HYUNDAI GLOVIS WEBZINE
HYUNDAI GLOVIS WEBZINE

The Answer, Hyperloops, Lies Underground



The Answer, Hyperloops,
Lies Underground

The global community is pushing ahead with road infrastructure development and expansion projects.
However, it’s not enough to catch up with the global sales of cars considering that 80 million units are sold every year.
Traffic jams and congestion, inevitable outcomes of this mismatch, lead to growing inefficiency and higher social costs.
Countries around the globe are undertaking various endeavors to help resolve traffic jam-related issues
including building underground tunnels in the center of cities.
This interesting initiative also gives us a chance to check out what logistics in the metropolitan areas would look like in the future.
Article. Editor’s Office

Reality Brought Forward By Traffic Congestions


Last year, the news about Kobe Bryant, an American basketball star, being killed in a helicopter crash shocked many basketball fans. Although it was determined that the cause of the accident was related to pilot error, the real reason has to do with the chronic road congestion problems in Los Angeles. Because LA is one of the cities in the USA with the worst transportation issues, many celebrities who either live in the city or come to visit have to use helicopters for travel.

We all have experienced the excitement of going on vacation, but then got frustrated and exhausted after getting stuck in traffic, and ended up wasting a huge amount of time on the roads. Traffic congestion problems become less significant when it comes to losing vacation time, but have serious implications for logistics. This is because in logistics, it is time that ultimately decides the logistics costs and quality of service.

According to a study conducted by the Korea Research Institute for Human Settlements (KRIHS) in 2019, a staggering 90% of all cargo in Korea relied on road transportation. In a nutshell, traffic congestion plays a big role in pushing up logistics costs. To help you understand how dramatically logistics costs are rising, the per head number of parcels sent and received by the economically active population per head leaped by more than double from 49 in 2010 to 122 in 2020.

If the aforementioned problem is compounded by traffic congestion, not only does it aggravate drive up logistics costs, but it also leads to more carbon emissions, more accidents caused by trucks, which are the main means of transportation in logistics, and more fatalities as a result.

If Above Ground No Longer Works, It’s Time to Head Underground


However, since we can’t simply keep building and expanding more roads, we have to find an alternative that would help logistics avoid the current traffic congestion. One alternative found is using underground space. Underground roads, if constructed well, have a lot of benefits. For one thing, there is no limit to how deep you want the tunnel to be. And since underground space is not owned by anyone, you can be free from disputes related to compensation on land or ones that may arise from having to modify the construction section or area due to failing to purchase land. In addition, various types of operating systems, equipment, and parts that are applied to the new concept of transportation lead to the introduction of new future technologies and can create a number of new jobs. Moreover, building underground transport systems and eco-friendly spaces or parks that resemble the environment and land above ground can help enhance people's quality of life.

There are a lot of advantages on the transport process side as well. The variables or factors that play a role in determining the time required for shipment can be kept to a minimum as underground transportation is not impacted by road congestion. Neither is bad weather conditions such as heavy rain and snows a problem. A reduction in the number of trucks, which are the biggest source of fatal vehicle accidents, can help reduce the number of people killed in vehicle accidents as well as carbon emissions. At the end of the day, building an underground transportation system is beneficial in terms of the environment, energy, cost-efficiency, and even sophistication of logistics systems.

Elon Musk Held the Key to Solving LA’s Chronic Traffic Congestion Problems


Actually, building underground logistics systems has been under discussion for a long time. The first to pull the trigger was Elon Musk. Confident when he said that he will bring to an end traffic congestion, LA’s chronic problem, Musk and Boring Company which he founded in 2016 finally built the Convention Loop in June this year. Convention Loop, with two underground tunnels built under the Las Vegas Convention Center, has started offering rides to people.

The loop system, around 2.73km long and 3.6m wide with LED lights installed, has over 60 Tesla Model-3 vehicles transporting passengers to the other side of the tunnel within two minutes, compared to 25 minutes on foot. The cars currently travel at 56km per hour, but the plan is to make the speed faster.

Taking this one step further, Boring Company is aiming to build tunnels for freight transportation, which are wider than the existing ones for passengers. The height of the tunnels currently under discussion is 6.4m which is much wider than the existing tunnels' 3.6m. And since 6.4m is high enough for two containers stacked on top of each other to pass through, these underground tunnels are expected to become the new logistics system of loop tunnels going beyond the existing ones only used for passenger transportation.

New Chapter to be Opened by Hyperloop, the Future of Underground Logistics


Hyperloop is underground logistics at its finest. Hyperloop is a vacuum-sealed pod transit system first mentioned by Musk in 2013 that allows passengers to travel based on magnetic levitation, free of air resistance. Musk encouraged others to try inventing the system when he first unveiled the idea. Since then, among a number of American and European companies that embarked on development based on Musk’s plan, Virgin Hyperloop is the one that’s closest to commercialization.

The goal is to use Hyperloop to transport around 20 people at speeds of up to 1,280 km per hour. Well, considering the speed of Hyperloop transportation, the expression “blast off” seems to be a better fit than just “run,” as 1,280km per hour is enough to take you to Busan from Seoul in just approximately 10 minutes. Virgin Hyperloop is garnering much attention because it was the first company in the world to successfully test human travel. The test took place in a desert in Nevada using a test track that was 500m long and a vehicle 5.5m long weighing 2.5 tons. The speed of the vehicle was 172km per hour which was far below the final goal, but this test was meaningful in that it helped guarantee that hyperloops were safe enough for human transport.

Of course, one of the reasons why the Hyperloop system can’t be commercialized easily is because of safety reasons, and also because it is vacuum-sealed, meaning that people can suffer from breathing issues in case of accidents. Also, some of the tasks left to be resolved include developing low-power technologies that allow efficient use of energy, improving the convenience of passengers, and economics.

However, when airplanes were first invented in the early 20th century, no one had ever imagined that aircraft, which were once a high-risk means of transportation, could one day unite the global community into one. Therefore, underground tunnels will serve a means to fundamentally resolve traffic congestion, one of the chronic issues of modern society and help drive innovation of future logistics as long as we keep developing and investing in relevant technologies.

2021.08.01

The global community is pushing ahead with road infrastructure development and expansion projects.
However, it’s not enough to catch up with the global sales of cars considering that 80 million units are sold every year.
Traffic jams and congestion, inevitable outcomes of this mismatch, lead to growing inefficiency and higher social costs.
Countries around the globe are undertaking various endeavors to help resolve traffic jam-related issues
including building underground tunnels in the center of cities.
This interesting initiative also gives us a chance to check out what logistics in the metropolitan areas would look like in the future.
Article. Editor’s Office

Reality Brought Forward By Traffic Congestions

Last year, the news about Kobe Bryant, an American basketball star, being killed in a helicopter crash shocked many basketball fans. Although it was determined that the cause of the accident was related to pilot error, the real reason has to do with the chronic road congestion problems in Los Angeles. Because LA is one of the cities in the USA with the worst transportation issues, many celebrities who either live in the city or come to visit have to use helicopters for travel.

We all have experienced the excitement of going on vacation, but then got frustrated and exhausted after getting stuck in traffic, and ended up wasting a huge amount of time on the roads. Traffic congestion problems become less significant when it comes to losing vacation time, but have serious implications for logistics. This is because in logistics, it is time that ultimately decides the logistics costs and quality of service.

According to a study conducted by the Korea Research Institute for Human Settlements (KRIHS) in 2019, a staggering 90% of all cargo in Korea relied on road transportation. In a nutshell, traffic congestion plays a big role in pushing up logistics costs. To help you understand how dramatically logistics costs are rising, the per head number of parcels sent and received by the economically active population per head leaped by more than double from 49 in 2010 to 122 in 2020.

If the aforementioned problem is compounded by traffic congestion, not only does it aggravate drive up logistics costs, but it also leads to more carbon emissions, more accidents caused by trucks, which are the main means of transportation in logistics, and more fatalities as a result.

If Above Ground No Longer Works, It’s Time to Head Underground

However, since we can’t simply keep building and expanding more roads, we have to find an alternative that would help logistics avoid the current traffic congestion. One alternative found is using underground space. Underground roads, if constructed well, have a lot of benefits. For one thing, there is no limit to how deep you want the tunnel to be. And since underground space is not owned by anyone, you can be free from disputes related to compensation on land or ones that may arise from having to modify the construction section or area due to failing to purchase land. In addition, various types of operating systems, equipment, and parts that are applied to the new concept of transportation lead to the introduction of new future technologies and can create a number of new jobs. Moreover, building underground transport systems and eco-friendly spaces or parks that resemble the environment and land above ground can help enhance people’s quality of life.

There are a lot of advantages on the transport process side as well. The variables or factors that play a role in determining the time required for shipment can be kept to a minimum as underground transportation is not impacted by road congestion. Neither is bad weather conditions such as heavy rain and snows a problem. A reduction in the number of trucks, which are the biggest source of fatal vehicle accidents, can help reduce the number of people killed in vehicle accidents as well as carbon emissions. At the end of the day, building an underground transportation system is beneficial in terms of the environment, energy, cost-efficiency, and even sophistication of logistics systems.

Elon Musk Held the Key to Solving LA’s Chronic Traffic Congestion Problems

Actually, building underground logistics systems has been under discussion for a long time. The first to pull the trigger was Elon Musk. Confident when he said that he will bring to an end traffic congestion, LA’s chronic problem, Musk and Boring Company which he founded in 2016 finally built the Convention Loop in June this year. Convention Loop, with two underground tunnels built under the Las Vegas Convention Center, has started offering rides to people.

The loop system, around 2.73km long and 3.6m wide with LED lights installed, has over 60 Tesla Model-3 vehicles transporting passengers to the other side of the tunnel within two minutes, compared to 25 minutes on foot. The cars currently travel at 56km per hour, but the plan is to make the speed faster.

Taking this one step further, Boring Company is aiming to build tunnels for freight transportation, which are wider than the existing ones for passengers. The height of the tunnels currently under discussion is 6.4m which is much wider than the existing tunnels’ 3.6m. And since 6.4m is high enough for two containers stacked on top of each other to pass through, these underground tunnels are expected to become the new logistics system of loop tunnels going beyond the existing ones only used for passenger transportation.

New Chapter to be Opened by Hyperloop, the Future of Underground Logistics

Hyperloop is underground logistics at its finest. Hyperloop is a vacuum-sealed pod transit system first mentioned by Musk in 2013 that allows passengers to travel based on magnetic levitation, free of air resistance. Musk encouraged others to try inventing the system when he first unveiled the idea. Since then, among a number of American and European companies that embarked on development based on Musk’s plan, Virgin Hyperloop is the one that’s closest to commercialization.

The goal is to use Hyperloop to transport around 20 people at speeds of up to 1,280 km per hour. Well, considering the speed of Hyperloop transportation, the expression “blast off” seems to be a better fit than just “run,” as 1,280km per hour is enough to take you to Busan from Seoul in just approximately 10 minutes. Virgin Hyperloop is garnering much attention because it was the first company in the world to successfully test human travel. The test took place in a desert in Nevada using a test track that was 500m long and a vehicle 5.5m long weighing 2.5 tons. The speed of the vehicle was 172km per hour which was far below the final goal, but this test was meaningful in that it helped guarantee that hyperloops were safe enough for human transport.

Of course, one of the reasons why the Hyperloop system can’t be commercialized easily is because of safety reasons, and also because it is vacuum-sealed, meaning that people can suffer from breathing issues in case of accidents. Also, some of the tasks left to be resolved include developing low-power technologies that allow efficient use of energy, improving the convenience of passengers, and economics.

However, when airplanes were first invented in the early 20th century, no one had ever imagined that aircraft, which were once a high-risk means of transportation, could one day unite the global community into one. Therefore, underground tunnels will serve a means to fundamentally resolve traffic congestion, one of the chronic issues of modern society and help drive innovation of future logistics as long as we keep developing and investing in relevant technologies.