February 04, 2015

Uber of the future: driverless pods?

NASA Space Act company does demo for a cutting-edge ride

By Lane Blackmer
PhillyVoice Contributor

skytran.us/for PhillyVoice

SkyTran CEO Jerry Sanders stands next to the pod

Imagine using your smart phone for a ride — just like using Uber — and having a magnetic, computer-controlled pod on an elevated track pick you up.

That's what SkyTran would do. The NASA Space Act company — which is headquartered in California — will perform its first pilot test on the campus of Israel Aerospace Industries near Tel Aviv, CNN reports.

CEO and Chairman Jerry Sanders said the technology uses a third of the electricity that hybrid cars use and would make transportation more efficient.

"Being stuck in traffic is just the most stress-inducing, soul-crushing part of society today," says Sanders. "We really want to make people's lives better and elevated, high-speed transportation is the answer."

The company's website said that the pods travel between 150 and 200 m.p.h.

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Lane Blackmer
PhillyVoice Contributor