- Autonomous Rail/Road Transport Vehicle to be Evaluated in California
American startup Glid Technologies announced a partnership with Mendocino Railway to operate their autonomous transport vehicles. The idea of their “GliderM” vehicles is to automate the first and last mile of intermodal transport. The vehicle that looks like a truck can travel both on roads and on tracks. It is supposed to pick up a container autonomously, then move it across streets and railway tracks. It might compete with the autonomous railway cars that Parallel Systems is developing (see my blogpost here).
This idea reminds me of other combined rail/road vehicles, like the “Rail-Road Bus” that the German Railways used in the 1950s. Click here to see some original footage. As the idea is not really new, I wonder what they see as their unique selling proposition. Unfortunately Glid’s company homepage is very low on details of the concept. Hopefully I can do a further evaluation once more information is made available by the company. - Ekranoplans Making a Comeback?
Ekranoplans – or Wing-in-Ground Effect (WIG) – are airplanes that can fly directly above the water surface. The main user of these airplanes was the Red Army, who planned to use them to transport goods and troops quickly to enemy beaches. With the collapse of the Soviet Union, the idea came out of fashion. Now activities in China and the US indicate a comeback could be imminent. China appears to develop a new WIG, the “Bohai Sea Monster”, as Navalnews.com reports. With the ongoing thread of a Chinese invasion of Taiwan, it needs little imagination what the intention is. On the other side of the Pacific Ocean, the American research agency DARPA worked on the Liberty Lifter concept. The goal of this program was to develop a new WIG concept, usable both for Military and civilian scenarios. In contrast to the Chinese efforts, no prototypes are yet in sight. Still it appears the Ekranoplans could populate the World’s waters once more. - Blended Wing Bodies Coming to Civilian Aircraft?
Blended Wing Body aircrafts promise improved efficiency and additional space for seating or cargo. While the original idea is more than 100 years old, its application has so far been largely restricted to military aircraft. The American B2 bomber is the most prominent one. But now two innovative startups want to bring this concept to the civilian sector: JetZero and Natilus. This video by the German platform Airliners.de explains the pros and cons of Blended Wing Bodies in detail and why now seems to be the right time for a comebock of this idea.
Title Image by Glid Technologies.