The National Individual Floating Transport Infrastructure (NIFTI) offers both a new perspective on the future of transportation and a number of potential benefits over electric vehicles. The basic principle of NIFTI is magnetic levitation; its key innovation involves the use of the existing road network around which all our daily lives revolve. The road itself will become the engine, while electromagnetic coils embedded under the road surface will levitate and propel the individual module along the street at the precise moment that it passes over these coils.
NIFTI is expected to be far more sustainable than current electric vehicles; it has been estimated that NIFTI will only consume 30‐50% of the power that is required to drive a typical electric car. These modules will also have the potential to reduce congestion and road accidents.
Mobility ecosystem
The study of NIFTI’s feasibility will employ a multidisciplinary approach. Our aim is to bring this radical new form of transportation to the next technology readiness level. The project team will develop a fully working prototype that demonstrates the essential functions of the infrastructure. We will investigate the way in which this invention can be implemented in the mobility ecosystem and carefully examine the environmental impact, especially its potential impact on global resources, and compare this with the impact of electrification. We will estimate the transport capacity, and assess the land use demands and implications. We will also examine the more academic considerations of ethics, decision-making and the societal acceptance of disruptive technologies.
