The Challenge of Technological Development: case study based on the MagLev-Cobra project for urban transportation.

The steps of technological development, from the very beginning proof of concept until the final use and commercialization, as proposed by NASA´s Technology Readiness Levels, will be the backbone of this presentation. This... [ view full abstract ]

The steps of technological development, from the very beginning proof of concept until the final use and commercialization, as proposed by NASA´s Technology Readiness Levels, will be the backbone of this presentation.

This evolution process will be illustrated with the MagLev-Cobra project, which proposes a magnetically levitated vehicle for urban transportation made with multiple short units, allowing curves of 50 meters radius, ramps of 10% and velocities up to 70km/h. When these short units are connected, the vehicle resembles a ‘snake’ or ‘cobra’ in Portuguese. The levitation technology is based on the repulsion and attraction forces between High Temperature Superconductors (HTS) and Nd-Fe-B permanent magnets. These materials were made available at the end of last century and until today there is no such system in commercial use.

The physical background will be revised. The historical evolution and the geographic positioning of similar projects will be presented. Technical details of the MagLev-Cobra vehicle, the materials and components employed, suppliers and costs will be disclosed. The market niches will be analysed. Issues related to innovation and patents will be addressed. Finally, questions and considerations related to the technical development in Brazil will be proposed to heat the discussion.