Modular Plane Concept Treats Passenger Cabin Like A Shipping Container

All the efficiency of cargo!

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Airplanes, trains, and cargo ships may travel through different mediums, but they roughly do the same thing: encase precious cargo in a similar container, and then unload it at the destination. “Clip Air” is a concept from Switzerland’s Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale De Lausanne that wants planes, trains, and ships to carry people much the same way they carry shipping crates: in detachable, modular tubes, which can be put on rails, loaded on boats, or slung under wing.

EPFL explains the benefits:

The concept could make layovers easier, but it’s maybe not so great if you want to leave your metal tube to go stretch your legs.

Still, it’s a neat way to envision simplified transportation systems for people, goods, and raw materials. It also guesses at a world that feels like a toddler’s play set of interconnected blocky structures, which is delightful.

Read more about it at CNN.