VW has been developing a prototype of a Maglev triggered suspended car using ideas from people. VW is German you see, and when it comes to automobiles, the Germans cannot let anything as juicy as this slip through their fingers. Volkswagen has shown interest in this technology, which is not surprising really. But then, NASA, which has always been attracted by futuristic things that seem alien to earth, has taken a keen interest in the technology in collaboration with Unimodal, the company which is responsible for inventing the SkyTran. Magnetic forces keep the vehicle slightly suspended over the tracks and guide the route of the train and trains are able to travel at speeds of over 150mph.Īll of us are.

While trains do not zoom in mid air, there is a slight gap between the tracks and the train. Maglev technology is in contrast to hovercraft technology in which vehicles are cushioned on a bed of air.Magnetic forces are already in the fore and are being used to drive trains. Simple as it sounds, there is tremendous thought and precision required to make this happen. Magnetic levitation, fondly called Maglev, is the method through which a vehicle is suspended in the air by using magnetic force to counter gravitational force which pulls the vehicle towards the ground. The question is how? What is Magnetic Levitation? If something can make cars fly, magnets can. Thanks to our good old magnetic force, this is considered to be one of the strongest forces on earth and the only force which is potent enough to defy gravity. Well, not for the nerds who spend their time pouring over spooky technologies and figuring out ways to make a car stay suspended in air. Soon, you might just be able to park your car right outside the window of your girlfriend’s fifth floor apartment and pick her up for a date – in the skies – how “heavenly” is that! Hovering cars might no longer be only an object of fantasy.

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