Dubai is hosting an international event on September inviting engineers and scientists from across the globe to participate in “Build Earth Live”, a competition for the best designs based on “Hyperloop”.
Hyperloop is an electric propulsion system that carries capsules in a low pressure environment at speeds of 740 mph or 1200 kph on a ground-based system. Dubai is eyeing this system as the base for which to build their new mass transit system in the future.
This new system could theoretically, take people from Dubai to the emirate of Fujairah, which is on the opposite side of the Arabian peninsula, in just 10 minutes. The 102-mile (165 km) journey currently takes more than two hours and experts say the cost of building Hyperloop pipes could ultimately be cheaper than building conventional high speed trains.
“Dubai is hosting this global event as part of the vision of Vice President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, to make the UAE and Dubai a global platform for innovative minds to come together to create futuristic solutions on issues of relevance to humanity,” said Mohammed Al Gergawi, Vice Chairman of the Board of Trustees and Managing Director of Dubai Future Foundation.