FIGS. 2A and 2B illustrate a perspective view and a front view of the pod 110. The pod 110 is a non-propelled, passive light-weight cabin to accommodate one or more users. The pod 110 is configured to support weight of one or two average fully grown individuals and their belongings, while minimizing the weight of the cabin. The pod 110 is adapted to be stable against the various forces exerted thereon, especially during acceleration, deceleration, loading, lateral displacement and so on. The pod 110 can also include one or more channels 206 located on bottom side that can engage with the flexible drive 302 of the track 102 for being propelled along the track 102. A special device can be mounted in the pods 110 to provide a unique identity to each of the pods 110 and identify its location on the transportation system 100, which identity and the location can be used by the control system 160, or the control units of different aggregates/components, to control other aggregates/components on the transportation system 100 to move the pods 110 between the respective starting points and the corresponding destination locations. The device can also receive and store passenger's destination information via a scanner system (selected from a group consisting of QR code, smart card etc.). The device can also have the capability to transmit destination information, through the control system 160 or directly, to other aggregates/components like the last-miler vehicle 400, the diverter patches 114 in the stoppage zones, the accelerator/decelerator paths 106, the diverter belts 104 and the main track 102.

In an embodiment, the pod 110 can be configured to receive electricity from the tracks 102 and stations 150 that the pod 110 would be moving on or supported on, which include the diverter belts 104, the diverter patch 114, the accelerator/decelerator paths 106 and the last-miler vehicles 400. The pod 110 can also be provided with a battery that can be charged by received electric power as stated above, and can be utilized for further supplying power to centralized audio-visual information and alerting devices installed within the pod 110, the occupant's personal devices, ventilation fans and so on.

In an embodiment, the pod 110 can be made available in variants like ambulance pod, cargo pod, cargo as well as passenger carriage configuration. Moreover, the front wheels 202 and the rear wheels 204 of the pod 110 can be provided with shock-absorbing suspensions for facilitating a smooth transition between the splitter siding 104b/the merger siding 104a and the main track 102.

FIG. 3A shows a perspective cut view of the main track 102 showing propulsion mechanism of the main track 102. The propulsion mechanism includes a plurality of flexible drives 302 laid along length of the track 102. Each flexible drive 302 can be based on an endless flexible element comprising connected links, such as in a chain, to provide a desired flexibility. The flexible drive 302 can include a plurality of engaging means along the length of the flexible drive 302. In an aspect, the engaging means can be a friction material 304 provided on outer facing surfaces of the links of the flexible drive 302. The friction material 304 can be shaped such that they engage with the channel 206 at the bottom surface of the pods 110 to generate a frictional force between the channel 206 and the friction material 304 to act as traction force to move the pod along with the flexible drive 302.

The flexible drive 302 can be wrapped around a plurality of idler rollers 312, and can be driven by a motor 308 through at least one roller coupled to the motor 308, as shown in FIG. 3A. Further, on the slack side of the flexible drive 302, at least one tensioner slotted roller can be provided. The main track 102 can further have at least one stationary strip 310 located on any one or both sides of the flexible drives 302 running parallel thereto. A synchronizer mechanism 306, as shown in FIG. 3B, can be provided between driving means of the adjacent flexible drives 302 to ensure that they move at same linear speed for a jerk free transition of the pods 110 from one flexible drive 302 to the next flexible drive 302. The synchronizer mechanism 306 can also act to compensate any deviation in speed of a flexible element drive due to change in loading conditions. In an embodiment, the synchronizer can include a clutch mechanism which is capable to receive actuate command from control unit of any of the aggregates/component, or from the control system 160 to selectively allow the adjacent flexible drives 302 to move at different speeds or same speed. In another embodiment, the functionality of synchronizer can be achieved digitally by monitoring RPM of respective flexible drives 302 and controlling speed of the associated motors 308.

In an embodiment, the wheels 202, 204 of the pods 110 and the at least one stationary strip 310 of the track 102 can be configured such that at a lowest point of each of the wheels 202, 204 and the at least one stationary strip 310 are located higher than the bottom surface of the pods 110. This allows the bottom surface of the pods 110 to make contact with other aggregates of the transport system 100, i.e. the diverter patches 114 with the diverter belts 104 without the wheels 202 and 204 interfering with the respective aggregates, but allowing the wheels 202, 204 to roll on the stationary strip 310 when the pod 110 is moving along the main tracks 102. In another embodiment, the wheels 202 and 204 can be configured with the pods 110 such that the stationary strip 310 bears only partial load of the pod 110 through the wheels 202 and 204, with remaining weight being borne by the flexible drives 302, which is enough for providing enough frictional force for traction of the pods 110. Therefore, the overall rated load of the motors driving the moving track 102 and the required capacity, and thereby, the weight of the moving elements is reduced.

FIG. 3C shows a perspective view of the diverter belt 104 having a moving endless conveyor 352 having an array of a plurality of rollers 354. Each of the plurality of rollers 354 can be configured to rotate along an axis aligned with direction of movement of the endless conveyor 354 to move the pods 110 in a direction transverse to the direction of movement of the endless conveyor 352. In an alternate embodiment, each of the plurality of rollers 354 can be a rotating axis roller, such that rotating axis of the roller can be rotated about a vertical axis to orient the axis of rotation in different directions, including a direction that is aligned with the direction of movement of the conveyor 352 so that the roller 354 can enable movement of the pods 110 resting thereon in a direction transverse to the direction of movement of the endless conveyor 352. The movable axis configuration of the rollers 354 can enable the axis of rotation of the rollers 354 to be oriented perpendicular to the direction of movement of the conveyor 352 and thereafter rotated in one direction or other to increase or reduce speed of the pod 110 supported thereon. In an embodiment, outer cylindrical surface of the rollers when they have the movable axis configuration can have a convex shape to enable rotation of the axis of the roller without undue friction and wear by providing a smaller contact area between the bottom surface of the pods 110 and the roller 354.

In an embodiment, the rollers 354 can be rotated by dedicated motors, and the motors of the plurality of rollers 354 can be operatively coupled to the control system 160. The control system 160 can be configured to, based on the signal from the pods 110 ascertain location of the pod 110 and identify the rollers 354 under the pod 110 and selectively actuate the corresponding motors to move the pod 110 in transverse direction to merge the pod 110 received through the accelerator track 106a with the main track 10, or divert the pod 110 received from the main track 102 to the deceleration track 106b. The rollers 354 may also be kept stationary, by not actuating the corresponding motors, to allow the pods 110 to proceed in the direction of movement of the main track 102.

In an embodiment, the dedicated motor for rotating the rollers 354 can be incorporated within the roller itself, i.e. the roller 354 can be made of motors itself to reduce weight, space consumption. For example, outer casing of the motor can be configured as a rotor of the motor and further configured to provide the functionality of cylindrical surface of the roller. Likewise, the rollers 402 (refer to FIG. 4) and the rollers 502 (Refer to FIG. 5) can also be configured with dedicated motors for commonality and reduction in variety.

In an embodiment, the rollers 354 can be rotated by dedicated motors, and the motors of the plurality of rollers 354 can be actuated based on the signal from the pods 110 as certain location of the pod 110 and identify the rollers 354 under the pod 110 and selectively actuate the corresponding motors to move the pod 110 in transverse direction to merge the pod 110 received through the accelerator track 106 with the main track 102, or divert the pod 110 received from the main track 102 to the deceleration track 106b. The rollers 354 may also be kept stationary, by not actuating the corresponding motors, to allow the pods 110 to proceed in the direction of movement of the main track 102.

In another embodiment, rollers 354 can be actuated based on signal from pods 110 only, which would make the system fast and reduce communication load on the control system 160, and work as a local control without interference from the control system 160.

In an embodiment, the diverter belt 104 can have a first set of rollers 354 that may be powered and a second set of rollers 354, i.e., the remaining rollers 354, may be non-powered rollers. The diverter belt 104 may be configured to rotate at the same speed as that of the main track 102, such as by providing a synchronizer, such as the synchronizer mechanism 306.

In yet another embodiment, the diverter belt 104 can have a shoe-sorter mechanism instead of the rollers 354.

Referring to FIG. 3D, the accelerator/decelerator path 106 is configured to raise or reduce the speed of the pods 110 from zero to a predetermined speed, or vice-versa, the predetermined speed being equal to the speed of the main track 102. In another embodiment, an accelerator path 106a is configured to raise the speed of a pod 110 from a first predetermined speed to a second predetermined, and a decelerator path 106b is configured to bring the speed of a pod 110 from the second predetermined to the first predetermined speed. In an embodiment, the accelerator/decelerator paths 106 include a series of wheels 356 rotating at progressively increasing or reducing speeds, depending on application as an accelerator path 106a or a decelerator path 106b. Each of the series of wheels 356 can be coupled to the adjacent wheel 356 by a gearing or belt mechanism 358 that reduces or increases the speed of the adjacent wheel 356. The accelerator/decelerator paths 106 can include drive motors. The wheels 356 can be configured to engage with the channel 206 of the pods 110 to enable force transfer between the pods 110 and the accelerator/decelerator path 106 during acceleration or deceleration of the pods 110. In an embodiment, the wheels 356 can include a friction material provided on outer facing surfaces of the wheels 356, and can be shaped such that they engage with the channel 206 at the bottom surface of the pods 110 to generate the frictional force. In another embodiment, the accelerator/decelerator path 106 can also include at least one stationary strip similar to the stationary strip 310, located on any one or both sides of the series of wheels 356 running parallel thereto, and the wheels 202 and 204 of the pods 110 can rest on the stationary strip to partially support the pods 110.

In an embodiment, the decelerator path 106b can be a regenerative decelerator which can recover the kinetic energy from the pods 110 and store the same for later use.

A last-miler vehicle 400 of the present disclosure, as illustrated in FIGS. 4A and 4B can be a human-driven vehicle that is configured to transport one or more of the plurality of pods 110 along with commuters from their starting point to the station 150 for merging with the flow of pods 110 on the main track 102 through the diverter patch 114, or to carry the pods 110 from the stations 150, after they have been sorted and received from the main track 102, to a destination location. A carrier area on the last-miler vehicle 400 can incorporate an array of a plurality of movable axis rollers 402 to enable movement of the pod 110 in any direction, such as a direction transverse to a longitudinal direction of the last-miler vehicle 400 for loading and unloading of the pods 110 from a side of the last-miler vehicle 400, or a direction parallel to the longitudinal direction of the last-miler vehicle 400 for loading and unloading of the pods 110 from a rear side of the last-miler vehicle 400. It is to be understood that rollers 402, rollers 354 and the rollers 502 (Refer to FIG. 5) can be identical for commonality and reduction in variety.

In an embodiment, a driver can be assigned to each last-miler vehicle 400. In another embodiment, the last-miler vehicle 400 can be an autonomous vehicle configured to move in a autopilot mode that is enabled using artificial intelligence. The last-miler vehicle 400 may have a predefined speed limit, e.g., 25 km/hr.

FIG. 5 shows further details of the station 150, wherein the station