Brigada Ligeira Estelar (Star Light Brigade), is a campaign setting, created by Alexandre Lancaster for 3D&T - a Brazilian tabletop role-playing game from Editora Jambô. It's a mecha/space opera/swashbuckling setting, with a heavy influence of classic sci-fi anime like Mobile Suit Gundam, Captain Harlock, Legend of the Galactic Heroes and Star Blazers. Giant robots and officers are baptized from old cavalry nomenclatures like Hussars, Spearmen and Dragoons. The main book contains an extensive timeline and many character templates, including military characters, space pirates (and corsairs), psionics, noblemen, mercenaries and others.
Basic information
Imperial Alliance of the Sabre
Main background of Brigada Ligeira Estelar's setting. The constellation of Sabre has 94 planets, but of them all, only nineteen are life-supporting. These worlds were unified during the War of Sabre, thanks to a hero named Silas Falconeri. Silas was a well-intentioned man and became emperor believing he could save the people from injustice, chaos and poverty. Unfortunately he found out the hard way that politics and heroism are different things. The Empire prospered anyway, but social class resentments against the modest origins of the Falconeri Imperial House eventually plunged the worlds of Sabre into endless political intrigues. Silas had an heir (Silas II) but he left no heirs and died under mysterious circumstances. There is a second son of Silas, Lucas Falconeri (the Prince Regent of the Planet Montalbán), but thanks to the influence of a rival clan (The house of nobility Artusen from Planet Tarso) in Congress and the Judiciary, he has no way to ascend the throne - and the Empire has been governed by interim rulers.
The Invasion of the Forsaken
The Forsaken are a nation of space barbarians who invades planets, deplete their resources and destroy everything they can't carry. Their methods are brutal and sadistic. They attacked by surprise the constellation's poorest world, Ottokar, awakening the people of Sabre to fight for their future at a time where the imperial authority is weakened.
The Star Light Brigade
The Imperial Guard of the Star Light Brigade was created decades ago by the Emperor Silas Falconeri himself, when the planet Tarso, then unable to show political dominance over the rest of the Empire, tried to start a secession war and drag other worlds under his leadership. A guard named "Volunteer of the Sabre" was created against the separatists. At the end of the conflict, this guard was renamed Star Light Brigade, and came to symbolize the beliefs of Silas falconeri that led to the formation of the Imperial Alliance, cultivating a culture of heroism and social inclusion. These circumstances led to Regency Guard of Tarso to encompass an opposite attitude, trying to symbolize everything that denies the heroic and benevolent beliefs of Silas Falconeri.
Worlds of the Imperial Alliance
There are nineteen main planets, divided into three administrative areas:
The Sabre Hilt
The most important part of the constellation. It is where the major planets of the Empire are, including its capital planet, Albuquerque.
* Albach - A convoluted world that was once the most powerful force in the constellation, and now lives in its past. It's under the sphere of political influence of Tarso.
* Albuquerque - The world where Silas Falconeri founded his empire. The Imperial City of Leocadia (a.k.a. "Imperial Capital") is there.
* Altona - The first planet discovered and colonized by humans in the constellation of Sabre, more than a millennium ago. Shows many signs of having harbored intelligent life in the past.
* Annelise - A world of great beauty and romantic atmosphere... but also a world a that thrives on appearances, full of duelist swordsmen and dark secrets.
* Bismarck - A prussian-like militaristic planet, with a strong and competitive people. They have proven loyal to the empire so far.
* Forte Martim - a politically unstable world ruled by an Princess Regent who was reappointed to the regencial throne after years of exile (her parents were killed in an uprising led by big landlords of this world). This plot is a backdrop for "A Serviço da Princesa Regente", a short adventure for new players (chapter 7 of Brigada Ligeira Estelar main book).
* Gessler - a tax haven world, mostly inhabited by fortune soldiers, very like the old Swiss mercenaries from Renaissance.
* Tarso - the richest and most populous planet of the Alliance, seeing themselves apart from the other worlds of the Sabre.
* Trianon - a world of decadent nobility, agrarian uprisings, abuse of power and many other social problems.
* Viskey - a world colonized by (supposedly Japanese descent) a people who broke with their traditional culture. This world has the largest population of Psionics (here called "Mentalists") in the Empire.
The Sabre's Edge
Except for Montalban, all planets are of average importance. After all, these worlds have evolved with the installation of the Parliamentary Space Station in this area.
* Alabarda - A planet whose people are culturally divided by their political beliefs, and everything seems headed for a planetary civil war.
* Inara - A world without continents, with only islands covering a fifth of its surface. Its fauna is particularly dangerous.
* Montalbán - A planet politically tied by strong honor codes. Contrary to what many may think, they are the main antagonists of Tarso, more than Albuquerque or any other world.
* Moretz - A world whose surface is infected by toxic mold, forcing the creation of artificial floating cities. The working conditions are terrible and many people have to fight for justice.
* Winch - A divided planet, ruled by two regency crowns, with Cold War mutual feelings.
* Uziel - A corrupt world, full of gangsters, smugglers, traffickers and other criminals. The law is not very reliable. The Forsaken Invasion is in its early stages here.
The Sabre Tip
The most distant planets of the constellation are there. They have been the main focus of Forsaken invasion so far.
* Arkadi - A cold world, with strong bureaucracy and many technologically backward regions, resembling in many aspects the Czarist Russia.
* Ottokar - The poorest planet of Imperial Alliance and a major focus of the Forsaken invasion. These people carry a particular belief called "Destiny".
* Villaverde - The farthest planet in the constellation of Sabre - and most devastating battlefield in the war against the Forsaken.
Digital Comics
In 2016 a manga-style digital comics was released online at Social Comics platform.
Anime inspirations
Essentially, Brigada Ligeira Estelar is part of the Real Robot genre, but it seems to go against the desconstructive grain of series like Mobile Suit Gundam to bring out and emphasize heroic elements, borrowed from classical literature of adventure. In the book's Acknowledges, alongside names like Yoshiyuki Tomino, Leiji Matsumoto and Kunio Okawara, we can see thanks to Alexandre Dumas, Jack Williamson (for his "Legion of Space") and Johnston McCulley (creator of Zorro). The Hussar robots, with energy sabers, clearly refers to the Gundam series; but the open range of options resembles anime shows like Patlabor, with giant robots made for practical reasons. The Forsaken giant robots, called "Quimeras" (chimera), are admittedly inspired by exotic mecha of Go Nagai in his various super robot series.
Basic information
Imperial Alliance of the Sabre
Main background of Brigada Ligeira Estelar's setting. The constellation of Sabre has 94 planets, but of them all, only nineteen are life-supporting. These worlds were unified during the War of Sabre, thanks to a hero named Silas Falconeri. Silas was a well-intentioned man and became emperor believing he could save the people from injustice, chaos and poverty. Unfortunately he found out the hard way that politics and heroism are different things. The Empire prospered anyway, but social class resentments against the modest origins of the Falconeri Imperial House eventually plunged the worlds of Sabre into endless political intrigues. Silas had an heir (Silas II) but he left no heirs and died under mysterious circumstances. There is a second son of Silas, Lucas Falconeri (the Prince Regent of the Planet Montalbán), but thanks to the influence of a rival clan (The house of nobility Artusen from Planet Tarso) in Congress and the Judiciary, he has no way to ascend the throne - and the Empire has been governed by interim rulers.
The Invasion of the Forsaken
The Forsaken are a nation of space barbarians who invades planets, deplete their resources and destroy everything they can't carry. Their methods are brutal and sadistic. They attacked by surprise the constellation's poorest world, Ottokar, awakening the people of Sabre to fight for their future at a time where the imperial authority is weakened.
The Star Light Brigade
The Imperial Guard of the Star Light Brigade was created decades ago by the Emperor Silas Falconeri himself, when the planet Tarso, then unable to show political dominance over the rest of the Empire, tried to start a secession war and drag other worlds under his leadership. A guard named "Volunteer of the Sabre" was created against the separatists. At the end of the conflict, this guard was renamed Star Light Brigade, and came to symbolize the beliefs of Silas falconeri that led to the formation of the Imperial Alliance, cultivating a culture of heroism and social inclusion. These circumstances led to Regency Guard of Tarso to encompass an opposite attitude, trying to symbolize everything that denies the heroic and benevolent beliefs of Silas Falconeri.
Worlds of the Imperial Alliance
There are nineteen main planets, divided into three administrative areas:
The Sabre Hilt
The most important part of the constellation. It is where the major planets of the Empire are, including its capital planet, Albuquerque.
* Albach - A convoluted world that was once the most powerful force in the constellation, and now lives in its past. It's under the sphere of political influence of Tarso.
* Albuquerque - The world where Silas Falconeri founded his empire. The Imperial City of Leocadia (a.k.a. "Imperial Capital") is there.
* Altona - The first planet discovered and colonized by humans in the constellation of Sabre, more than a millennium ago. Shows many signs of having harbored intelligent life in the past.
* Annelise - A world of great beauty and romantic atmosphere... but also a world a that thrives on appearances, full of duelist swordsmen and dark secrets.
* Bismarck - A prussian-like militaristic planet, with a strong and competitive people. They have proven loyal to the empire so far.
* Forte Martim - a politically unstable world ruled by an Princess Regent who was reappointed to the regencial throne after years of exile (her parents were killed in an uprising led by big landlords of this world). This plot is a backdrop for "A Serviço da Princesa Regente", a short adventure for new players (chapter 7 of Brigada Ligeira Estelar main book).
* Gessler - a tax haven world, mostly inhabited by fortune soldiers, very like the old Swiss mercenaries from Renaissance.
* Tarso - the richest and most populous planet of the Alliance, seeing themselves apart from the other worlds of the Sabre.
* Trianon - a world of decadent nobility, agrarian uprisings, abuse of power and many other social problems.
* Viskey - a world colonized by (supposedly Japanese descent) a people who broke with their traditional culture. This world has the largest population of Psionics (here called "Mentalists") in the Empire.
The Sabre's Edge
Except for Montalban, all planets are of average importance. After all, these worlds have evolved with the installation of the Parliamentary Space Station in this area.
* Alabarda - A planet whose people are culturally divided by their political beliefs, and everything seems headed for a planetary civil war.
* Inara - A world without continents, with only islands covering a fifth of its surface. Its fauna is particularly dangerous.
* Montalbán - A planet politically tied by strong honor codes. Contrary to what many may think, they are the main antagonists of Tarso, more than Albuquerque or any other world.
* Moretz - A world whose surface is infected by toxic mold, forcing the creation of artificial floating cities. The working conditions are terrible and many people have to fight for justice.
* Winch - A divided planet, ruled by two regency crowns, with Cold War mutual feelings.
* Uziel - A corrupt world, full of gangsters, smugglers, traffickers and other criminals. The law is not very reliable. The Forsaken Invasion is in its early stages here.
The Sabre Tip
The most distant planets of the constellation are there. They have been the main focus of Forsaken invasion so far.
* Arkadi - A cold world, with strong bureaucracy and many technologically backward regions, resembling in many aspects the Czarist Russia.
* Ottokar - The poorest planet of Imperial Alliance and a major focus of the Forsaken invasion. These people carry a particular belief called "Destiny".
* Villaverde - The farthest planet in the constellation of Sabre - and most devastating battlefield in the war against the Forsaken.
Digital Comics
In 2016 a manga-style digital comics was released online at Social Comics platform.
Anime inspirations
Essentially, Brigada Ligeira Estelar is part of the Real Robot genre, but it seems to go against the desconstructive grain of series like Mobile Suit Gundam to bring out and emphasize heroic elements, borrowed from classical literature of adventure. In the book's Acknowledges, alongside names like Yoshiyuki Tomino, Leiji Matsumoto and Kunio Okawara, we can see thanks to Alexandre Dumas, Jack Williamson (for his "Legion of Space") and Johnston McCulley (creator of Zorro). The Hussar robots, with energy sabers, clearly refers to the Gundam series; but the open range of options resembles anime shows like Patlabor, with giant robots made for practical reasons. The Forsaken giant robots, called "Quimeras" (chimera), are admittedly inspired by exotic mecha of Go Nagai in his various super robot series.
Formerly Radio Enfield, Royal Free Radio is a voluntary Hospital Radio broadcasting service for patients in Chase Farm Hospital, Enfield, the Royal Free Hospital, Hampstead, London and North Middlesex Hospital, Edmonton, London . It broadcasts programmes of record requests, local news, interviews, quizzes and other items of interest 24 hours a day. There are special request programmes for the patients in Chase Farm, the Royal Free and North Middlesex Hospitals, which are broadcast Sunday to Friday from 8-10pm. The station is operated by volunteers in their spare time, who present programmes, collect requests, manage the record library and keep the equipment working. Radio Enfield is funded by donations and various activities such as fetes, discos and other public events. The station is a member of the Hospital Broadcasting Association.
History
The station started broadcasting to Chase Farm on 24 May 1970 from a converted storeroom in the hospital with a 2-hour weekly request programme on Sunday evenings. In November 1971, the station moved to its second home in Block 7 of Chase Farm, a brick built bicycle shed. The service was extended to Highlands Hospital, Winchmore Hill in March 1972 and to North Middlesex Hospital, Edmonton, London in January 1973. The hospitals were linked by landline to enable the same programme to be heard simultaneously.
Programmes were gradually extended to cover Sunday to Friday evenings to cope with the extra requests. Live football commentaries from Enfield F.C. and Tottenham Hotspur F.C. were introduced after the station moved home again in late 1978. The new studios were financed from a major fund-raising campaign, which included a car raffle organised by the Lions Club of Enfield and was formerly used as a teaching classroom. Two studios were built, enabling separate programmes to be transmitted to any of the hospitals in order to cope with the large number of requests received. At that time, programmes could also be heard at the Prince of Wales Hospital in Tottenham.
The link to North Middlesex Hospital closed in 1983, due to the escalating cost of renting the lines between hospitals, and Highlands Hospital closed some years ago. However, transmissions to North Middlesex Hospital resumed in 2016 thanks to funding from Enfield Community Support Fund. Radio Enfield has also completed occasional FM broadcasts to Enfield and the surrounding area covering the annual Enfield Autumn Show, under licence from Ofcom.
Broadcasts were extended to cover the Royal Free Hospital in Hampstead in 2016 after Chase Farm Hospital became part of the Royal Free London NHS Trust.
Over its 45-year + history, Radio Enfield has won a number of prestigious national awards, notably for its outside broadcasts. Many of Radio Enfield's former members now work professionally in Radio - both on air and behind the scenes.
Radio Enfield Today
Following redevelopment at Chase Farm Hospital, the station moved studios again at the end of 2006. The final programme from the former teaching classroom was broadcast on Friday 1 December, being a compilation of programme highlights since the station began. The station moved to the new home, at the base of the Maternity Block, which was partly financed by the Leagues of Friends, over a weekend and was back on the air on Monday 4 December 2006 as usual. The teaching classroom studios were demolished in March 2007.
In 2015, Radio Enfield had to move studio for the fourth time as part of the major Chase Farm Hospital redevelopment and the station now broadcasts to Chase Farm, the Royal Free and North Middlesex hospitals from a new base on site. The previous studios were demolished in February 2016.
Amongst the annual events the station takes part in are the Enfield Autumn Show, the Enfield Scouts Town Park firework display, various quiz evenings and local fetes.
The station now uses a computer play out system to broadcast to the patients for 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Radio Enfield takes IRN's Sky News feed on the hour, every hour to keep patients updated with the day's news.
Royal Free Radio Website
History
The station started broadcasting to Chase Farm on 24 May 1970 from a converted storeroom in the hospital with a 2-hour weekly request programme on Sunday evenings. In November 1971, the station moved to its second home in Block 7 of Chase Farm, a brick built bicycle shed. The service was extended to Highlands Hospital, Winchmore Hill in March 1972 and to North Middlesex Hospital, Edmonton, London in January 1973. The hospitals were linked by landline to enable the same programme to be heard simultaneously.
Programmes were gradually extended to cover Sunday to Friday evenings to cope with the extra requests. Live football commentaries from Enfield F.C. and Tottenham Hotspur F.C. were introduced after the station moved home again in late 1978. The new studios were financed from a major fund-raising campaign, which included a car raffle organised by the Lions Club of Enfield and was formerly used as a teaching classroom. Two studios were built, enabling separate programmes to be transmitted to any of the hospitals in order to cope with the large number of requests received. At that time, programmes could also be heard at the Prince of Wales Hospital in Tottenham.
The link to North Middlesex Hospital closed in 1983, due to the escalating cost of renting the lines between hospitals, and Highlands Hospital closed some years ago. However, transmissions to North Middlesex Hospital resumed in 2016 thanks to funding from Enfield Community Support Fund. Radio Enfield has also completed occasional FM broadcasts to Enfield and the surrounding area covering the annual Enfield Autumn Show, under licence from Ofcom.
Broadcasts were extended to cover the Royal Free Hospital in Hampstead in 2016 after Chase Farm Hospital became part of the Royal Free London NHS Trust.
Over its 45-year + history, Radio Enfield has won a number of prestigious national awards, notably for its outside broadcasts. Many of Radio Enfield's former members now work professionally in Radio - both on air and behind the scenes.
Radio Enfield Today
Following redevelopment at Chase Farm Hospital, the station moved studios again at the end of 2006. The final programme from the former teaching classroom was broadcast on Friday 1 December, being a compilation of programme highlights since the station began. The station moved to the new home, at the base of the Maternity Block, which was partly financed by the Leagues of Friends, over a weekend and was back on the air on Monday 4 December 2006 as usual. The teaching classroom studios were demolished in March 2007.
In 2015, Radio Enfield had to move studio for the fourth time as part of the major Chase Farm Hospital redevelopment and the station now broadcasts to Chase Farm, the Royal Free and North Middlesex hospitals from a new base on site. The previous studios were demolished in February 2016.
Amongst the annual events the station takes part in are the Enfield Autumn Show, the Enfield Scouts Town Park firework display, various quiz evenings and local fetes.
The station now uses a computer play out system to broadcast to the patients for 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Radio Enfield takes IRN's Sky News feed on the hour, every hour to keep patients updated with the day's news.
Royal Free Radio Website
A fifth generation cyberattack is a type of cyberattack that emerged beginning in 2017, which take advantage of information and tools leaked from government entities like the National Security Agency and the Central Intelligence Agency to rapidly spread around the world, impacting global businesses and communities.
Computer security experts generally describe cyberattacks in terms of , tracking their evolution from simple computer viruses in the early 1980s, and growing in sophistication and scale in the decades since. The NotPetya and WannaCry ransomware attacks of 2017 marked the beginning of what is now described as the fifth generation.
In recent years, the scale and robustness of cyberattacks has increased rapidly, as observed by the World Economic Forum in its 2018 report: "Offensive cyber capabilities are developing more rapidly than our ability to deal with hostile incidents." Researchers found that 2017's WannaCry and NotPetya represented a growth in the frequency, sophistication and malice of cyberattacks on businesses.
Shortly after the WannaCry attack, it was identified by the UK National Crime Agency as a "signal moment" for awareness of the impact of cyber crimes. Commentators were hopeful that organizations would respond with a more serious approach to security. The European Police Commission highlighted the tendency of organized crime to adopt new technology. In October 2017, Bad Rabbit, a variant of NotPetya, spread across Europe.
Defining characteristics
* Fifth-generation attacks are multi-vector, meaning that they target computers and devices controlled by multiple related organizations.
* They leverage leaked government information about security vulnerabilities, including the 2017 Vault 7 leak.
* They are large-scale and worldwide.
* In addition, an important characteristic is that they are polymorphic, meaning that the malware changes its form rapidly to avoid detection. This characteristic is shared with and inherited from fourth generation cyberattacks.
Computer security experts generally describe cyberattacks in terms of , tracking their evolution from simple computer viruses in the early 1980s, and growing in sophistication and scale in the decades since. The NotPetya and WannaCry ransomware attacks of 2017 marked the beginning of what is now described as the fifth generation.
In recent years, the scale and robustness of cyberattacks has increased rapidly, as observed by the World Economic Forum in its 2018 report: "Offensive cyber capabilities are developing more rapidly than our ability to deal with hostile incidents." Researchers found that 2017's WannaCry and NotPetya represented a growth in the frequency, sophistication and malice of cyberattacks on businesses.
Shortly after the WannaCry attack, it was identified by the UK National Crime Agency as a "signal moment" for awareness of the impact of cyber crimes. Commentators were hopeful that organizations would respond with a more serious approach to security. The European Police Commission highlighted the tendency of organized crime to adopt new technology. In October 2017, Bad Rabbit, a variant of NotPetya, spread across Europe.
Defining characteristics
* Fifth-generation attacks are multi-vector, meaning that they target computers and devices controlled by multiple related organizations.
* They leverage leaked government information about security vulnerabilities, including the 2017 Vault 7 leak.
* They are large-scale and worldwide.
* In addition, an important characteristic is that they are polymorphic, meaning that the malware changes its form rapidly to avoid detection. This characteristic is shared with and inherited from fourth generation cyberattacks.
Metrino PRT is a personal rapid transit (PRT) system concept developed in Poland. It belongs to the group of PRT systems using a carriage suspended from a bogie running on elevated rails, mounted so its bottom is approximately six metres above the ground. In October 2014 its name was changed to "Metrino PRT" from MISTER, which was an acronym for "Metropolitan Individual System of Transportation on an Elevated Rail" . The company is now based in New Zealand.
Design
Olgierd Mikosza, the inventor of the system, claims that switching rails at intersections will be done at full speed of about 60 km/h, with a minimum spacing of 10 m. In addition, adding new intersections and stops should require very little modification to the current network. The pod's carriage wheels descend to grab the side of a triangular structural truss.
Considerable thought has gone into reducing the system's cost. The system reuses existing rights of way. The main tracks are about 10 metres (30 ft.) in the air, so that there is no interference with ground traffic, and the truss can go down the centre of a street. The triangular octahedral truss that forms the track is strong, small, lightweight, sheds snow and is above floods. The tracks provide power, so that the vehicles have no heavy, expensive batteries. The design speed of 60 km/h (35 mph) is slow enough that aerodynamic loads are small. New design of the POD is very aerodynamic but at these speed it is a matter of appearance, not economics to reduce drag.
The pods ascend and descend at 45-degree angles, using a cogway on the truss. A hinge point at the top of the pod permits a level floor at all times. A small ramp at a station permits access by a wheelchair, bicycle or pallet jack. Access to wheelchairs meets statutory requirements for disabled access. Access to pallet jacks permits revenues from pallets of light cargo, which in some cities can be quite profitable. Only a two by seven metre (7x20 ft.) area on the ground is needed for a minimal station. High traffic stations are possible by parking several pods at an angle to the street. These larger stations need only a five by fifteen metre area (16x50 ft.) to park five pods.
In the Uppsala video, the inventor claims that there is a further plan to disconnect the pod from the overhead rails, and operate it as a dual mode electric vehicle (like Google self driving cars), permitting door-to-door operation. Please note that this was years before Google cars started to be developed.
It is noteworthy, that as of 2017 no working prototype of the system has been built.
Projects
Currently, six cities in Poland, four in Brazil and three in India (including Delhi) have given Metrino tentative permissions to build. These cities did not buy the system, but rather gave permission to install it and collect revenues. The inventor is therefore seeking investors.
According to the Uppsala video, the system competed for the PRT installation to be done in Masdar City, but lost the competition. The system has computer simulations of operations, and a prototype of the pod and rail, but the inventor thinks it probably lost because of lack of having a "proven" system. It should be mentioned that the same fate was met by the incumbent system at that stage - ULTra, which was not "proven" yet.
In January 2017 the Indian government agency NITI Aayog announced Metrino, ULTra and Skytran, could to each build PRT test tracks in that country for technology evaluation.. In August 2017 Metrino withdrew from the project due to differences with its Indian partner company.
Design
Olgierd Mikosza, the inventor of the system, claims that switching rails at intersections will be done at full speed of about 60 km/h, with a minimum spacing of 10 m. In addition, adding new intersections and stops should require very little modification to the current network. The pod's carriage wheels descend to grab the side of a triangular structural truss.
Considerable thought has gone into reducing the system's cost. The system reuses existing rights of way. The main tracks are about 10 metres (30 ft.) in the air, so that there is no interference with ground traffic, and the truss can go down the centre of a street. The triangular octahedral truss that forms the track is strong, small, lightweight, sheds snow and is above floods. The tracks provide power, so that the vehicles have no heavy, expensive batteries. The design speed of 60 km/h (35 mph) is slow enough that aerodynamic loads are small. New design of the POD is very aerodynamic but at these speed it is a matter of appearance, not economics to reduce drag.
The pods ascend and descend at 45-degree angles, using a cogway on the truss. A hinge point at the top of the pod permits a level floor at all times. A small ramp at a station permits access by a wheelchair, bicycle or pallet jack. Access to wheelchairs meets statutory requirements for disabled access. Access to pallet jacks permits revenues from pallets of light cargo, which in some cities can be quite profitable. Only a two by seven metre (7x20 ft.) area on the ground is needed for a minimal station. High traffic stations are possible by parking several pods at an angle to the street. These larger stations need only a five by fifteen metre area (16x50 ft.) to park five pods.
In the Uppsala video, the inventor claims that there is a further plan to disconnect the pod from the overhead rails, and operate it as a dual mode electric vehicle (like Google self driving cars), permitting door-to-door operation. Please note that this was years before Google cars started to be developed.
It is noteworthy, that as of 2017 no working prototype of the system has been built.
Projects
Currently, six cities in Poland, four in Brazil and three in India (including Delhi) have given Metrino tentative permissions to build. These cities did not buy the system, but rather gave permission to install it and collect revenues. The inventor is therefore seeking investors.
According to the Uppsala video, the system competed for the PRT installation to be done in Masdar City, but lost the competition. The system has computer simulations of operations, and a prototype of the pod and rail, but the inventor thinks it probably lost because of lack of having a "proven" system. It should be mentioned that the same fate was met by the incumbent system at that stage - ULTra, which was not "proven" yet.
In January 2017 the Indian government agency NITI Aayog announced Metrino, ULTra and Skytran, could to each build PRT test tracks in that country for technology evaluation.. In August 2017 Metrino withdrew from the project due to differences with its Indian partner company.