Hyperloop floating through the Megacity has become the hallmark of future transportation. (Source: Big Think Edge)

The premise scene of the current Sci-Fi hit series, “Westworld” reveals guests being whisked to the entrance of Westworld, the show’s elaborate theme park. This is carried out in a super-fast magnetic levitation pod, whooshed forward in a blur at the speed of sound. This is in fact, the synthetic cameo of Elon Musk’s actual innovation, the Hyperloop.

Although this backdrop is 2052, evidently far-fetched to the eye, the advent of Hyperloop as we know it is even more materialized in reality than viewers may imagine. This mode of transport is a peek at the bird’s eye view of what’s to come.

The electric vehicle is a major mode of futuristic transportation we are already familiar with. The commercialization of flying cars and drone taxis as well are in the cards. And what is the role of steel in their manifestations?

The Era of Electric SUV with Lightweight Steel

The I.D. Crozz by Volkswagen is an electric-powered cross-over between a coupé and SUV (Source: Volkswagen Newsroom)

The transport of tomorrow we are most accustomed to is the electric car. Some of the major auto industry players such as BMW Group, Volkswagen Group, and Ford Group have formed a Pan-European EV charging network, Ionity to ensure enough charging stations to meet the growing EV units.

Frontrunner Tesla’s most recent electric SUV invention, the Tesla Model X has motivated global competitors to spring up a range of electric SUVs. With the release of Jaguar I-Pace in March and the Hyundai Kona Electric in May along with the anticipated launch of Audi’s E-tron Quattro and Sportback, worldwide carmakers and consumers alike are aware that a new generation of electric SUV and its crossover versions are already in full swing.

Previously, the electric motor was commonly applicable only in compact or subcompact cars due to its limited battery capacity. They weren’t capable of reaching over a certain distance even once fully charged. As follows, lightweighting is inevitable to secure more miles on the road.

The development of battery performance and vehicle lightweighting technologies have enabled the creation of the electric SUV. Primary components of EV are the electric motors and batteries, especially the lithium-ion batteries that power the vehicle using POSCO’s cathode and anode.

An anode is a positively charged electrode in which the current flows into the system. Since last year, POSCO ES MATERIALS has been manufacturing highly-stable anode material, the PG-NCM which is world’s finest in quality. The cathode generates electricity by storing and releasing the lithium contained in the anode. At present, POSCO CHEMTECH is the sole manufacturer of anode materials in the domestic market.

The second solution to car lightweighting for more mileage would be POSCO’s Giga Steel. Giga Steel is a high-intensity steel capable of enduring the weight of 1,500 subcompact cars with a size that is merely 4 inches in width and 6 inches in length. Its intensity is thrice that of an automotive aluminum enabling even thin steel sheets to perform as robust car structure. Accordingly, it is unmatched in resolving both lightweight and stability issues for its lightness and high endurance. Experts predict the increase in demand for ultra-high tensile steel with gigapascal capacity of endurance suitable for advanced safety measures.

Whizzing from New York to Washington DC in 30 Minutes

Hyperloop travels at a supersonic speed of 760 miles per hour faster than that of a commercial airplane. (Source: Inverse)

A quick weekday evening spent with a family member in a US home state after work may just happen. A San Francisco resident can enjoy dinner after work with a friend from college in downtown LA in just 30 minutes. The same amount of time would take for a Dutch in Amsterdam to travel to Paris for a quick photo of the Eiffel Tower. The mode of transportation? None other than the Hyperloop.

It is one of the most innovative technologies in the next generation of transport initially mentioned in 2012 and explicitly open-sourced the following year by the CEO of Tesla Motors and Space X, Elon Musk. A pressurized pod would float through the vacuum tunnel while magnetic levitation enables it to hover above the rail to reduce friction.

Theory suggests the speed of Hyperloop is around 760 mph, considerably faster than that of a regular passenger flight which is 547 to 575 mph. It can transport passengers to neighboring states in the US or to neighboring countries in about half an hour. There is almost zero emission while solving congestion problems in a sustainable and cost-efficient way.

Since its conception, high-tech companies have been chasing after the hyperloop reality around the world. This includes Elon Musk’s Boring Company, business magnate, Richard Branson’s Virgin Hyperloop One, and LA-based Hyperloop Transportation Technologies (HTT), an American research company.

HTT has been constructing one of two test tracks in France, ready to convey the first passenger capsule later this year. It had already signed a 150 km Hyperloop system between Abu Dhabi and Dubai, partly expected to be operational in 2020. This agreement is the foundation to eventually run Hyperloop in between the Emirates and Saudi Arabia. Richard Branson announced earlier this year that he had signed an agreement with India’s Maharashtra State government to build Virgin Hyperloop One connecting the distance reaching up to 150 kilometers between two cities, Mumbai and Pune. We may eventually reap the benefits of the Hyperloop bringing the world closer together.

Most Hyperloop companies are developing tubes or tunnels out of steel from which most of the air has been removed. POSCO is also researching the application of steel designed for the Hyperloop while at its refurbished “Steel Gallery” exhibit at POSCO Center, visitors can experience Hyperloop through an interactive wall to learn about the anticipated performances of steel in the near future.

Beating Ground Traffic on a Drone Taxi

CityAirbus’s Drone Taxi underway (Source: Helicopter Newswire)

The opening scene of “Blade Runner 2049” released in October last year features a flying car whirring across the sky. The Passenger, Blade Runner “K” played by Ryan Gosling wakes up from what is a self-driving vehicle, flying him across his journeys. This premise of flying cars is always that one thing common in Sci-Fi movies, even the older version of Blade Runner which hit theaters back in 1982.

Considering its advantages versus overpopulation and hours idling in traffic, this may come away from the silver screen and into our real lives. No less than 19 companies have pursued the competition in commercializing flying cars.

Last May, Uber has teamed up with NASA, announcing its plans to service aerial taxi services by 2023 in LA, Dallas, and Dubai. Uber has signed an agreement with NASA to plan a new air traffic control software for what could be the beginning of establishing a new aerial smart system enabling advanced and efficient infrastructure from up above. Its’ servicing demonstration video reveals the passenger booking her flight through Uber app. Uber has already invested €20 million in flying taxi service in Paris, France. Its high-profile competitor, the Kitty Hawk project backed by Google founder, Larry Page has released its own version of the flying vehicle commercially available for sale.

Other countries such as Dubai and Japan have adopted their own versions of drone taxi services and is expediting its completion and starting launch by 2020. The Japanese government has partnered up with companies such as Boeing, Airbus, and Japanese Airlines and hopes to launch its prototype to be used to light the Olympic flame during the Games hosted by Tokyo in 2020.

Cars with wings especially require utmost safety and lightweighting even more so than most ground-based cars. POSCO’s ultra-high intensity steel sheet produced with advanced Giga Steel will be unequaled in offering such breakthrough technology.

These examined future transportations require steel as its fundamental material. Steel in itself faces constant evolution, not unlike the advancement of transportation as it is unique for both its strength and lightweight. Keeping its endless possibilities in mind, steel’s significance will be proven further in the newer forms of transportation to come.

Take a look at three of the ways transportation is restructuring itself for faster, more sustainable travel. Some are closer to realization than others, but all of them are changing the way we think about movement. When realized, all of these ideas will have an impact far beyond what we can see now.

The Hyperloop – Fast & Frictionless

An Idea by Elon Musk

In 2013, Elon Musk came up with the idea for the Hyperloop as he grew frustrated with the high-speed rail being developed in California at that time. He called it “both one of the most expensive per mile and one of the slowest in the world.” Musk said, “It would be great to have an alternative to flying or driving, but obviously only if it is actually better than flying or driving.”

He imagined capsules, zooming by at speeds faster than any train or plane, that would allow him to get to San Francisco from LA in 35 minutes. The basic concept was that the capsules would float through partially evacuated steel tubes propelled by fans and electromagnets. Because there would be less friction from air and rails, there could be significant increases in speed and durability, while decreasing reliance on fuel at the same time.

Workers install Hyperloop’s stator blocks at our test and development site in North Las Vegas. (Photo courtesy of Hyperloop One)

Because Musk was so involved transforming the space industry with SpaceX, the auto industry with Tesla, and the energy industry with SolarCity, he did not seem to have much time for Hyperloop. So, he developed a 58-page outline of his ideas and left it to others to develop. And they have.

Hyperloop One Unveils Testing Site

To fulfill this improbable dream, a handful of startups have stepped in – one of them being California-based Hyperloop Technologies. They have been building a test site, called DevLoop, 30 minutes outside of Las Vegas in the Nevada desert that was unveiled last week to the public. According to their press release, DevLoop is a 500-meter full-scale Hyperloop test structure weighing over one million kilograms. The Hyperloop One tube measures 3.3 meters in diameter and they are expected to perform their first full test sometime in the first half of 2017.

Hyperloop unveiled its first test site, the DevLoop on March 7. Later this year, they will run their first test of the Hyperloop. (Photo courtesy of Hyperloop One)

In November, Hyperloop Tech signed an agreement with the Dubai Roads and Transport Authority to evaluate building a Hyperloop between Dubai and Abu Dhabi. When completed, a commute that once took several hours will take just 12 minutes.

All parties involved realize the costs are going to be high. Creating a new form of transportation infrastructure is not simple and building large steel semi-vacuum tubes over ground (or under) is technologically difficult requiring trained engineers and highly skilled workers. To offset this, Hyperloop Tech is focusing some of its energy in attracting industrial freight clients.

The Future of Freight

One of Hyperloop Tech’s Transportation Economists, Dapeng Zhang, recently presented on transformational freight explaining that their “vision at Hyperloop One is to connect cities into mega-regions, and turn metro areas into metro stops. This will inevitably improve the efficiency of freight supply chains. By connecting two distant metros, Hyperloop One creates a geographical cluster which could help reduce inventory costs, promote even more just-in-time strategies, and expand same-day delivery service areas.”

A Hyperloop steel tube awaits entry into the tube processing building, where they are painted and prepped for use. (Photo courtesy of Hyperloop One)

Whether or not this is completely feasible is still up for debate, but it is exciting to see the strides being made in this type of supersonic transportation technology. Other developments such as electric cars, autonomous vehicles, and SkyTran (below) will help us move short distances, but ideas like the Hyperloop are needed to connect the larger metropolitan areas.

SkyTran – Personal Rapid Transit

Apart from the Hyperloop and autonomous driving technology, other personal mobility developments are being made. One of those is SkyTran, a company working to develop a personal rapid transit system that carries people in autonomous pods. Located near Mountain View, California, SkyTran has focused its efforts on relieving congestion in cities by creating a system that rides on an elevated monorail. It is both quick and efficient, and unlike the Hyperloop, it is nearing completion with plans to open in Israel, Nigeria, and France.

This concept image shows a drop-off point for one of SkyTran’s capsules. (Photo courtesy of SkyTran)

Using what is called maglev technology (magnetic levitation), the SkyTran uses electromagnets (similar in concept to the Hyperloop) to propel itself forward (up to 155 mph) while using little to no electricity. SkyTran says that when the pod reaches 10 mph, it can continue to glide and accelerate without any extra power. SkyTran’s CEO says the pods can on the same amount of electricity as two hair dryers.

SkyTran capsules are elevated above the city streets avoiding traffic and giving them the freedom to move at high speeds. (Photo courtesy of SkyTran)

In addition to being highly efficient to operate, SkyTran benefits in its low upfront costs. Unlike the Hyperloop, which requires rather large infrastructure and maintenance costs to ensure proper functionality of the pipe’s vacuum and propulsion system, SkyTran is projected to be a much more economic option. Because the system is set up above the streets, its footprint is small – requiring only an 18-inch steel pole to hold the steel and aluminum capsules.

The company estimates that it will only cost about USD 13 million per mile to build, compared to a subway system that can cost around USD 160 million for the same distance. Because of the low upfront costs, SkyTran believes that malls, hotels, and other private businesses will want to build their own offshoot lines – not only for their customers but because it will be profitable.

POSCO’s Advanced Auto Steel in Future Cars

Autonomous, connected, electric. These are the common buzzwords that come to mind when we think about future trends in personal transportation. At CES earlier this year, seemingly everyone had their own solution to made driving cars more connected and safer, and with less human involvement.

Nissan and BMW unveiled plans to use Microsoft’s personal assistant technology, Cortana, with their cars. Honda became the first major manufacturer to develop an electric concept car specifically designed for ride-sharing. And as for self-driving cars – Nissan announced it would bring autonomous driving support to its Leaf electric car, Hyundai introduced one that would be affordable enough for the masses, and Audi announced a partnership with Nvidia to bring self-driving cars to market by 2020.

At the 2016 North American International Auto Show (NAIAS), POSCO showcased its advanced automotive steel products that are both strong and lightweight, making them uniquely suited for the electric cars of the future.

The weight of POSCO’s advanced auto steel is about 26.4 percent lighter compared to that used in most mid-sized vehicles. But despite being lighter, it received the highest level possible ratings from Europe and North America’s automobile collision evaluation Institute, Euro NCAP and IIHS.

In addition, the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), which measures the amount of CO2 discharged throughout the entire life cycle from material production to recycling, showed that emissions from the internal combustion engine body were 50 percent lower. Electric car emissions were also decreased by about 9 percent.

POSCO’s advanced auto steel is uniquely developed to be lighter and stronger for the cars of the future

The displayed products included the new PosM Steel and hot press forming steel (HPF). PosM Steel is a “dream material” for car manufacturers because it is five times stronger than other steel in terms of machinability while also having an impact absorption of up to 100 kg per mm². While many steelmakers have been developing PosM Steel type steel, it has never been produced on a commercial scale before. In addition, POSCO’s HPF steel is stronger than many other steel alloys making it a good solution for manufacturers looking to improve car safety.

POSCO currently supplies advanced auto steel sheets to car and component manufacturers, including Toyota, Volkswagen, and GM. POSCO has 10 automobile production plants and 24 machining centers around the globe. In addition to providing its World Premium Products, POSCO also provides Solution Marketing services that offer customized technologies developed in-house (such as welding and molding) that are customized to fit a customer’s unique needs depending on the product and manufacturing process.

Innovations in the transportation industry require big ideas, big investments, and new technological advancements. Right now, all of these seem to be coming together for what is expected to be some big changes. If the investors at Hyperloop and SkyTran have their way, pretty soon we will be able to travel across Europe on a Hyperloop, transfer to a SkyTran, and arrive in our hotel in less than an hour.

*Cover photo courtesy of Hyperloop One.