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At the World Government Summit held in Dubai, breathtaking new technologies were on everyone’s lips: life extension, 3 D printed body parts, humanoid robots, the UAE’s 2020 mission to Mars, “gecko” grips that let you climb up the side of buildings, and even sensors in your brain that enable you to communicate with others just with your thoughts.

But probably the most stunning revelation was the news that in the sluggish field of ground transportation, a near-supersonic technology that first surfaced in 2012 should be ready for full-scale, full-speed testing before the end of this year.

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Hyperloop is real. Hyperloop is happening.

That technology is the Hyperloop, a pod-in-a-tube that will use friction-free near-vacuum conditions and linear-induction motors to whisk people and cargo between cities at speeds of up to 1,100 km per hour — and possibly more.

When the concept first emerged, it seemed just another one of those sci-fi jetpack/domed-cities concepts that never seem to work out. But with the fertile mind of Elon Musk (PayPal, Tesla, SpaceX) laying out the scientific case in a white paper, and bequeathing the concept to anyone who wants to follow up (because he’s too busy), many groups are working on real-world applications. And no one more aggressively than Los-Angeles-based Hyperloop Technologies.