— We recently received an awesome Youtube link of the infamous truck transporting ropeway that’s being used to help construct a $2.35bn hydroelectric power plant in Switzerland. It’s been reported that the cable car systems are capable of transporting a payload of more than 200t! Equally or even more impressive is the fact that the...
For those who love driving, the future looks more and more bleak. Yesterday, Google gave its followers an update on its self-driving vehicles. According to its official blog, their autonomous vehicles have logged over 700,000 miles (1,100,000 kilometres) so far. The video posted below shows some of the incredible advances that have been made which...
In case you haven’t heard by now, Elon Musk — billionaire investor and founder/CEO of Tesla Motors, PayPal and SpaceX — unveiled plans for an ultra-fast, air-cushioned, solar powered transport tube system called the Hyperloop. After reading a couple of articles, I’ve compiled some major stats: Tube Capacity: 28 people Max Speed: 1220km/h Average Speed:...
Guest post by Charlotte Boffetti. Eiffage is a large construction and civil engineering company in France. In 2007 it started a research lab called the “Phosphore” to think about the future of cities. After years of research and development, last April it presented a model called “the city in 2030”. The goal was to develop...
A great thing about researching CPT is that sometimes you never know what you’re going to stumble onto next. Recently, I came across a ropeway manufacturer in India called Conveyor & Ropeway Services where a few years back they announced that they’ve invented a new type of aerial transit called the CURVO Ropeway. Without going into much...
Throughout our time on the Gondola Project, we’ve seen many transport systems install smart glass windows (i.e. Morizo Gondola in Japan and Bukit Panjang LRT in Singapore). However, these systems did not offer users the ability to control when the glass becomes “frosted” nor the amount of “frostiness”. Enter Boeing’s newest aircraft, the 787 Dreamliner. These planes...
One of our readers sends us along a link to probably one of the most interesting and bizarre urban mobility contraptions we’ve ever seen. The Fliz – a pedal-less, seat-less, foot-powered bicycle invented by German designers – has attracted a lot of attention this year. For obvious reasons, it’s been subject to much ridicule and...
Here at the Gondola Project, we often discover really interesting uses of cable technology that is little known or understood. Couple weeks back, we found out about the Hohenwerfen Castle funicular and last year, we learned about the private funicular in the Kriens development in Switzerland. In particular, the Kriens funicular demonstrates how cable can be implemented...
The issue of energy has come up a lot when we talk about urban cable systems — and for a good reason. If cable is going to succeed as the modern, comfortable, city transit technology it claims to be, then such amenities as heating, air conditioning, video screens, wifi, and two-way communication systems are going...
The tower infrastructure associated with cable transit is justifiably maligned. It’s utilitarian and rarely pretty. But it doesn’t have to be. Last year, the Royal Institute of British Architects tackled this very issue through their Pylon Design Competition. Now granted, that competition was specifically targeted towards electricity transmission towers, but the same applies here. (Note,...