TxDOT Study Higherway Transport Research Vehicle Design Skyhook ferry system requires special vehicles - Baz carries 1 Pheasant or Quail on elevated guideways Baz 160 km/h, 900 kg gross, 100kg empty, 4.5m x 0.4m x 0.7m In-track part has power, communications, control, steering, switching, propulsion; below track part has vehicle coupling, bumpers, brakes and idler wheels Pheasant carries 2 adults 96 km/h on road, 800 kg gross, 570 kg empty, 4m x 1.2m x m 4-wheel drive (hub motors). Battery power. Safety belts and airbags. Quail carries one driver 88 km/h on road, 750 kg gross, 600 kg empty, 4m x m x m. 1-wheel belt drive. Safety belts and airbag. Small frontal area reduces drag. Retracting wheels reduce drag and chance of dropping dirt clods and icicles. Pheasant and Quail batteries charged while parked, not on guide way, to reduce risk of high power interface to Baz. Numbers above should be considered to be design goals or requirements as no hardware has been built yet. More details at Baz Pheasant Quail

TxDOT Study Higherway Transport Research Infrastructure Design Suspended monorail - track encloses power bar and running surfaces. Y-section tracks accommodate in-vehicle switching Arterials have acceleration tracks to enable constant 160 km/h speed on through tracks Little effect on present infrastructure because of small size and elevated guideways, relatively low power vehicles. Utility duct can carry power and communication cables, lightweight utilities safe from weather, reduce visual clutter Same guideway carries captive passenger vehicles; same carriers (Baz) carry cargo (Owl) and wheelchair (Pelican) pods Guideway footprint 1 sq. m every 22m, skyprint 2m for two-track arterial. Stop/landing footprint 56m x 8m for 4m vertical clearance. 1-ton gross vehicle weight limit accommodates 0.6-ton cargos, 2- passenger dualmode vehicles Factory-built track sections, cross arms, support poles. Foundations like those for traffic signal light poles. Supporting Document/Reports See way.html, and way.html Preliminary design subject to change - there is no hardware yet

TxDOT Study Higherway Transport Research Control System Strategy Make enough profit to pay for needed expansion of grid network to limit congestion Congestion may be at entry to mate with Bazs at landings. Limited number of Bazs will keep congestion off elevated guide ways Placement of landings at ground-level PAT stops in large parking lots in suburbs will help keep congestion off streets. Drivers control Pheasants and Quails on streets. Bazs are automated, including mate/demate. Three control levels - Baz vehicle computers, local traffic control computers, central routing and billing computer Pre-programmed default destinations save drivers’ time Not tested by Higherway - PAT control systems have been simulated and tested in model and full-scale demonstrations (Aerospace, Cabintaxi, Morgantown PRT, PRT 2000) Supporting Document/Reports Fundamentals of Personal Rapid Transit by Irving et.al. Transit System Theory by Anderson

TxDOT Study Higherway Transport Research Power / Energy Strategy Guideway power comes from local power grid with strategically placed backup generators for power failures Peak guideway loads during commuter rush hours, minimum at night when Bazs carry Owl cargo pods. Peak battery recharge loads for Pheasants and Quails mid day when parked, night when parked. Baz picks up unregulated VDC from powerbar in track. Power return through track. No range limit on guideway, Pheasant & Quail off-guideway range limited by battery technology, owners' needs and preferences. Low aerodynamic drag, low weight, non-stop on guide way reduce energy needs Supporting Document/Reports Commuter Cars Tango Corbin Sparrow

TxDOT Study Higherway Transport Research Check-in / Check-out Strategy Pheasant and Quail have vehicle sensors and computer to verify vehicle is ready to mate to Baz. If mating to Baz fails or it is rejected for other reasons; the driver must exit the landing Operational control transfers from dualmode vehicle to Baz on landing ramp when wheels retract Baz has in-vehicle switches for merge/diverge on guideway. Drivers control Pheasants and Quails on ground. Landing throughput is too low to cause congestion at exits, but is likely to cause queues at entrances (off guideway). Supporting Document/Reports

TxDOT Study Higherway Transport Research Cost / Benefits Guideway cost goal $1 million per lane-km for manufacturing and construction Track through-put capacity – 3600 vehicles per hour, 5000 people per hour, or 2000 tons freight per hour (freight not dualmode) Landing throughput 120 vehicles/hour 160 km/h arterial speed with 1/2 s headway Prefer infrastructure financed like present gas, power, communications utilities Pheasants and Quails owned by users and rental companies, Bazs owned by PAT system company/agency Vehicle costs expected to be similar to present battery powered cars when produced in sufficient quantity Users will like system due to time and fuel savings Preliminary estimates - no hardware yet See

TxDOT Study Higherway Transport Research Development Status $50 million to $1 billion to reach technology maturity (estimate dependent on size of development organizations, location, definition of maturity) In preliminary design and technology development stage for last eight years Expertise needed from motor designers, civil, electrical, mechanical,control software, safety engineers, entrepreneurs, etc. Nearly all of design is unproven but much is similar to other proven technology. Design of Y-section track sections at left is an example of solving switching problem of suspended monorails Technology being advanced by other programs and competitors could be used to lower development cost - example : sensors and software from DARPA autonomous vehicle challenge. Supporting Document/Reports