Client: Magway
Design: MagSurf

Problem:

Magway approached us to design the vehicle that will travel along their revolutionary transport system taking plastic totes carrying goods between distribution centres.

Designed to transport goods only at up to 30mph along modified 0.9m tubes originally designed to carry water, Magway will connect distribution centres to take up to 90% of good lorries off the road, saving CO2, air pollution, road degradation and lives. The system can be built at 200m a day at a cost of £1m per kilometre.

The engineer behind the project is a world-leading expert who worked on Hyperloop to programmed their high voltage linear motors. This project is similar in that it uses the same linear motor propulsion, but without the costs or complications.

Our brief was to design the vehicle to work with both manual and automatic loading systems, cool the linear motors, develop solutions for room temperature, chilled and frozen goods and create something that visually tells the story of a new and revolutionary transport system.

Solution:

We designed the shape of the Module to move cool air over the linear motors and keep the magnets optimised using EPP and moulded panels - the same technology as a bike helmet. This serves to protect the goods carried inside and insulate them from changing temperatures. Lids will be added to create sealed environments to ensure chilled and frozen goods arrive in perfect condition.

A 12m demonstrator is currently being built in Wembley and will be used to field the next round of investment and press enquiries.

Visit Magway for more information.  

3D renders ©Lightfield London