The job of the designer – in architecture or industrial design – calls for long-range vision. But not even BIG-Bjarke Ingels Group and Kilo Design, known for their intuition and talent, would ever have imagined going this far beyond the usual boundaries. They are the ‘accomplices,’ together with the company Virgin Hyperloop, in a mobility system that will revolutionize our ways of living, working and traveling. All thanks to the use of a technology (Hyperloop) for high-speed transport inside low-pressure tubes, in which capsules are driven by linear induction motors and air compressors.
This is Pegasus, a new type of vehicle tested in the desert of Nevada, at the company’s DevLoop site, for the first time with two passengers on board, after more than 400 trials without people in the capsule. A length of 500 meters (that of the test track) at a speed of 120 km/h, covered in 15 seconds and supervised by ISA (Independent Safety Assessment).
Hyperloop aims to reach a speed of over 1000 km/h, with a model capable of transporting up to 28 passengers.
The testing with an interior of 6 sqm built to measure bears witness to the real possibility of moving in total safety and comfort across a country, or even a continent, as if you were using a normal metro system. The system has the potential to cover the entire globe, moving worldwide travel in a more sustainable direction.
BIG & Virgin Hyperloop, Pegasus. Image Courtesy Virgin Hyperloop
Pressurized and designed with magnetic levitation, the capsule is ‘shot’ in a nearly airless tube, meaning that the need for aerodynamic design can give way to elegance, carefully honed inside and outside by BIG and Kilo Design after over one year of close collaboration. The external forms are soft, where the frontal intakes create natural steps for each entry and exit, while the openings on the sides of the fairing and the front door incorporate a window for a view towards the outside.
Inside, the seats and extended armrests have a multiple function, to facilitate boarding and deboarding, and as storage for safety gear, oxygen flow and lighting. The seats can be quickly installed or removed for access to the rear equipment. Everything is designed to reflect the motto suggested by Josh Giegel, co-founder and Chief Technology Officer of Virgin Hyperloop: “We don’t sell cars, boats, trains or planes. We sell time.”
Here the video of the first passenger test:
https://youtu.be/xKvbSboQ5_g
