Hyperloop travellers may get to see panoramic views thanks to the Zoetrope effect

Passengers of the Hyperloop could have an illusion that they are travelling in a transparent tube. Virgin Hyperloop One and BIG have demonstrated how small circular windows featuring in the Hyperloop would work like a Zoetrope at substantially high speeds.

A video demonstrating how this would work was shared on Twitter by Virgin Hyperloop One's chief technology officer Josh Giegel, and on Vimeo by Hugo Sou, design lead at Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG).

Zoetrope was an optical illusion device popular in the 19^th century, wherein sequential or looping images were placed inside a cylinder with slits on the sides. When this cylinder was spun, the slits blur together to the eye but create an effect of showing the images in motion.

Virgin Hyperloop One: Zoetrope from Hugo Soo on Vimeo.

In the Hyperloop, the tube through which the pod would move will have small circular windows, 10 meters apart. At slower speeds, the view outside would be marred by intermittent black blots. However, as the pod achieved higher speeds (of around 1100+ KMPH), the traveller will be able to see uninterrupted panoramic views of the outside world.

The Hyperloop, which is still in its developmental stages, had received a lot of criticism that travellers might not be comfortable with the idea of travelling through a dark and claustrophobic tube at super-high speeds. The zoetrope windows can be an answer to all such criticisms.

Hyperloop is being designed as a ‘collective commuting option with individual freedom at near-supersonic speeds’. Virgin Hyperloop One is planning to launch three such services by 2021. The potential locations include India, the United Arab Emirates, and Estonia.

In 2013, Elon Musk created a design for high-speed travel in reduced-pressure tubes at Tesla and made them open-source. These designs have been picked up by many companies to turn the concept into reality.