(19 May 2016) The train of the future will have spaceships instead of cars that reach one thousand kilometers per hour. It will cover in less than 30 minutes a distance such as the one between Milan and Rome. It seems like a science fiction movie. It is, however, a global engineering effort, of which Italy is a part of and that could soon become reality, especially after the tests conducted in the Nevada desert (USA) that have yielded positive results. Italy, in fact, “boards” the “train” Hyperloop that in a few years will be able to travel at the speed of sound. In particular, the project launched by Elon Musk (founder and CEO of innovative companies like SpaceX and Tesla) passes through Italian start-up: an innovative company based in Pisa, the Ales Tech. It was the only Italian company selected to try their hand in the enterprise and provide, at this preliminary stage, the suspensions capable of ensuring passenger comfort and reducing strong vibrations caused by high speed. The Ales Techa start-up is born from Hyperloop Team Pisa, the group of engineering students at the University of Pisa and Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna who were selected in recent months (the only ones in Italy and among the few in Europe) to participate in “SpaceX Hyperloop Pod competition”, a university race launched globally by Elon Musk, to present the “concept” of “spacecraft”, the element of a current passenger train car with the most advanced design and technology, fundamental in the composition of Hyperloop. The system on which it operates is made from steel tubes on which the spacecrafts, called “Pod”, will move until they reach the speed of sound, environmentally safe, and comfortable. (Red)
