A Private Personalized Transportation System for you!

Five Minute Quick Photo Tour

INTRODUCTION
Just as the Internet moves information quickly and reliably between any two points, SkyTran, which operates on principles that are an electromechanical equivalent of the Internet, moves people efficiently to wherever they want to go.  SkyTran is an on-demand  system so you never have to wait for a vehicle because they are sitting in line waiting for you.  Once boarded your personal SkyTran vehicle never stops or slows down until you have arrived at your chosen destination. SkyTran moves people safely above all surface traffic at high speed on a three-dimensional grid. 

SkyTran, the Transportation System of the Future, has only recently become possible because of new technological developments in high speed computers, low cost sensors, linear motors, automated controls and especially the latest innovation in Magnetic Levitation (MagLev) called Inductrack.

Our analysis has taught us repeatedly one important principal that we almost find hard to believe:  In order to move large numbers of people all around a city efficiently - you cannot attempt to move them in large groups together at a time.  Current train, light rail and bus technologies are severely limited by this folly!

Click on any picture to see larger view

Description

4 Kb up to 15 Kb		 The SkyTran System: The small, lightweight, SkyTran vehicles will take you non-stop to your destination at a steady 100 MPH on the SkyTran overhead freeway!  A single lane of computer chauffeur driven SkyTrans carries as many commuters per hour as three-lanes of surface freeway automobile traffic with no accidents, traffic jams or speeding violations.

14 Kb up to 63 Kb		 The SkyTran Minimalist Station: In our concept, vehicles must always be available for one's use, in line and waiting at these modular stations. Such an on-demand system means that the long accepted standard concept of a large and expensive, comfortable station for relaxing while waiting for scheduled departure becomes obsolete. This further means that our modular station units can become absolute minimalist structures as shown to the left. This means very low costs.  Most importantly, low costs mean more units can be deployed for a given budget.

As you can see, we plan to use the monorail track support poles (which also supports the weight of all the SkyTran vehicles), to also serve as the station module's primary support structure.  Using the SkyTran track support poles to serve double duty saves costs.   Only in this manner can we create a minimalist structure.

We can place our track support poles along existing streets or into existing sidewalks. One of the goals of the SkyTran invention is to minimize surface land usage and interference with the pedestrians below and all other preexisting surface traffic.

11 Kb up  to 42 Kb		 Using a SkyTran Station:
Maintaining a continuous flow of traffic requires a pair of these modular station units - an unloading station module and a loading station module placed about 100 feet apart as shown in this picture. This will enable us to always have an excess of vehicles on hand in a dwell line.  As one person is exiting at the back of the line another can be boarding up front and immediately be on his way.   This eliminates waiting for one person to exit and get out of the way in order to make room for the next to board. The two events can be happening simultaneously in two different places.

For safety reasons our small personal size vehicles travel up in the air rather than on the surface.  This means that our system does not require the separate roadway that all automobiles, trains, subways and light rail need.

4 Kb up to 21Kb		 The SkyTran Minimalist Vehicle: This view of the SkyTran vehicle shows the close resemblance to a soaring glider cockpit.  Personal sized vehicles that have a minimum of frontal area  combined with very comfortable semi-reclined seating allows us to minimize the energy wasted in pushing the vehicle through the air.  Clean electric powered, non-polluting, SkyTran vehicles will obtain an electrical energy efficiency equivalent of over 200 miles per gallon while traveling along in comfort at a steady 100 miles per hour.

Above art © 1999 Brad T. Bowman/SkyTran Incorporated

SkyTran is Solid State Transportation

EMail Contacts at SkyTran Incorporated:
Douglas J. Malewicki Peter J. Wokwicz Robert M. Cotter
President/Chief Scientist CEO/Treasurer Senior VP of Marketing

Copyright ©1999 Douglas J. Malewicki, SkyTran Incorporated, Irvine, California 92604