Hyperloop is a link between a train and an airplane because its shape resembles a train while its projected speed is similar to that of an aeroplane. It is the most recent approach in the field of passenger and goods transportation proposed by the CEO and owner of Space X, Elon Musk.

Explaination and Detailed Study

The concept of Hyperloop consists of a sealed tube or connection of tubes with low air pressure in which a pod can travel in the absence of friction and air resistance. This was proposed by Elon Musk in 2012. His initial research and planning constituted reduced-pressure tubes in which pressurized capsules travel in air bearings driven by a linear induction motor and axial compressors. This project was open-sourced for individuals and other private ventures. Currently, the Mumbair-Pune corridor is officially researching this concept.  

Theory based on Hyperloop

Hyperloop concept relies largely on the reduction of friction and air resistance which implies that one needs to create a vacuum inside the sealed tube so that fast propagation would take place, but we also know creating a complete vacuum inside a free space is nearly impossible. Hyperloop is a vactrain system with a pressure of 100 pascals.

For the propagation, the shape and size of the pod matters a lot and especially if we are moving inside a tunnel-like tube. According to the original concept put forward by Elon Musk the capsule or pods will float (0.5-1.3 mm) layer of air beneath it.

The pressure to “skis”. Another hyperloop technology involves Maglev. Maglev is a system of train transportation using two sets of magnets. One to push the train off the track and another to pull it forward.

The linear induction motors located along the tube would accelerate and decelerate the capsule to the required speed and this will vary for each section of the tube route. In the earlier hyperloop concept conceptualised by Elon Musk an electric driven fan or inlet fan is attached in front of capsule like the axial compressor in older aeroplanes.

Talking about the shape, the proposed design of the hyperloop is 7ft 4 inches in diameter, and the projected speed of the same is 1220km/hr, maintaining aero-dynamic efficiency, which is much greater than a passanger aeroplane which moves with the highest speed of 930 km/hr.

Constructional Research on Capsules

Hyperloop is built by a new type of carbon fibre composite which is eight times stronger than aluminium and ten times than steel accessories. It is also much less in weight about 1.5 times less heavy than aluminium, this composite is named as “Vibranium” based on the 2018 hollywood movie Black Panther.

The pods will be prepared using two layers of Vibranium one for the inside and other for the outside layers of hyperloop capsule.

Fuel based Research on Hyperloop

Hyperloop is better than air passenger transport and high-speed rails because it rarely produces any noise and is environmental-friendly. No green house gases are released in this process making it a better and more sustainable mode of transport.

The modern-day hyperloops are electric, they are similar to electric cars. With hyperloop, we eliminate sources, like wheels on a track, and we actually have a sound barrier inherent in our tube design. There is no chance of noise and air pollution and thus there are no health adversities.

Cost Estimation and Expenses of Hyperloop

The constructional cost by Hyperloop one was estimated to be somewhere between 19 to 20 billion Euros or 22 billion USD according to 2016, there might be variation in prices today. Also, there will be a variation in expenses as hyperloop will be more expensive than aeroplane, all because of creation of vacuum needs large and expensive machines and the carbon synthesis material is hard to prepare.

Technologies Associated to Hyperloop

There are many technologies associated to hyperloop and works similarly, which includes Swiss Metro, SG Maglev; that has devised a train in Japan which does not need vacuum tubes and run with the speed of 630 km/hr, which is also the fastest train in the world and it is designed using aerodynamic shape. The major challenge in the success of hyperloop is the already running trains with such a high speed. Though Hyperloop is in its development phase, we can witness its speed which is estimated using a partial vacuum model as creating a complete vacuum is a myth until someone makes it possible.

 In 2015 Space-X announced its competition, in which more than 700 teams participated in the event and showcased their innovation of pod designs, material and most importantly safety implications which are still not resolved, because of which many people criticize this very idea of Hyperloop.

Another event took place which also acted as a competition of speed and Technical University of Munich won the contest with a speed of 324-330 km/hr.

But in the third competition which took place in 2018 with proper safety precautions, the Technical University of Munich recreated a record by beating their previous record, this time the highest attained speed was 463 km/hr.

But still problem remained the same Hyperloop is much behind the Shanghai Maglev or SG Maglev.

Countries Initiating Hyperloop Projects

Countries have deep interests in developing this project. Major initiatives have been taken by major superpowers like the USA where this project was first started. Many institutes and private companies are researching on this project in order to finish this project and accomplish the assigned speed of 1220 km/hr, countries like China are researching for trains similar to hyperloop.

While Japan is searching for faster maglev trains using the same technology. Hyperloop project is also attaining speed in Dubai and India.

Hyperloop Transporting Technology will start its human trials in 2020 by completing its pod or capsule development. For now, only a few people can travel using this technology.

India’s Approach and Projects on Hyperloop

India is the only country that is officially pertaining to hyperloop technology for Mumbai-Pune corridors. The Hyperloop project will be based on the ‘Swiss Challenge Method’. This project will be done in association with Virgin Hyperloop One.

Amongst many grounded projects Amaravati via Vijayawada is also one of them it was proposed by Government of Andhra Pradesh and it was done in association with HTT USA.

 The US based company did all the surveys and planned for appropriate capsules and the 700 km was setup by which this loop line could have connected Anantapur, Vijayawada, Amravati, Vizag but all this changed and project stopped after the election and ruling party changed.

Delhi via Mumbai connecting Jaipur and Indore is also amongst the incomplete projects due to lack of interest by the government because of the other ongoing issues. This project was set forward by DGW Hyperloop, Indore. This loop is 1317 km long, and it claims to cover the distance between Mumbai and Delhi in just 80 mins that’s hard to believe but it is true as the company had already done all its trials.

Amritsar via Chandigarh connecting Ludhiana was proposed in August 2019 and is in progress, this project was sanctioned at the cost of Rs 56,000 crore. This project is stopped due to nationwide lockdown. Virgin Hyperloop One which is the most recent HT claims that distance between two cities can be summarised from 5 hours to mere 30 min. This loop was decided to be 232km in length.

Amongst all these projects the best project is Mumbai to Pune project Virgin Hyperloop One was all set with its planning and Devendra Fradnavis then C.M. of Maharashtra initiated this project and this project was assigned to Pune Metropolitan Development Authority, this was made with an initiative to reduce time of travelling from 3 hours to 20 mins. This project was successful as Virgin Hyperloop and DP World together invested $ 500 million, but all this changed when the Devendra Fadnavis government was replaced with the present coalition government led by Uddhav Thackrey.

Why Hyperloop and Future of Pods and Tubes

Hyperloop is better than any other land or track transport because it essentially does not release any harmful gases or chemicals into the environment and by adding little more speed it can become the fastest means of transportation. It may be more expensive than air transport but is safer because there is a specified area designed for its propagation while aeroplane and helicopter are riskier as they fly freely in the open air.

The future of pods indicates to redesigning of the pods so that the desired speed could be attained and tubes need to be aligned at the fixed angle so that there is no chance of accidents.

The hardest and the most dreadful task is to create vacuum so that high speed propagation of capsules can be done, which needs to be rectified.

We will surely witness the advancement in this field in the near future as no one could assure the confirm completion of this project which is seemingly futuristic.

Conclusion

Speed enhancement is the major factor in development of HLTT.

The speed of Hyperloop is increasing slowly and gradually and the breakthrough in the same could be achieved if we are able to achieve the vacuum state where there is no air, but it also poses risk of alignment and directions because slight variation in the same could lead to accidents although magnet protects them from getting out of their way and thus they remain over the track.

In an augmented form development of the hyperloop, it seems like a difficult task, but it is not impossible at the same time.

In short, this development is a revolutionary approach and will add greater value to our present day transportation facilities.

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Within a short period of time, the country rose to be one of the high-income countries in the world. Currently, it comprises 0.42% of the World’s GDP (PPP). There was an exceptional shift from the export of labor-intensive goods like textiles, garments and basic electronics to high-value products like telecommunication, equipment, pharmaceuticals, refined petroleum, electronics, chemicals, etc. Singapore received 14 loans over the period of 1963-1975 from the World Bank and the majority of them was taken for infrastructural development like port expansions, sewage system, power and telecommunications etc. Now having one of the best infrastructures in the world, it has progressed in such way that it contributed US$10 million for the ‘Global Infrastructural Facility’ of World Bank. A loan taker to fund contributors for the same sector is a commendable evolution. Over 80% of Singapore’s residents live in public housing. Manufacturing and service sectors stand as a support system for Singapore’s evolution. 

Now Singapore is ranked NO.1 among 42 countries in the Asia- Pacific region, having the status as the world’s freest economy in 2020 index with an economic freedom score of 89.4. According to the Global Competitiveness Report (GCI 4.0), Singapore is the most competitive economy with the first rank in road quality infrastructure, the efficiency of seaport and airport services, sea transport connectivity, macroeconomic stability, public sector performance, trade openness, labour market and no terrorism incidence. Singapore’s economic policies and strategies mostly focus on long-term investment and growth. One such strategy of Singapore which is futuristic in nature is discussed below.

Smart Nation

The third industrial revolution which is also known as digital revolution came into force with rapid increase in and adoption of computerization. From then, growth of technology is associated with accelerated innovations and inventions. Technology plays a significant role in economic development. While many countries are focusing on their digital future, Singapore is yet another country with its rapid digital transformation. The success of National Computerisation and Growth of the info-communications industry of Singapore stands as a certification for its national digitalization efforts. Taking a step ahead while keeping in mind the future challenges with respect to resource constraints, rising ageing and urban population and to attain the comparative advantage for Singapore, it launched the ‘SMART NATION’ initiative on November 2014 with a vision to provide a fulfilling and meaningful life for their people.

The initiative aims to ‘TRANSFORM SINGAPORE THROUGH TECHNOLOGY’ by providing a convenient and sustainable living for its people with enhanced access to information and opportunities, space for businesses to improve productivity, innovation and growth and finally to have a government that can use the technology to serve its people better. Smart Nation would be a combined effort by people, governments and industries for their prosperous future.

The three pillars of the Singapore’s Smart Nation are:

  The Digital Economy focuses on attracting foreign investment, improving business efficiency and competitiveness along with providing wide opportunities for Singaporeans to stay ahead in the future.

• Digital Government:  The central aim of the future digital government is to create” a government that is digital to the core and serves with the heart.”

By using the technology it focuses to serve its people and business with better opportunities to get a good service experience.

• Digital Society: A complete digital society, in general, should make sure that all the people in that society have access to technology and they are in a position to adopt them with relevant knowledge and The Digital Society of Singapore also aims at digital inclusion.

Smart Nation and Digital Government Group (SNGG) which involves Smart Nation and Digital Government Office (SNGO) along with implementing agency, Government Technology Agency (Gov Tech) is responsible for building a Smart Nation.

According to the Smart Nation and Digital Government Office, the initiative’s ”priority is to harness technology to address national challenges and drive transformation in key domains: health, education, transport, urban solutions and finance.”

• myENV app which provides the current environmental information and updates
• OneService app through which people can report all municipal issues in a common platform
• Smart Towns includes providing intelligent homes that make life easier, comfortable and enjoyable for the people. Example of this is the development of Punggoll town
• Autonomous vehicles which is helpful for the elderly and specially able persons
• On-demand shuttle where operations of transport services would be demand-driven so that resource management can be monitored
• HealthHub which is an online health information and service  portal
• Contactless fare payment for public transport, TeleHealth, Digital Government Services, Data Innovation Program Office, CorpPass for businesses are some of the initiatives which are paving way for the Smart Nation.  

 The Strategic National Projects are notable ones which stand as an enabler for building the Smart Nation. They are,

1. CODEX
2. E-Payments
3. Moments Of Life Initiative
4. National Digital Identity
5. Smart Nation Sensor Platform
6. Smart Urban Mobility

Smart Nation Scholarship: The best resource available in a country would be its young talent pool and a nation which utilises it in a better way will have a greater advantage. Singapore is taking a big step towards future of technologies, in order to achieve this, the country has to appreciate and develop the young brains and this scholarship is one such way to help the pillars of the nation who are going to play an active role in the transformation with technology.

In order to bring the expertise in the area of technology and engineering, they also provide Smart Fellowship so that there would be birth of innovative ideas from different individuals.

Challenges

 According to IMD Smart City Index 2019, the smartest city in the world is Singapore. In 2018 it also won the Smart City Award in the Smart City Expo World Congress. Though the nation travels towards its goal, there are also many challenges ahead on the road. According to the Institute of Policy Studies, in 2017, 55.9% of Singaporeans polled, were optimistic about Smart Nation initiatives and in 2018 it was 53.4% so there is a big responsibility in the hands of the state to retain the people’s confidence on the initiatives and to remove the fear of technological disruption. While many nations are piloting with the smart city initiative, Singapore with its brave efforts has planned it for the whole nation and the main challenge lies in reducing the gap between vision and reality. It must also increase technological accessibilities. Another big tension is about digital security.  Having openness in data availability, the state must be very cautious about cybersecurity problems. We could see the government of Singapore taking various steps to overcome these difficulties. Apart from these, there are some of the problems which are external in nature. The growing economic nationalisation, rise in anti-globalisation and protectionism among the other countries, problems like deforestation in Singapore ( It lost nearly 90% of its forest, since 1980 due to increased land usage)and other technology-related environmental problems, rising concerns on the migrant workers who contributes more to that economy may also have an impact on the result of its initiative. Technology when used in the right manner for the right purpose will be fruitful, if not then may lead to negative repercussions.

Conclusion

Despite these challenges, it is undeniable that the country utilized its best resource- the people. At the initial stage of development itself Singapore made sure to educate and upskill its unskilled labour force with knowledge on information technology, electronics etc. In the last three decades their development expenditure accounted for an average of 1/3^rd of the government expenditure. Singapore ranked 1^st out of 157 countries in the Human Capital Index , According to  that, “ A child born in Singapore today will be 88% as productive when she grows up as she could be if she enjoyed complete education and full health.” Also HCI for girls were greater than boys. Be it past, present or future, Singapore’s focus is on its people- it invests in and for people.  Overcoming the challenges and a complete focus on the goal of Smart Nation without any disruption on the road will lead to success.  

Final note– Technology can be one of the means to a better life and not an end.

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