Hyperloop E-Book

Bibop Gresta

• Herausgeber: Bruno Editore
• Kategorie: Fachliteratur
• Sprache: Englisch

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2022

Beschreibung

I'll tell you a secret: a revolution has just begun. The world of transport is about to change forever and, with it, the lives of all of us. The invention to which the credit is attributed is called Hyperloop. This is not yet another super-fast train, but a completely new means of transport: the fastest, most efficient, and sustainable that human beings have ever conceived. An airplane without wings or tail, a pressurized capsule that, whizzing a few meters above the ground, will reach 1,223km/h redefining our concept of travel. Reading this short manual will allow you to have a real glimpse of what awaits us; to find out what Hyperloop is, how it works and all the advantages of this new technology that questions every single dynamic of current urban and suburban movement services. Are you ready to get on board?

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
With extensive experience in Venture Capital, finance, mergers and acquisitions, transportation and media, Bibop Gresta is internationally considered an expert in advanced mobility and technologies of the fourth industrial revolution. He has been a member of the board of directors of several UK, Germany and Italy stock listed companies and has led international business development for various global companies. As co-founder of Hyperloop Transportation Technologies (HTT), Gresta led a team of 800 professionals in 40 countries on 6 continents. HTT was the first company to begin developing Hyperloop™ and is the largest company ever built on a collaborative business ecosystem. Under Gresta's leadership, HTT has revolutionized both mobility and traditional business models. In 2018, the World Economic Forum declared him Technology Pioneer. Bibop is today a respected thought leader in ethical entrepreneurship, transhumanism and sustainability. In addition to his entrepreneurial achievements, he is a world-renowned speaker on issues ranging from ethical investing to advanced mobility. Bibop has participated in major events such as the World Economic Forum, the United Nations, TedX, and has appeared in major world media such as CNBC, CNN, Times, Forbes and MTV.

Leseprobe

BIBOP GRESTA

HYPERLOOP

History And Technology Of The 1,223 Km/H Capsule That Will Revolutionise The World Of Transport

Title "HYPERLOOP"

Author Bibop Gresta

Publisher

Bruno Editore - www.brunoeditore.it

Credits

Cover artwork by Augusto "Ace" Silva

Credits Peter Hurley Photography

Website:

www.bibop.com

SYNOPSIS:

I'll tell you a secret: a revolution has just begun. The world of transport is about to change forever and, with it, the lives of all of us. The invention to which the credit is attributed is called Hyperloop. This is not yet another super-fast train, but a completely new means of transport: the fastest, most efficient and sustainable that human beings have ever conceived. An airplane without wings or tail, a pressurized capsule that, whizzing a few meters above the ground, will reach 1,223km/h redefining our concept of travel. Reading this short manual will allow you to have a real glimpse of what awaits us; to find out what Hyperloop is, how it works and all the advantages of this new technology that questions every single dynamic of current urban and suburban movement services. Are you ready to get on board?

BIBOP GRESTA BIO

With extensive experience in Venture Capital, finance, mergers and acquisitions, transportation and media, Bibop Gresta is internationally considered an expert in advanced mobility and technologies of the fourth industrial revolution. He has been a member of the board of directors of several UK, Germany and Italy stock listed companies and has led international business development for various global companies. As co-founder of Hyperloop Transportation Technologies (HTT), Gresta led a team of 800 professionals in 40 countries on 6 continents. HTT was the first company to begin developing Hyperloop™ and is the largest company ever built on a collaborative business ecosystem. Under Gresta's leadership, HTT has revolutionized both mobility and traditional business models. In 2018, the World Economic Forum declared him Technology Pioneer. Bibop is today a respected thought leader in ethical entrepreneurship, transhumanism and sustainability. In addition to his entrepreneurial achievements, he is a world-renowned speaker on issues ranging from ethical investing to advanced mobility. Bibop has participated in major events such as the World Economic Forum, the United Nations, TedX, and has appeared in major world media such as CNBC, CNN, Times, Forbes and MTV.

Title

'HYPERLOOP'

Author

Bibop Gresta

Publisher

Bruno Editore - www.brunoeditore.it

Website:

www.bibop.com

This book is a memoir and is solely for educational and training purposes. It reflects the author's current recollections of experiences over time and does not in any way represent any other person or company's ideas, political or business positions. Some names and characteristics have been changed, some events have been compressed, and some dialogues have been recreated. The author has done his best to ensure that it tells a truthful story. All rights are reserved in accordance with the law. No part of this book may be reproduced by any means without the author's written permission. It is expressly forbidden to pass this book on to others, either in printed or electronic form, either for money or free of charge. The strategies in this book are the result of years of study and specialisation; therefore, there is no guarantee that the same results in personal or professional growth will be achieved. The reader assumes full responsibility for his or her choices, aware of the risks involved in any form of exercise.

Dedication

I dedicate this book to all inventors, entrepreneurs,

artists and to all those who are committed, with their

naivety to advance humanity...

...it is thanks to you that the human race

will survive through the ages.

Bibop Gresta

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank my husband, Juliano Gonçalves Dos Santos, whose love has supported and understood me during this time of great professional evolution. Eu te amo cada dia mais! Melissa Bado, without her, we would still be on the index, and with passion she helped me turn ideas into a real book.

My mother, Anna Maria who, taught me spirituality. My father, Rino who, taught me how to be a leader. My sister Lara, who taught me how to get back up after a fall. My nephew Nico, Diana, Matteo and Lisa, who are my pride. My grandmother Vittoria for teaching me the value of simplicity. My grandfather Nicola who taught me to respect the Earth.

Ugo Dibennardo for wanting Hyperloop in Italy when nobody believed in it. Luca Finardi, for always being there no matter what, you are a pillar in my life. David Michal for being the best lawyer in the world and an exceptional business partner and friend. Paolo Sardi, for supporting me in every way, even when it is difficult, you are a true friend. Roberto and Andrea Minerdo for their tireless work. Manuela Ronchi for being the rockstar of events and digital content. Filippo Abbà for investing when it was not obvious and supporting the project. The Hyperloop Italia team for having followed me on this wonderful adventure. Salvatore Barbera for having given us a hand at the start of the Italian adventure and for being a magnificent person.

The contributors and partners of Hyperloop Italia and HyperloopTT, without you, we would not have achieved these results. Nicoletta Iacobacci for teaching me the value of ethics and the importance of equal opportunities. Lisa Sapora for being my holistic guide. All the Osservatorio Nazionale Tutela Del Mare members for their extraordinary work in safeguarding our beautiful coastline. Giovanna Della Posta for her wise advice on the Italian public administration. Chiara Orlandini for being a fantastic art director. All the biboppers around the world who are still an extraordinary support. Covid19 for going easy on me. The lockdown for forcing me to focus on one country. The vaccines for allowing us to live again.

I also thank all my past, present and future mentors, without you, I would not be who I am today: Elon Musk for being the spark that drove us to make Hyperloop; you are a source of great inspiration; Ken Rutkowski for being there for me when I needed it most; Chris Voss, your advice and guidance taught me the art of negotiation; Al Gore for teaching me the meaning of the word sustainable; Ralph Simon for being an amazing mentor; Hillary Clinton for listening to me and not trying again; Jamie Dimon for helping me with fundraising; His Highness Sheikh Falah Bin Zayed Al Nayhan for supporting me in the UAE and learning Italian; Dr. Bill Dorfman for giving me back my 'billion dollar smile'; Enrico Gasperini for being such a fantastic partner (I miss you so much!).

And also...

HyperloopTT, M.E.T.A.L., Itec, Action Agency, Bruno Editore, Latte Creative, Silaw, WeBuild, Leonardo, Hitachi Rail, Rina, Ferrovie Italiane, Digital Magics, the Osservatorio Nazionale Tutela del Mare and all the companies around the world that are supporting the Hyperloop project.

And above all

Dirk Ahlborn, for starting this wonderful adventure and convincing me to join the team, a decision that changed my life forever.

Thank you also to all the people who gave me a hard time because they taught me perseverance.

Finally, I thank you

who are reading this book

because I hope to share

an extraordinary story

with you.

Index

INTRODUCTION

DEDICATION

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

CHAPTER 1: MY STORY AND THE ORIGINS OF HYPERLOOPTT

THE POWER OF 'NO'

THE REVOLUTION FROM THE CROWD

HYPERLOOP TRANSPORTATION TECHNOLOGIES VS HYPERLOOP TECHNOLOGIES

WHY IS THERE A HYPERLOOP IN TOULOUSE?

THE IMPORTANCE OF KNOWING CUSTOMS AND TRADITIONS

LET THEM KNOW ABOUT YOU BEFORE THEY MEET YOU

HOW HYPERLOOP ITALIA WAS BORN

CHAPTER 2: ONCE UPON A TIME... HYPERLOOP

EVOLUTION AND HISTORY OF TECHNOLOGY

BETWEEN REALITY AND SCIENCE FICTION

CHAPTER 3: WHAT IS HYPERLOOP, AND HOW DOES IT WORK?

ALL THE TECHNOLOGIES BEHIND HYPERLOOP

THE STRUCTURE

THE HYPERDUCT

ENERGY PRODUCTION

THE TUBE

THE KANTROWITZ LIMIT

LEVITATION SYSTEMS

THE PUMPS

THE ISOLATION AND RECOMPRESSION VALVES

THE CAPSULES

THE HYPERPORT SYSTEM

THE HUBS

A NEW APPROACH TO DESIGN

SECURITY

SUSTAINABILITY

PROFITABILITY

SUBMARINE PIPES

CHAPTER 4: THE VARIOUS HYPERLOOPS IN THE WORLD

HYPERLOOP TEST TRACKS AROUND THE WORLD

CONCLUSION: THE ERA OF THE FOURTH INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION

Introduction

Dear readers,

welcome back. For those who do not know me, my name is Bibop Gresta, and I am the co-founder of HyperloopTT and the founder of Hyperloop Italia. I am not a writer then, but an entrepreneur with a story to tell.

It is the story of a set of technologies called 'Hyperloop', as well as my story today and the one that tomorrow will probably be told in schoolbooks under the title: 'The Fourth Industrial Revolution'. It is a great chronicle that still has a long way to go. I will just tell you my version and draw a bit of a line of the achievements to date. The rest I can only leave to posterity.

But let's take a step back. Which of you is satisfied with contemporary modes of transport? Of the long waits in line at the airport or the queue at the ring road? Who trembles with excitement at the idea of spending hours stuck in an uncomfortable seat, simply hoping that time will pass quickly?

If, as I expect, you answered no to the previous questions, it is because it is time for things to change. Fortunately, it is already happening: a new mode of transport has been conceived, designed and tested and is ready to be implemented and change our lives forever.

It is not just a technology but a set of technologies; it is neither a train nor another existing transport system but something totally new. We can only call it 'Hyperloop'.

Put together the notion of a space rocket in the vacuum, the pressurized cabin of an airplane, the shape of a train and the comfort of your car and you might start to get an idea.

In the following chapters, I would like to share with you the adventures that led me to work on this incredible project and how, with the crowd's help, we turned it into reality.

We will dive into the evolution of Hyperloop, from the first experiments made in the early 1800s, to the most recent technical solutions adopted by the various Hyperloop companies worldwide.

Super-powered materials, passive levitation systems, augmented reality windows and capsules that hurtle through the void at almost the speed of sound are just a few incredible technologies that characterize the fifth mode of transport. You, too, are already bewitched by it, aren't you? I realize it may seem like science fiction to you, but I assure you that, sooner than you think, it will all be part of your everyday life.

Reading this short handbook will give you real insight. To discover all the advantages of a new structure that challenges every single dynamic of current urban and suburban transport services, creating the world's fastest and most efficient transport system.

We have dismantled what was there and rebuilt it, creating something innovative, responsible (that does not exploit the planet's limited resources but is self-sustaining thanks to renewable energy sources) and human centric so that every trip becomes a rich and educational experience again.

Through the following pages, you will be able to understand, in a simple and intuitive way, all the complex and mind-blowing technologies behind Hyperloop and the choices that have brought us to where we are today.

I decided to embark on this new venture - writing a book - because it was simply no longer possible to put it off. As you know, humanity is at a crucial crossroads: remain tied to obsolete and unsustainable mechanisms or adopt new, more efficient and responsible ones. (For the uninitiated, I suggest watching some good National Geographic documentaries to start with...).

Therefore, I write because I know that I can play my part in this critical choice, highlighting one of the solutions that can quickly lead us into the organized and sustainable future I am sure we all wish to live. Curious to find out how?

Chapter 1:My story and the origins of HyperloopTT

One Saturday morning several years ago, I was invited as a speaker to a very important event organized by M.E.T.A.L. (Media, Entertainment, Technology & Arts Leaders): a fraternity of world leaders in media, entertainment, technology and the arts. United by their passion for personal growth, intellectual challenges and social transformation, they meet periodically to offer each other support. The event, held weekly in Santa Monica, is a kind of an exclusive gathering that can only be accessed if invited by one of the members; a trendy showcase among the Los Angeles WHO'S WHO.

It was 2013, an extraordinary time in my life because I had just turned forty and after listing my incubator Digital Magics on the stock exchange with great success. I wanted to change my life. After having followed the birth of more than thirty start-ups and having been on the board of a couple of listed companies in Europe, a new inspiration emerged. I had decided that the time had come to follow my American dream: to find an idea that I could dedicate body and soul to and that would make my life richer and happier. I felt it was time: it was now or never.

I chose to be guided by emotion and feelings to 'follow my gut', which led me to move to California.

At first, I thought of settling in San Francisco. Still, within a few months, I realized that there I would be living a life very similar to the one I was escaping from in Milan: waking up at 5 a.m., a coffee 'on the fly' in the kitchen - a bit of running to get active and tone up my physique - then off to the office to work on start-ups. Everything revolved around start-ups.

Phone calls and start-ups, coffee and start-ups, discussions and start-ups, meetings and start-ups and then again, phone calls, coffee, meetings and business dinners are always about start-ups. I even took the start-ups to bed with me.

My days had become a painful loop. Every day I would be stopped by startuppers who recognized me in restaurants and cafes near the North Beach piers and begged me to invest in some of their ideas. They would always start like this: 'Biiibop please: instant pitch... we have a great idea for you'. And they would end with: '... if you give us a couple of million for this project, we will revolutionize the world and do good for humanity'.

I really couldn't take it anymore. Also, if I continued like that, I would have had to invest fourteen million dollars a week to achieve the good of humanity. Nice, for goodness' sake! I would have become the hero who saves mankind and the pride of mum, dad, aunt and grandma. Unfortunately, I did not have an inexhaustible fortune like Elon therefore, the dream of turning into the Superman of entrepreneurs was better locked away in a drawer, perhaps under a boulder of Kryptonite.

After twenty years of living as a super hamster, I needed something new to make sense of my existence. I dreamed of finding an idea that could change the world.

On a morning in late September, I decided to move to the newly born, small community of Los Angeles, later renamed Silicon Beach. For the uninitiated, this is the Westside region of the Los Angeles metropolitan area famous for being home to over 500 technology start-up companies, mostly located on the coastal strip north of LAX, towards the Santa Monica Mountains. More often, the term is applied colloquially in reference to the entire Los Angeles basin area.

To give you an idea of the importance this place has had in the technological development of the last decade, you should know that Snapchat and Tinder were born here; that the region hosts the technology offices of companies such as Google, Yahoo!, YouTube, BuzzFeed, Facebook, Salesforce, AOL, Electronic Arts, Sony, MySpace, Amazon.com, Apple, Inc. and Netflix. Long story short, we are talking about the elite of US-made entrepreneurship.

P.S. as you will discover later, another very important Hyper company also opened in this location... but no spoilers!

Let's go back to the famous day in 2013.

That morning I was a little tense. I had been warned: what I had before me was not an easy audience. Every Saturday at M.E.T.A.L., there were exceptional speakers. In the Venice Beach garage converted into a theatre, the old floor boards creaked under the feet of legends from various hi-tech industries and several Oscar and Emmy winners: Nolan Bushnell had explained why, after founding ATARI, he had had to fire Steve Jobs (apparently he didn't like taking showers and his colleagues had rebelled); Stan Lee had told of his time making photocopies for a small comic book publisher before founding Marvel; John McAfee had confided that he had written viruses, before founding the famous antivirus software company. I consulted my old friend and stage veteran Ken Rutkowski, who, besides being the founder of M.E.T.A.L. and having invited me, was also the event host.

"Be yourself," he instructed me laconically, seeing me nervous, "and don't try to impress them; you will see that everyone will like you."

We had met by chance at a conference in France and Ken had immediately liked my irony, and my speech on the "Power of NO!". So, he had asked me years later, to repeat it at that event.

It was a monologue I had written for one of those conferences where I had been invited to motivate the participants and break the monotony of the other speakers.

The gist was simple: you can achieve your success through the "NOs". The "NOs" are the pillars on which you can build a career and realize your dreams.

Thus, I started from the first 'NO': the one that had marked the beginning of my story. It had been my father's 'NO'; Peremptory, intransigent, almost cruel in retrospect.

I was about nine years old when he bought one of the first computers and an electronic keyboard. He jealously guarded them in his study, in the attic of our house in Sant' Ilario. Yes, you read that right... Sant'Ilario, that village that became famous thanks to the song Bocca di Rosa by the famous Italian singer Fabrizio De André.

Figure 1 - The SEGA console model SC- 3000 - Credits: Wikimedia Commons.

Where were we? Oh yeah… my father bought this magical object and locked it out of my reach. It was one of SEGA's first 8-bit programmable SC-3000 consoles, equipped with 2kBytes of RAM, 16kBytes of VRAM and 32kBytes of ROM. These features made the mighty Commodore VIC 20 paleo-informatics period paleo paleo paleo paleo paleo. To make you understand the comparison with the power of today's computers, one page of this book, without pictures, weighs about 10kByte.

It was enough for him to read the desire in my eyes to admonish me: 'Don't even think about it. The answer is: NO! - he answered me - you are too young! Then I have to work at it and not play with it'.

That was my baptism into the “Sacred University Of NOs.” It was not that I had never received any before, but that one, in particular, had the power to break the magical bubble I had lived in as a child. A rupture that, on the echo of that no, allowed real life to burst into my small existence with all its ferocity.

Clearly, the object in question became my obsession. I had to get to that computer and that damn keyboard! I knew I could convince my 11-year-old sister to help me. She, on several occasions, had already shown her precocious nature as a troublemaker child. Together we devised a plan: we waited for my father and mother to leave for work, we contrived an aluminum ladder to compensate for our childish stature and reach the ladder that would take us to the roof and the attic hatch. We thus circumvented the obstacle of the locked door.

"You go; you're lighter," said the bastard, heedless of the danger I would face by climbing a ladder set askew by two unconscious children (aged 9 and 11) five meters high.

"I've got you!" she added with conviction.

It was certainly not the first attempt at fratricide he had made during our childhood, and it would not be the last. Despite everything, I reached the trapdoor unharmed and then used the bookcase shelves as a ladder to lower myself down, leaning on the books as if they were steps.

As was to be expected, I lost my balance, landing on my father's model train that occupied half the attic. The plastic lamppost near the third interchange was knocked down in front of the terrified gazes of the miniature passengers lined up along the platform of the west station.

The idea of having been the Godzilla of that miniaturized station and having disrupted, in doing so, the lives of the small inhabitants of the enchanted world of my father's model, was my secret reason for complacency in the days that followed.

"I'm in," I shouted enthusiastically.

"We noticed!" replied my sister, referring to the noise I made as I fell.

I had finally managed to gain access to the mysterious computer and keyboard. The fabulous world of such modern technology had magically opened up before my eyes, inexorably sealing my fate. In the months that followed, we discovered, with immense satisfaction, that the key to the bathroom on the first floor was identical to the one in the attic: we no longer even had to risk our lives to gain access to the button room!

A fantastic time followed. My sister lost interest almost immediately; after all, it was now easy to get in, and those codes were no more interesting than my mother's makeup, with which she spent hours smudging her face and nails. So it was that she left me to my own devices. On the other hand, I was under a macumba effect. The Bit Goddess had cast her spell, bewitching me.

My father used to leave magazines full of source code on his desk. After several attempts, I realized that by copying these codes and typing 'RUN' on the keyboard, the computer could display fantastic things: writings, animations, and even small games. My father had connected a cable from the computer to the keyboard of an electric piano, and it didn't take long for me to put the pieces together and realize how it worked. By pressing a key on the keyboard, I could display the corresponding note on the computer, and with a specific code, I could do the opposite and send whole scores to the keyboard.

"I am God!" I thought as I looked at the plasticine trainmaster who winked at me, nodding from the third platform.