ULTra is a battery-driven, 100-mpg-equivalent, elevated personal rapid transit system with many four-person vehicles. First deployment is scheduled for London Heathrow Airport in Spring 2009, to serve Heathrow’s new Terminal 5. Working as circulator transit for office parks, airports, universities, and other major activity centers, ULTra is faster than a car. In these applications, ULTra makes carpooling and conventional transit more effective, by solving the “last mile problem.” http://www.atsltd.co.uk/
Visualization by Nathan Koren, Tony Wooster, Matthew Cross. Music: Andrew Gorny. Voice: Mo McFeely. Higher resolution versions available at: http://www.ultraprt.com/animation.htm
Duration : 0:3:45
September 29th, 2008 at 10:32 pm
I think that PRT’s …
I think that PRT’s should be used on college campuses, in small cities, and in supurban areas. Metro’s and subways should be used in Densly populated regions. And commuter rails in suburban areas too that take you to a metro transfer station.
September 29th, 2008 at 10:32 pm
What we need are …
What we need are these PRT systems in the cities hooked up to larger metro rail systems connecting the cities to the suburbs.
Take metro to the edge of the city, then take this PRT system to work the rest of the way!
September 29th, 2008 at 10:32 pm
I say they wire up …
I say they wire up the whole city and we all ditch our cars. I’d be happy to use these every day.
September 29th, 2008 at 10:32 pm
This is an …
This is an excellent idea but I am not sure if it is truly scalable to a suburban setting. I’ve read about CyberTran which is a similar system but based on a rail so that it does not have similar power issues. This is truly a good idea for an urban setting though. I hope it succeeds.
September 29th, 2008 at 10:32 pm
Well, it’s true …
Well, it’s true that most trips would be about 5 mins, but a 10-mile trip (considering ULTra would average 30mph or less) would require at least 3 minutes of recharging, y/n? And I don’t think HVAC energy is included in these estimates.
Another way would be to use overhead trolley wires.
September 29th, 2008 at 10:32 pm
I hadn’t, so I …
I hadn’t, so I wiki’d him up. Impressive.
September 29th, 2008 at 10:32 pm
The pod idea s …
The pod idea s ingenious, but I’m a family of five, and it’d be a watse of energy to give a pod to one person, thay should have 4 and 6 capacity pods.
September 29th, 2008 at 10:32 pm
Also, there’s …
Also, there’s nothing to stop people from car-pooling when they have the same destination. Actually, they’d be very motivated to do so, because you pay for the vehicle, not for the seat. If four people are all going to the same place and choose to ride with each other, then they effectively get 75% discounts. So during rush hours, I expect that it will be quite common to see 3-4 people in a vehicle, increasing the efficiency even further.
September 29th, 2008 at 10:32 pm
Because families …
Because families don’t like being separated from each other that way. Actually it *is* much better than a car, for two reasons: much lighter weight vehicles (since they operate in a controlled environment), and no intermediate starting-and-stopping during a trip. (It’s the starting and stopping which consumes most energy during a trip.) Between those factors, even with an average occupancy of 1.2, these use about 80% less energy than cars.
September 29th, 2008 at 10:32 pm
Ok, but still I …
Ok, but still I would consider that an enormous waste of capacity. 1 person in a pod for four? Not much better than a car. Why couldn’t you program the pods to make a convoy for the families and have pods for one or two?
September 29th, 2008 at 10:32 pm
Hi, you haven’t …
Hi, you haven’t quite got the concept. The pods aren’t shared with strangers. You go to a station, punch in your destination, get in your own private vehicle, and then go straight there. Nobody else rides with you unless you want them to. Most vehicles will probably only have one or two passengers, but they need to be large enough to accommodate families.
September 29th, 2008 at 10:32 pm
Still, I have my …
Still, I have my doubts. The pods are for four people. What’s it all going to look like? People shouting one over another about who’s going where… I think pods for one or two might be better.
September 29th, 2008 at 10:32 pm
This is very cool! …
This is very cool! It’s great that BAA has the wisdom and foresight to ignore the naysayers and pessimists and actually invest in a system that is a step forward for the world. PRT is a concept long past due. It’s been proven again and again with test tracks, computer models, and prototypes. Now it’s time to get it in place. Once people see how great the Heathrow system is, we will no doubt start seeing bigger systems—which will mean fewer cars and less pollution!
September 29th, 2008 at 10:32 pm
Based on actual …
Based on actual Heathrow costs, ULTra customers will pay $10-15 million per mile of one-way track, depending on complexity of system, number of stations, quality of soil, etc.
September 29th, 2008 at 10:32 pm
cool, but what …
cool, but what about the infrastructure cost?
September 29th, 2008 at 10:32 pm
This was on the ‘ …
This was on the ‘Extremes’ section of Discovery’s DVD series “FUTURECAR”. Exceptional show, I would love to meet Prof. Luigi Colani. Anyone here besides me ever heard of him?
September 29th, 2008 at 10:32 pm
ATS, maker of ULTra …
ATS, maker of ULTra, has plans to incorporate battery charging in the stations. After a 5 minute trip the batteries could be topped off in less than a minute.
Google: lowson battery recharged minute
September 29th, 2008 at 10:32 pm
The only add-on I …
The only add-on I would include in this excellent presentation is a section-view of a single lane of an elevated ULTra track, relative to a single lane of motorway. I would then state that ULTra costs about 1/10th the cost of a normal elevated road for an equivalent capacity. This is a powerful point that will get more people thinking.
September 29th, 2008 at 10:32 pm
ULTra will merge, …
ULTra will merge, over time, with other transport technologies that will eventually provide full-automation dual-mode that also operates on conventional roads. The ULTra system itself will develop for different applications (higher speeds, higher capacity via platooning etc).
ULTra is the beginning of a major transport revolution. ATS has the *right* format.
September 29th, 2008 at 10:32 pm
Finally, someone …
Finally, someone who understands the mathematics of transporting people.
I think I might just visit Heathrow to have a look at it. My only concern would be the battery operated nature, that will limit the scalability to 5-10 miles, fine for small towns and villages but not enough for a large city. (Heathrow is basically a small town)
A large city would need a similar system with power supplied by a rail.
September 29th, 2008 at 10:32 pm
FYI, earlier …
FYI, earlier attempts to utilize PRTs were before their time. In the 1970s a model was established which nearly all PRT systems have adopted since then. ATS started with a clean sheet and have a new approach to PRT which has a wide number of improvements over the older ideas. ATS has also taken advantage of the considerable recent advancements in technology and computing.
September 29th, 2008 at 10:32 pm
Pippicat, can you …
Pippicat, can you cite evidence that cities have rejected PRT on the basis that it is a scam? I am seriously interested in seeing why cities have discovered the scam, but BAA fell for it.
September 29th, 2008 at 10:32 pm
Well, pippicat, …
Well, pippicat, this scam is being built at Heathrow Airport. If it doesn’t work we’ll never hear about it again. However, if it does, u can eat your words.
September 29th, 2008 at 10:32 pm
I doubt tony will …
I doubt tony will ever see this, but dang man this looks great!! I’m still surprised that this song worked! Cheers -Andrew
September 29th, 2008 at 10:32 pm
Great video and …
Great video and sustainable alternative.