JPods

JPods is a personal rapid transit concept which uses distributed collaborative computer networks to route transit in a manner similar to the data trafficking of the Internet. Developed by JPods LLC, the vehicles consist of ultra-light pods controlled by on-board computers.

Transport Characteristics

In the demonstration JPod, people get in, select a destination on a touch screen and the vehicle navigates to that address.[1] In production models people and/or cargo will set destination and travel non-stop from origin to destination.

System details
  • vehicles weigh approximately 500 pounds (230 kg)[2] with a gross carrying capacity of 1,700 pounds (770 kg)
  • vehicles travel suspended below an overhead guideway that encases the bogies
  • bogies are the mechanisms that propel vehicles and from which the vehicle chassis is suspended. Bogies are composed of generally of motors, controllers, wheels, gearboxes, sensors, and switches.
  • switch control is managed by the vehicle and/or by the network
  • solar powered
  • travel between 30 and 40 miles per hour (48 and 64 km/h)[3]

The computer network is managed in three tiers:

  • devices such as pods, switches, structures
  • negotiators collaborate with devices and load managers to set routes
  • load managers log time-based demand to create a terrain map that allows appropriate routes to be identified and scheduled

References
  1. "Fox 9 News". Fox 9 News. Retrieved 2006-11-15.
  2. "Energy Neutral Transportation". Solarevolution.com. Retrieved 2014-02-16.
  3. "JPod Transportation Concept". Alternative-energy-news.info. 2007-01-04. Retrieved 2014-02-16.


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