Dubai to Abu Dhabi in less than 15 minutes? Yes!

Yes, it is possible to travel between Dubai and Abu Dhabi in less than 15 minutes, it was revealed by Peter Diamandis, one of the 21st century's groundbreaking futurists.
Diamandis, founder of the nonprofit X Prize Foundation, explained his concept during the 6th du CEO Forum at the Dubai World Trade Centre on Monday.
Talking to select journalists ahead of the event, he mentioned that it was possible to travel between Dubai and Abu Dhabi in 14.9 minutes through the Hyperloop transportation system.
Hyperloop Technologies is the world's next breakthrough in transportation, engineering unique transportation solutions worldwide for both cargo and passengers. Hyperloop is a transportation system in which a full-length tube is built between destinations, with a controlled environment inside the tube allowing people or cargo to travel at extremely fast speeds.
Full-scale and speed testing will be done next year at a three-to-four kilometre area at a number of locations, he explained. "If the UAE wants, it could be operational before 2020," he added.
Last month, Hyperloop Technologies announced that Rob Lloyd will join the company as CEO. Lloyd is a 20-year networking technology veteran who was most recently president of Cisco Systems. In addition to assuming the top post as CEO, Lloyd is an investor in the company and will join the board of directors.Hyperloop Technologies employs a team of over 50 full-time employees occupying over 55,000sqft at the company's three-acre, three-building campus in the downtown Los Angeles Arts District.
Futuristic projects in UAE
Diamandis is keen to build partnerships for its futuristic projects with the UAE and is also interested to generate funds from the country. Diamandis is an international pioneer in the fields of innovation, incentive competitions and commercial space. Last year, he was named one of "The World's 50 Greatest Leaders" by Fortune Magazine.
In the field of innovation, chairman and CEO of the X Prize Foundation, best known for its $10 million Ansari X Prize for private spaceflight.
"We are talking about building partnership in the UAE for how to use exponential technology," he explained to reporters during a media roundtable on Monday.
Talking about funding of his projects, he said: "Today the major partners are out of California and New York." He hopes to expand it globally and indicated that it is possible to stop in the UAE for the funding requirements.
Diamandis' list of dedicated investors includes Elon Musk, Larry Page, Jeff Bezos, Richard Branson, Bill Clinton, Eric Schmidt, James Cameron and Ray Kurzweil.
He mentioned that there is no place like the UAE on the planet. "The UAE represents a country that is going through more faster than any other place," he explained. He believes there is potential to do great things in the country.
- abdulbasit@khaleejtimes.com 

• Abu Dhabi