Why Celestavia now vs. ten years ago? There is now a convergence of technologies that makes Celestavia possible in a way it simply wasn’t before. For example, computers have dropped in price to the point that artificial-intelligence software is now affordable enough to run many of the functions in the Celestavia system, such as optimizing the use of chassis and cabins, piloted by artificial intelligence — reducing the total project cost by many millions of dollars and eliminating the kinds of accidents and errors human drivers cause. Motor controllers and motors themselves have dropped not only in price but in weight, while quality has increased like never before. New technologies such as high-performance capacitors are now available on the market at reasonable prices, dramatically reducing energy consumption. The cost of exotic materials like fiber has dropped enormously, allowing the use of fiber instead of heavy metals — which Celestavia uses extensively throughout, from the cabins and chassis to the towers and stations. 3D printers now produce better parts at a fraction of the previous cost, including building construction; this lets Celestavia use 3D printing for faster, better construction of stations and other components. Sensors, flat-panel displays, 5G communication, rapid prototyping via new software and 3D printing, and many more — all converge to produce a system that is practical, economical, clean, and safe like never before.
Why Celestavia now in South America? Simply because the founding engineers emigrated from the U.S. and lived for more than twenty years in Ecuador. Over that time, watching the incredible rise in environmentally and health-damaging gas pollution from fuel use, noise pollution, deaths and injuries from accidents, traffic jams, and extreme unnecessary spending in the transportation system, they decided to offer Ecuador and other countries a modern, complete solution that solves all of these problems. In addition, they saw the need for Ecuador to distinguish itself for something beyond just banana and flower exports, so its population would stop emigrating to other countries.
Does Celestavia invent anything new? Yes and no. On one hand, NO — there isn’t a single component in the entire system that is new; every component has existed for years. On the other hand, YES — the Celestavia system is the convergence of a range of technologies never before used together.
Worth noting that autonomous cars, trucks, and buses have already logged more than a billion kilometers on the road.
Is Celestavia a disruptive technology to the current transportation system? As a point of reference, consider a few examples of disruptive technologies: Amazon, Alibaba, Uber, Airbnb, mobile telephony and cellular internet, cable TV, the internet, fiber optics — all excellent examples of highly disruptive technologies. These disruptive technologies, on one hand, give us optimal service like never before, but on the other hand cause a huge shift to the existing technology/service. For example, phone booths and public telephones ceased to exist within very few years. We stopped using the phone-booth system entirely; now we only use cell phones. Even internet cafés are starting to disappear, since we have internet on our phones. In 2018, Amazon surpassed 50% of all national sales in the U.S. — meaning more than 50% of all sales from a population of over 300 million people went to a single company called Amazon; we’re beginning to see this same effect worldwide. Alibaba sold more than $50,000,000,000 through its website in a single day. The Celestavia transportation system, like these companies, is a completely disruptive technology to the current transportation system. For this reason, since Celestavia as a transportation company is unusually profitable, it can and does commit — economically — to helping transport operators, so that this disruption to their income source doesn’t cause irreparable damage the way it has with all these other companies, which showed not the slightest social commitment. At Celestavia we don’t pursue only our own interests and those of investors — we also take into account everyone who will be negatively affected.
Will the fact that Celestavia is such a disruptive technology to the current system cause resistance from transport operators? Yes and no. If transport operators and suppliers aren’t educated about the immense economic, social, and environmental potential Celestavia offers everyone, they may show resistance out of ignorance and fear of losing their income source. But if the transport operator realizes that by investing in Celestavia they can now multiply their income enormously and live a better quality of life, then they won’t just support it — they’ll become promoters of Celestavia technology. Additionally, most people have good values and know well that Celestavia is for everyone’s benefit, including the environment, and to no one’s detriment.
Does the level of automation Celestavia offers seem too futuristic? That isn’t the case. Here’s an example of complementary, similar technology already in use: in a 2016 trial of the Starship system alone, more than 50,000 packages were delivered across a hundred cities and twenty countries. That is the real state of last-mile delivery technology today. In the very near future, you’ll be able to shop online and receive delivery at your door via Celestavia.
What is the convergence of technologies? Today we have a convergence of several technologies that didn’t exist before, along with a cost reduction like never before across a range of components and technologies for rapid design and prototyping, which allows for cost reductions like never before. For example, the quality of electric motors has increased enormously — today’s electric motor isn’t just many times smaller than before, it also has a much longer lifespan than ever; it has electronic sensors for vibration, temperature, and energy consumption to provide real-time information on its mechanical state, so the end user will never face the inconvenience of being in a vehicle that isn’t working, because maintenance on Celestavia is 100% automatic and “preventive” rather than waiting for something to break and then fixing it. Fiber-optic electronic communication network technology together with 5G (fifth-generation) radio communication, combined with thousands of sensors on the towers, chassis, and cabins, lets us monitor tens of thousands of parameters in real time — something that today is very affordable and easy to implement. Some of the computers Celestavia will use cost under $5, something that in the past not only cost thousands of dollars but was the size of a cabin — today it’s only a centimeter in size and weighs only a couple of grams. The power of converging affordable sensor technology with AI-driven computers for scheduling the use of thousands of cabins and chassis is made possible by the exponential cost reduction that has occurred in recent years in everything related to computing and real-time communication at extremely low cost. Artificial intelligence allows for a reduction in the total number of chassis and cabins in the system, which translates into millions of dollars in savings — not just in the number of chassis and cabins, but in total electricity consumption, maintenance, parking, and more. It doesn’t just reduce all these costs — it also ensures cabins are available when needed, saving the passenger time. The fact that an electronic camera connected to the communication network costs only a couple of dollars today lets us monitor and control hundreds of thousands of parameters simultaneously in real time, at an affordable cost. Each chassis contains four propulsion motors, with a long list of sensors, feeding into a computer that electronically controls each motor independently, ensuring ideal movement for each motor and, therefore, that the chassis moves in a controlled, safe way, without human intervention or assistance — ensuring zero accidents. There are many more technologies than can be listed here that converge to make the entire Celestavia system far more economically feasible today, and possible like never before. Among the technologies not mentioned: 3D printing of stations, extensive use of basalt fiber, 3D printing of components in the towers, chassis, cabins, passenger-assistance systems, and package delivery, the design of the entire mechanical system with design software — something that used to be impossible to do — and much more…
Can it carry heavy cargo, like containers? Yes — see: Heavy Cargo for details.
How many cutting-edge technologies converge to make Celestavia possible today vs. a simple cable car? The number of new technologies converging today is remarkable, and they lower every cost of the project — from design to installation to operation and maintenance. Something impossible just twenty years ago.
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Cloud software for task management across all design, installation, and operation.
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Simultaneous document-editing system via the internet.
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Blockchain for the security of all design, operation, and maintenance processes.
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Triple-redundancy system for the control computers.
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Extensive use of Generative Mechanical Design, an artificial intelligence that allows for better structures at lower cost, while also making it easier to print structures on 3D printers, thereby reducing production costs.
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Mechanical design software with 3D simulation, which dramatically speeds up the entire design process, thereby lowering all mechanical design costs.
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Electronic circuit simulation for the controllers, reducing errors and costs.
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3D-printed part prototyping, which makes parts that were previously impossible or very costly, at record speed.
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AI-driven traffic simulation. This allows for a significant reduction in total project cost through full component optimization.
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GIS route mapping using satellite imagery, making it easy to visualize all routes.
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3D lidar scanning of all routes and buildings. This technology ensures everything fits perfectly — towers, stations, cables, etc.
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Basalt and carbon fiber to reduce weight in the chassis, cabins, waste containers, cargo containers, and towers. Basalt weighs 1/9th that of iron.
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3D-printed metal and other production components, at very low cost — something previously impossible.
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High-performance electrical capacitors for electricity regeneration.
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High-performance LiPo batteries, long life and low weight.
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Thanks to electric cars, an enormous reduction in the cost of electric motors.
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Robot-assisted assembly, for lower production costs and improved quality.
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3D-printed buildings and stations with an artistic touch reflecting local themes; lowers costs and increases options.
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Significant reduction in the cost of designing electronic circuits and controllers.
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Significant reduction in the cost of video cameras.
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Significant reduction in the cost of microcontrollers and computers.
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Significant reduction in electronic circuit prototyping via 3D printing.
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AI-driven optimization of all traffic control.
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Artificial intelligence in optimizing the use of chassis and cabins.
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Fiber-optic communication system for real-time monitoring, passenger communication via 5G at every tower, and high-speed internet for all passengers.
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Ultra-low-power 5G mmWave in every cabin and along the entire route, for internal use and for use via cell phones.
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Additionally, for use external to Celestavia in the area surrounding the towers.
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On some towers, sub-6GHz 5G service also operates, for much wider coverage.
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Satellite communication backup system.
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Reservations via website and mobile app, with real-time responses giving exact departure and arrival times, powered by the AI simulator.
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Automated robotic cleaning system.
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Continuous real-time monitoring of ALL mechanical, electrical, and electronic components via 5G mmWave IoT and fiber optics.
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Real-time AI-driven acceleration-moderation controller, which takes the passenger’s physical condition into account for greater comfort — accelerating more slowly or quickly depending on the passenger.
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For greater comfort and safety, monitoring of the passenger’s mental and physical state via cameras, other sensors, and AI-driven control.
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24/7/365 real-time video conferencing with an operator via 5G and fiber optics in every cabin and station.
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GPS-equipped phones, because they’re an integral part of the information, customer-assistance, reservation, and payment system. GPS lets the artificial intelligence know where the upcoming passenger is located — in constant communication with the passenger — providing a personalized service, like a private driver who knows all of the passenger’s needs and schedule.
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Additionally, it allows a video call with customer assistance.
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Flat-panel displays with weather information and other Celestavia system details at every station. Something that used to be prohibitively expensive.
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LED lighting on every tower for the benefit of the whole community. Decorative LED lighting, for beautification.
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Monitoring of seismic movement, temperature, wind, and humidity — for much greater safety and system-use planning.
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360-degree cameras on every tower with fiber-optic communication.
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Sophisticated physical security system in every cabin and station, monitored via artificial intelligence — preventing assault, theft, and crime through AI-driven image recognition. New chips now do this in just a few nanoseconds.
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Voice synthesis and recognition in multiple languages. Although this technology has existed for more than twenty years, its cost has dropped enormously, so every cabin, station, and phone communication makes use of it.
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Voice-over-internet service, for easy worldwide communication.
What sets Celestavia apart from every other form of transportation is the fact that it is suspended above the ground and attached to two enormous static cables that require more than a million pounds of pressure to break. This makes Celestavia immune to the derailment, flooding, wind, snow, and sand problems that affect every other mode of transportation. Add to that a huge array of sensors that monitor weather, temperature, wind, rain, and seismic movement in real time, along with very early fault detection in cables and towers via real-time video and multiple fault-tolerant AI systems. Even the slightest deviation from specification is detected and addressed immediately, long before it can become a problem. For example, if something falls onto the line, it’s detected almost instantly and acted on automatically within a fraction of a second. Because Celestavia’s cabins have many brakes, even a full stop can be achieved in seconds — unlike a train, which takes minutes and derails every car. Celestavia is the convergence of many technologies to guarantee that an accident never happens — something no other mode of transportation offers, not even remotely.
In addition, Celestavia does not use dangerous, unsafe lithium batteries that can catch fire. Celestavia uses a distributed energy system that does not depend on large lithium batteries.
Fault-tolerant multiprocessor computer and sensor system. At Celestavia we use our own fault-tolerant multiprocessor computer. Today, computers rarely fail, but they still do. In a mission-critical system like Celestavia, which uses thousands of computers for real-time traffic management, reservations, simultaneous control of multiple motors, many sensors, and much more, we cannot afford a failure — since a failure could mean not just a complete halt of operations, but could endanger passengers’ lives. That’s why we use a multiprocessor system with multi-redundant circuits, so that if one fails, another takes over in just 10 milliseconds. Every electrical, electronic, and computer system on Celestavia is redundant. While it’s impossible to guarantee a failure will never occur, it is possible to reduce the odds to nearly zero.
In addition, we have no operational remote control, since that is a leading cause of system failures. We use redundant control systems with built-in AI, so there is no single point of failure.
We use many motors with many monitoring and fault-tolerance systems for very early fault detection. For example, we can often tell when a motor is going to fail hundreds or thousands of hours before the failure occurs, allowing extremely early maintenance.
We even have independent, fully automated backup coordination centers. For example, if one center is the victim of a terrorist attack, the next one in line takes over in a fraction of a second — but even if every center were to go offline, each individual cabin has its own AI-driven operating system that safely gets the passenger to the next station.
While the technical details are confidential, rest assured that everything on Celestavia has more than one backup redundancy system. We know our reputation depends on a failure of any kind never occurring.
Is Celestavia proven anywhere in the world? Celestavia is a convergence of technologies proven around the world, but not together, since we are the pioneers in bringing all of these technologies together.
The 100%-proven technologies are trains, buses, and cars. These have already existed for more than a hundred years, and are 100% proven to derail, get destroyed, and kill — isn’t it time to switch to a safe system like Celestavia? On Wikipedia you can read a lengthy year-by-year list, starting from before 1880, of train derailments; no more “proven” technology than trains exists.
To save lives, not cause accidents — 100% safe, fast, and efficient transportation — Celestavia is the new and only solution; there simply is no other option.
Did you know that the distance between two train rails was (and is) based on the space taken up by two horses side by side pulling a cart — nothing scientific… The reason trains derail is because it was a poor invention from day one. The root cause of the thousands of derailments over the past hundred years. Celestavia, by contrast, is built from proven components and the combined hundreds of years of experience of its engineering team. Most of the engineers on Celestavia’s engineering team have a minimum of thirty years of experience designing highly technical, complex systems.