Skip to main content

Elevated mass transit about to get real

Tel Aviv, Israel is about to become the first city to implement the futuristic skyTran system of magnetic levitation (maglev) high-speed personal transit. US company skyTran, headquartered at the NASA Research Park (NRP) in California and Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) have entered into an agreement to construct a skyTran Technology Demonstration System (TDS) on the grounds of IAI's corporate campus. Developed by skyTran CEO, Jerry Sanders, skyTran is a high-speed, elevated, levitating, energy-ef
June 27, 2014 Read time: 2 mins
Tel Aviv, Israel is about to become the first city to implement the futuristic skyTran system of magnetic levitation (maglev) high-speed personal transit.

US company skyTran, headquartered at the NASA Research Park (NRP) in California and Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) have entered into an agreement to construct a skyTran Technology Demonstration System (TDS) on the grounds of IAI's corporate campus.

Developed by skyTran CEO, Jerry Sanders, skyTran is a high-speed, elevated, levitating, energy-efficient transportation system. The skyTran system is a network of computer-controlled, two-person ‘jet-like’ vehicles employing state-of-the-art passive maglev technology. According to skyTran the system will transport passengers in a fast, safe, green and economical manner.

The TDS will incorporate skyTran’s salient features. It will provide a platform for skyTran vehicles to travel at high speeds, with full payloads while levitating. The TDS will enable testing, refinement, and validation of skyTran’s technology in a controlled environment.

The TDS will be followed by deployment of the first commercial skyTran system in Tel Aviv, Israel. Other projects worldwide are pending TDS completion.

Jerry Sanders remarked, “The support afforded by IAI is a breakthrough for skyTran. IAI, as a world class designer of aircraft and avionics, is the perfect partner to take skyTran from concept to construct."

IAI’s Yossi Melamed declared, “We are proud to be part of this exciting moment in transportation history and to host the first SkyTran system in our grounds. The TDS will incorporate IAI’s advanced capabilities in the areas of engineering, robotics, and control.”

Related Content

  • Nervous about AV travel? You’ll get the Gist
    February 4, 2025
    Help is on the way for those anxious folk who will accept rides from automated vehicles but may feel uncomfortable doing so, reports David Arminas
  • Mixed results for public-private traffic management partnerships
    January 25, 2012
    David Crawford looks at the somewhat patchy success to date of trying to involve the private sector in operating traffic management centres
  • Sirit to provide tolling technology to WSDOT
    January 26, 2012
    Sirit Corporation, a Federal Signal company and a global provider of radio frequency identification (RFID) technology, has been awarded a contract by Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) to supply its industry leading IDentity 5200 readers and tags for the SR 520 bridge in Seattle, as well as the existing SR 167 HOT lanes. The initial contract is valued at approximately US$2.8 million.
  • Debating the future development of ANPR
    July 31, 2012
    What future is there for automatic number plate recognition? Will it be supplanted by electronic vehicle identification, or will continuing development maintain the technology's relevance? In recent years, digitisation and IP-based communication networks have allowed Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) to achieve ever-greater utility and a commensurate increase in deployments. But where does the technology go next - indeed, does it have a future in the face of the increasing use of, for instance, Dedi