Technology
In This Section
Urbanaut® Patents, and Proprietary Information
Urbanaut® and SemiMaglev™ Urbanaut® are international trade names of the Urbanaut® Company Inc, which has been involved in all aspects of monorail technology for more than 10 years. It is one of the most experienced monorail engineering firms, specializing exclusively in planning, design, research, studies and testing and construction of the Urbanaut®, a new innovative monorail technology applying conventional rubber tire wheel bogies and SemiMaglev™ Urbanaut® technology. The basic principle applies a 1.0 meter narrow guide way, with a center guide and stabilizer rail, which also serves as a simple switching device. Vehicles are lightweight: 2.35 m. wide and 3.0 m high. The concept has wide practical application as low cost conventional and high speed systems, and has the potential of moving large numbers of people to relieve traffic congestion along freeways, on crowded city streets, and in recreation areas.
The technology has been easily adapted to three different types of propulsion for rubber tires and maglev technology dependent on speed and economics. Urbanaut® is the only monorail system where smaller vehicles operating on a smaller guideway (a circulator) can be integrated with and switched onto a larger high capacity guide way, allowing a fleet of vehicles to be transferred for specific purposes, such as a large sporting event.
Studies indicate that a high speed 225 km/hr (140 mph) SemiMaglev™ Urbanaut® backbone system, with electromagnetic guidance and propulsion, is technically and economically feasible for placement in the median of many of our freeways. This high speed Urbanaut® provides twice the maximum speed of autos, and can have the same capacity as an 8 lane freeway at considerable less cost with little environmental impact and no pollution. Such a high speed trunk line system could have transfers to independent Urbanaut® monorail guideways into cities, airports, recreation areas, and high density communities. The technology is uniquely flexible since a smaller, narrower vehicle operating on a smaller guideway can be integrated with and switched onto a larger guideway.
Urbanaut® has extensive advanced Pro Engineering data for manufacturing aerodynamic shaped passenger vehicles with a unique, ultra light weight high tech bogie with in-wheel electro-magnetic propulsion for low speeds and maglev linear magnetic induction motor traction for high speed. Extensive testing has been done with a 1:10 scale operational models at the Urbanaut® Monorail Technology Center, confirming design and engineering data. Urbanaut® has extensive reliable cost data of actual projects incorporating independent contractors and component suppliers, and is ready for manufacturing and marketing of the technology in several countries.
The Urbanaut® Co., Inc. has been very active in international exchange of information on maglev technology. A presentation of the SemiMaglev™ Urbanaut® technology in Shanghai, China is published in the "Maglev'04 Conference Proceedings, Volume I".
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Mr. Einar Svensson, President of the Urbanaut® Company, Inc. is a consulting professional licensed Civil and Structural and Transportation Engineer in the USA. His engineering degrees are from schools in Europe and the U. of Washington, U.S.A. and he is a member of the Civil Engineering Association, U.S.A. He has a successful extensive international broad business background in construction, design, engineering, development, manufacturing and management in Europe, Canada, Asia and U.S.A. |
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He is one of the few experienced professional world authorities on the practical and theoretical aspects of monorails, having devoted the last 10 years exclusively to all phases of the Urbanaut® technology. He has been active in monorail transportation technology all his life and has participated in associations and international presentations of monorail technology and the Urbanaut®. Mr. Svensson invented, patented and trade named Urbanaut®, which differs uniquely from other monorails and transportation concepts. Mr. Einar Svensson previously was a principal and key engineer for the Alweg Company which marketed and constructed a monorail technology in which the vehicle straddles and is dependent on a large beam way. He speaks and reads English, German and the Scandinavian languages and has written several papers and documentaries related to monorail technology, engineering, construction and costs. He lives outside Seattle, Washington and has lived in Norway, Canada and U.S. He is married, with 2 adult children. In his private life, he has been actively involved in cross country ski competition throughout his life, winning World Master Championships several times. He has top level cross country coaching licenses in Norway, Sweden and the U.S.A. and has written a comprehensive book, "Ski Skating With Champions", which introduces mechanics and dynamics to ski skating technique.
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Mr. John E. Svensson, Vice President and Technology Director, has broad international technology and high level management experience. He is director of the Urbanaut® Technology, which involves the engineering data process for manufacturing and testing of Urbanaut® vehicles and components. He has done extensive model bogie and vehicle testing applying metal and composite materials and has experience in propulsion and wheel technology and manufacturing of products made of high strength alloys, plastic and fiber optics. During the last 8 years, he invented, designed, tested and managed a new product line, a business that has grossed more than 1 billion dollars. He is also the inventor, owner and manufacturer of a company developing high tech rubber cushion composite wheels for inline skating. |
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He has exceptional technical and personnel management capabilities and has coordinated successful large scale manufacturing businesses and marketing worldwide. In private life, he has been a high level competitor in snow skiing and kayaking and is active in inline skating competition. He is married with 3 children and lives in Pusan, South Korea and Seattle, Washington
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Patents, Patents Pending, and Proprietary Technical Information
URBANAUT® and THE SEMIMAGLEV™ URBANAUT® are two international trade names of The Urbanaut® Company, Inc. There are numerous patents and patents pending world wide on all aspects of the technology.
The Urbanaut® Company Inc. and Einar Svensson, Consulting Engineer over the last 10 years have pursued continuous innovative studies and improvements parallel with application and development of new technology and have thousands of documents related to the technical, practical, functional and economical aspects of monorail technology, together with studies made of potential factual installations.
The Patent Portfolio contains 5 recent U.S. patents, 2 S. Korean, 3 Chinese, 1 Hong Kong, 3 European, 2 Canadian and 2 Australian patent issued in the name of Einar Svensson, and numerous international patents pending in Canada, Europe, and several Asian countries on new types of vehicle components, propulsion systems, elevated structural guide ways, stations, and switching for Urbanaut® and SemiMaglev™ Urbanaut® technology. The patents include Full Maglev and SemiMaglev™ Urbanaut® concepts with new propulsion and energy saving technology.
Urbanaut® is a unique, different, simplified monorail technology much smaller, of less weight, with lots of flexibility, and is not dependent on a massive structural beam way as are most other heavier and more expensive monorails in operation today. Technologically there is no other monorail which resembles it; the patents, therefore, are strong and independent.
Additional Information
v Please see the References topic for other information and The Urbanaut® Company, Inc.'s Monorail Technology.
v This website, urbanaut.com, contains an extensive amount of Urbanaut® technology and cost data. You can also access this by searching for the words "Urbanaut Monorail".
