for around 60% of all trips (since people rarely travel outside a 5Kms radius). Self-driving cars will handle the remaining trips within a 20Km radius. e person who summons the vehicle can either use it ex- clusively or share it with oth- er people (thus keeping costs low). For longer distances which account to around 15% of all trips, Hyperloops will take us around in no time. e future of transporta- tion is fascinating, and we are now experiencing innovations which will disrupt the way we travel forever. ese modes of transport are not only much more efficient and save us time, but they are predominantly green. With this revolution, we hu- mans are gaining three things: first, the time wasted to com- mute, second, the spaced used for parking and third, a mas- sive reduction in CO 2 emis- sions. Valletta to Gozo in 1.5 minutes Alexiei Dingli Prof Alexiei Dingli is a Professor of AI at the University of Malta and has been conducting research and working in the field of AI for more than two decades, assisting different companies to implement AI solutions. He forms part of the Malta.AI task-force, set up by the Maltese government, aimed at making Malta one of the top AI countries in the world Elon Musk recently tweeted that he has received 'verbal' approval to build a Hyperloop between Washington D.C. and New York. The current rail system takes just under three hours to travel between the two cities, whereas the Hyperloop will take just 30 minutes