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Halfgrid Transport Concept Employs Suspended Pods Controlled by Artificial Intelligence

Big cities around the world are overcrowded, that’s no denying that, and most of them face challenges due to a consistent increase in the number of private motor vehicles, like traffic congestion and limited parking spaces.
Halfgrid urban mobility concept 10 photos
Photo: Half Company
Halfgrid urban mobility conceptHalfgrid urban mobility conceptHalfgrid urban mobility conceptHalfgrid urban mobility conceptHalfgrid urban mobility conceptHalfgrid urban mobility conceptHalfgrid urban mobility conceptHalfgrid urban mobility conceptHalfgrid urban mobility concept
These problems can be addressed by developing alternate mobility solutions. Private companies have come up with various experimental solutions to move people and goods around with more ease, including ride sharing, autonomous vehicles, or mobility as a service. However, few of them have come to fruition.

Bulgarian transport design studio Half Company is now proposing a new mobility solution aimed at streamlining city-wide transportation. They have designed a transport network concept that combines cable cars with artificial intelligence.

Their conceptual transport system is called Halfgrid and is based on three principles - human scale, elevation, and the use of artificial intelligence.

What this means is that the Halfgrid transport system will comprise person-sized individual pods - the “smallest units imaginable,” as they call them - which would be able to move around metropolitan areas through suspended cables above the city level. This would avoid adding more pressure to the already congested roads on the ground.

Halfgrid urban mobility concept
Photo: Half Company
Each capsule will accommodate just one person or a pre-defined-sized package, and the individual using it will be able to program it to transport them to their destination. As the system employs static cables, with the individual pods moving along the tensioned steel ropeways, each passenger will be able to travel to a different destination, compared to the traditional cable car system with pre-defined routes.

So how is everything programmed to operate? This is where artificial intelligence comes into play. Passengers will make use of an app to choose a pickup point and a destination. In some regards, it will be similar to how Uber works, except you’ll be moved around in a suspended capsule.

The movement of the capsuled will be controlled by a centralized AI system, while robotic devices would take care of boarding and disembarking procedures.

“The system is light and flexible and can be implemented in most mid to large-size cities. Its backbone is a grid of static cables that forms a new layer in the urban fabric. AI-driven individual pods transport people and goods across the network,” the Half Company explains on its website.

“We envision a light and flexible AI-driven system that will make people less dependent on cars and improve user experience by providing the ability to travel efficiently and comfortably directly from A to B,” they add.

Halfgrid urban mobility concept
Photo: Half Company
The Sofia-based transport design studio’s founders Martin Angelov and Mihail Klenov believe this innovative mobility solution could redefine public transport in cities that suffer from road traffic congestion. Additionally, it has the potential to improve not only the citizens’ travel experience but also the city’s environment as a whole, considering it’s an environmental-friendly solution. The system would also be “practically silent,” so noise pollution won’t be a problem either.

As for the delivery of goods, Halfgrid would work the same way as for transporting people, with the user programming everything through the app. The designers say the system would be perfectly fitted for transporting cargo to small businesses, thus eliminating last-mile delivery issues.

Considering this is just a concept for now, it would be interesting to see a prototype being created and a pilot city testing the Halfgrid out. Finding a partner to help them develop the project further would be the next step in their endeavor.

When asked about the feasibility of their concept, Angelov replied, “We’re makers, so we never try to create things we can’t imagine how to realize. If only a few main lines are developed in a city initially, it would be enough to see if it works well.”

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About the author: Ancuta Iosub
Ancuta Iosub profile photo

After spending a few years as a copy editor, Ancuta decided to put down the eraser and pick up the writer's pencil. Her favorites subjects are unusual car designs, travel trailers and everything related to the great outdoors.
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