We use cookies to provide you with a better experience. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies in accordance with our Cookie Policy.
  • ::COVID-19 COVERAGE::
  • INDUSTRY PRESS ROOM
  • SUBMISSIONS
  • MEDIA FILE
  • Create Account
  • Sign In
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
Free Newsletters
  • MAGAZINE
    • Current Issue
    • Archives
    • Digital Edition
    • Subscribe
    • Newsletters
  • STRATEGY
  • GLOBAL
  • LOGISTICS
  • MANUFACTURING
  • PROCUREMENT
  • VIDEO
    • News & Exclusives
    • Viewer Contributed
    • Upload your video
  • PODCAST ETC
    • Podcast
    • White Papers
    • Webcasts
    • Events
    • Blogs
      • Reflections
      • SCQ Forum
    • Mobile Apps
  • MAGAZINE
    • Current Issue
    • Archives
    • Digital Edition
    • Subscribe
    • Newsletters
  • STRATEGY
  • GLOBAL
  • LOGISTICS
  • MANUFACTURING
  • PROCUREMENT
  • VIDEO
    • News & Exclusives
    • Viewer Contributed
    • Upload your video
  • PODCAST ETC
    • Podcast
    • White Papers
    • Webcasts
    • Events
    • Blogs
      • Reflections
      • SCQ Forum
    • Mobile Apps
Home » Pipe dream?
Forward Thinking

Pipe dream?

March 22, 2011
Supply Chain Quarterly Staff
No Comments

We've written over the years about a variety of logistics innovations, but here's one we hadn't heard until now. Franco Cotana, an engineering physicist at the University of Perugia in Italy, has an idea about how to use pneumatic pipes to move freight.

Pneumatic tubes (once used extensively in office buildings and still used by many banks) rely on compressed air to move plastic and rubber capsules filled with deposit slips and such between tellers and customers at drive-up windows. As reported in the Jan. 8, 2011, issue of The Economist, Cotana believes a modern variation of those pneumatic tubes might be used to move freight. Back in 2003, Dr. Cotana patented a version of the idea called "Pipenet." Instead of using air, the system would move goods through two-foot-wide (60 cm) metal tubes using magnetic fields created by specialized motors. The magnetic fields would levitate capsules holding goods and propel them forward. The concept also makes use of air pumps to create a partial vacuum to reduce resistance. Shipments would be routed by radio transponders in each capsule.

Cotana expects the capsules could carry up to 110 pounds (50 kg) of goods at up to 930 miles (1,500 km) per hour.

Ideas for using magnetic levitation have been with us for some time. As The Economist points out, the highspeed rail line between Shanghai and its airport makes use of the principle. But it is pricey. Cotana's insight: reduce the size of what you're moving, and the cost of the technology drops considerably. In addition, the tubes could be built along existing rail and road rights of way. He estimates construction costs could be kept under US $5 million per mile. At that price, Cotana's team estimates, a network it conceived for Perugia would pay a return on its investment inside of seven years. And Pipenet has already drawn interest from researchers at China's Tongi University.

Will there come a day when workers on the shipping dock drop an e-commerce order into a tube shortly after the customer clicks "buy" so it pops up at the customer's door within a couple of hours? Not anytime soon. But that sure would give new meaning to cycle time.

  • Related Articles

    Consumers grow impatient with high shipping costs for oversized items

    Study finds disconnect in B2B buyer-seller relationship

    JD.com unveils plans to study underground urban fulfillment network

Recent Articles by Supply Chain Quarterly Staff

J.B. Hunt trials self-driving trucks in Texas pilot

Survey: 70% of U.S. businesses eye reshoring and nearshoring plans

Packaging industry reprioritizes amid inflation, supply chain disruption

You must login or register in order to post a comment.

Report Abusive Comment

Most Popular Articles

  • How to resolve your inventory dilemma

  • Container prices continue to drop

  • Regionalized supply chains: the key to resilience

  • Warehouse vacancy rates sink to 27-year low

  • Empty shipping containers stack up at U.S. port depots

Featured Video

Cccb7d13 710a 4473 8132 da8b6cc286f1

The Sportsman's Guide Case study: Increasing Accuracy & Productivity

Viewer Contributed
Thanks to the Lucas Warehouse Optimization Suite, The Sportsman's Guide has increased productivity, reduced training time, and experienced a boost in accuracy for both full-time staff and seasonal employees. Want to learn how Lucas can help your DC be more efficient, accurate, and safe while reducing labor costs?...

FEATURED WHITE PAPERS

  • Case Study: Peak Teams helps boost headcount quickly on a short-term project

  • Breaking Bad: Conducting Full Truckload RFPs in the Age of Digital Freight Procurement

  • Omnitracs One – Last Mile Solutions

  • The enterprise shipper's guide to building a smarter truckload RFP

View More

Subscribe to Supply Chain Quarterly

Get Your Subscription
  • SUBSCRIBE
  • E-NEWSLETTERS
  • ADVERTISING
  • CUSTOMER CARE
  • CONTACT
  • ABOUT
  • STAFF
  • PRIVACY POLICY

Copyright ©2022. All Rights ReservedDesign, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing