Defining the standards

The standardization plays an important role in the structure and design of the MAIT system because

• cabins must be able to be mounted on different types of carriers.
• customers must be able to communicate with their user-service (see Section 1.4), always in the same manner and from any point of the MAIT network, independent of the local carrier-track implementation.
• the network-traffic (organization, redirection of cabins and carriers, the allocation of track capacity, e.t.c) needs to be independent of the carrier-track technology.
• Safety and reliability standards for the entire network.

Obviously, the above features require a high degree of standardization. On the other hand, it should be aimed at finding a minimum set of necessary standards in order to leave the largest possible space for design-creativity of the carrier-track technology. Such a minimum set of standards will include:

1. Cabin properties: the cabin need to meet some general standards such as
   • Maximum allowed Cabin dimensions (Maximum length and maximum cross section).
   • Maximum allowed weight.
   • Stability. The cabin must be able to withstand a certain impact and air pressure difference between the inside and outside of the cabin.

2. Cabin-carrier interface: this is the most important interface since it guarantees that cabins can be hooked onto different carrier types. It is the (only) part that puts additional weight to the MAIT vehicle, compared with a vehicle that is specialized for a unique carrier-track technology. It is therefore necessary, that this interface is designed with care, aiming at a simple, light and inexpensive construction that is universal and reliable. Since the cabin has only a maximum weight of approximately 700kg (including persons or freight), it is reasonable to assume that the entire cabin-carrier exchange system can be realized with only few additional system components. Hence, all the cabin-carrier links listed below, are able to disconnect and reconnect each time the cabin changes to another carrier.
   • carrier exchange system. This is the electro-mechanical system that allows a cabin to lock and unlock with a carrier and to move from one carrier to another.

   • power supply connector. The power for the cabin is provided by the carrier, even though there is also a small emergency battery inside each cabin.

   • communication interface. This is the link for the exchange of general purpose information from carrier to cabin and vice versa.

   • air conditioning interface. The warm and cool air is generated by the carrier and piped into the cabin. The passenger can than regulate temperature by opening and closing the warm or cool air stream.

   • interface for auxiliary signals. These are signals, representing information that concern only cabin and carrier, for example if the cabin has locked with the carrier, if the cabin's door is open or closed, if the carrier or cabin is in an emergency state e.t.c.

3. Cabin-user interface: all sub-systems that concern the cabin-user interaction (see Section 2) must be identical for all cabins that allow person transport, such as
   • the location of the slot for the travel card, the light that indicates availability of the vehicle and the display that indicates the user name or ID (in the case of a booked cabin, see Section 2.2).

   • the user-terminal inside the cabin, that allows the user to interact with his user-service and to obtain information about the voyage (see below for specifications of MAIT terminals).

4. Safety of carrier-track technology : It is difficult to ensure safety by imposing system requirements for a broad variety of carrier-track technologies. The safety should be indirectly defined by:
   • the extreme emergency case such that the worst possible system failure results only in light injuries. Severe injuries, caused by the system itself, should be physically impossible.

   • probability of the occurrence of an extreme emergency case. All certified carrier-track technologies need to demonstrate with realistic test runs, that the probability of the extreme emergency case scenario is below set limits.

5. MAIT terminals: All MAIT terminals that are installed at MAIT stops (see Fig. 9) and inside the person-cabins should have the same look, in particular:
   • the instructions, written on the terminals should be the same.

   • the display needs to be of a certain size and have a minimum graphic resolution.

   • the keypad should always have the same relative position to the display.

   • for MAIT terminals at stops, the slot for the MAIT travel card should also have the same relative position to the display.

6. Communication protocols: The format of all protocols in the form of digital data that are exchanged between the MAIT modules i.e. MAIT terminals, user services, computer network, cabins, carriers and tracks need to be of an open standard, that means they are public.

The above are all system components that need to be standardized for MAIT , although it is highly recommended to standardize also other parts of the system. A well set-up framework of standards may help to ensure reliability and safety, to keep prices down and monopolies out of business.