 |
ULTra - driverless automatic taxi
The ULTra, a mass-transit system with automated, driverless taxis, is scheduled to go into operation within a year in the city of Cardiff in the U.K. Unlike most mass transit systems, the ULTra offers a small private car running on tracks(up to four passengers), accessible through a series of stations that are "offline" (do not impede the flow of ULTras in use) and goes straight to the destination set by the user. The acronym stands for Urban Light Transport.
(From ULTra Advanced Transport Systems)
Here are the advantages of the system, as stated on the ULTra Advanced Transport Systems website:
- gives immediate personal travel service for you, your family, friends or colleagues, taking you non-stop anywhere on the network whenever you decide to travel
- provides journeys that are three times quicker than by bus, car or light rail
- costs less to operate than buses, cars, trains or light rail - typically one third the cost of equivalent light rail to install
- uses much less energy per passenger km than buses, cars, trains or light rail
- is environmentally friendly – zero city pollution, quiet and efficient
For more information on the ULTra, see an extended article - Personal Rapid Transit: A Potential New Urban Transport Solution; thanks to Gadget Madness for this story.
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 4/14/2004)
Follow this kind of news @Technovelgy.| Email | RSS | Blog It | Stumble | del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit |
Would
you like to contribute a story tip?
It's easy:
Get the URL of the story, and the related sf author, and add
it here.
Comment/Join discussion ( 9 )
Related News Stories - (" Transportation ")
AutoX Sets Up Asia's Largest Robotaxi Center
'The robot cab seemed to know where it was going and, no doubt, the master machine from which it received its signals knew.' - Robert Heinlein, 1951.
Einride Remote Operator Controls Multiple Vehicles
'...some bored drone pusher in a remote driving centre has got your life - and half a dozen other lives - in his hands.' - Charles Stross, 2007.
Hardt Hyperloop Fast Transit In A Can
'...my method will draw the cars forward by an inductive action that is capable of providing tremendous speeds.' - Harl Vincent, 1929.
Drone Swarm Lifts Truck - Not!
'It was now the season that these Birds were wont to take their flight away...' - Francis Godwin, 1638.
Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Invention Timeline, or see what's New.
Current News
Liftware Level, Google's Smart Spoon
'The result was indeed marvelous... I did not stagger and I did not reel.'
Cute Teddy Bear Robot Favorite Of Hospitalized Children
'...thought had been given to its programming.'
Google Now Expects Chips To Design Themselves
'What lay down there? Energy, tubes and pipes, wiring, transformers, self-contained machinery...'
PRAM Solar Powered Satellite Hardware Tested In Orbit
'Our beams feed these worlds energy drawn from... the Sun'
3D Printed Glass Uses Stereolithography Techniques
'All that with glass...'
Science Fiction Helps Young Readers Build Resiliency
'Reading science fiction and fantasy can help readers make sense of the world.'
I Want My 1928 Telestereo Hologram Now
'Instantly there appeared standing upon the disk, the image of a man...'
Memes Now Come From Neural Nets
'Your order said for him to be able to be able to work out twists on the gags in the file...'
Robot Dog Learns To Be Doggy From Real Dogs
'So we took pictures of Guzub making a Three Planets, and I could construct this one to do it exactly right down to the thousandth of a second.'
Unwanted Cruise Ships Huddle Together Out At Sea
'On the screen they passed in an endless, boundaryless flood of green specks...'
Sono Sion Electric Car Charges As You Drive
'It drew its power from six square yards of sunpower screens on its low curved roof.'
News Mood Filter Web Extension
'He adjusted the n, the r and b knobs, and hopefully anticipated a turn for the better...'
Fetal Lamb Rests In Artificial Womb
'... stewing warm on their cushion of peritoneum and gorged with blood-surrogate and hormones, the foetuses grew and grew...'
MIT Wants To Catch Interstellar Visitors
'INVESTIGATE MYSTERIOUS OBJECT ENTERING NEW CALEDONIA SYSTEM FROM NORMAL SPACE'
AutoX Sets Up Asia's Largest Robotaxi Center
'The robot cab seemed to know where it was going and, no doubt, the master machine from which it received its signals knew.'
E - Ink's Automatic Self Styling Color-Changing Dress
'The racks of gowns itched and quivered, their colors running into blurred pools.'
