engineering

Otis Hovair

Otis Hovair is a engineering topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Otis Hovair rather than just read about it. In short: Otis Hovair Transit Systems is a type of hovertrain used in low-speed people mover applications. Traditional people mover systems used wheeled vehicles propelled by electric motors or cable traction.

Key takeaways

Otis Hovair belongs to engineering; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Otis Hovair to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Otis Hovair from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Otis Hovair Transit Systems is a type of hovertrain used in low-speed people mover applications. Traditional people mover systems used wheeled vehicles propelled by electric motors or cable traction. The Hovair replaces the wheels with a hovercraft lift pad. The aim is to reduce guideway complexity and vehicle maintenance. Another benefit is the system's ability to move in all directions, including sideways. The Hovair is the only hovertrain system to be used in commercial service.

History Originally developed at General Motors as an automated guideway transit system, GM was forced to divest the design as part of an anti-trust ruling. The design eventually ended up at Otis Elevator who replaced its linear motor with a cable pull and sold the resulting design for people mover installations all over the world. The first installation was the Duke Hospital PRT in 1979, followed by the Harbour Island People Mover opened in 1985. Otis successfully marketed the system through the 1980s and into the 1990s, but faced increasing competition from conventional systems. In 1996, Otis formed a joint venture called Poma-Otis Transportation Systems with the French company Poma to promote these products. The partnership has since been dissolved, and as of 2014 it appears Otis is no longer involved in promoting the technology. However it is still marketed as one of the Minimetro products sold by Poma & Leitner Group. The latest installation, the Cairo Airport People Mover, opened on May 15, 2012.

Current operators

Former operators Duke University Medical Center Patient Rapid Transit Harbour Island People Mover Narita Airport Terminal 2 Shuttle System U-Bahn Serfaus Sun City (South Africa) "Skytrain" (opened 1986), 1.71 km (1.06 mi) single track with bypass ramp, two stations, two trains of three vehicles.

See also Hovertrain Aérotrain Tracked Hovercraft Transpo '72

References

External links

Metro Tram Narita International Airport official website Skymetro de Poma otis.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Otis Hovair

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Otis Hovair claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In engineering, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Otis Hovair before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Otis Hovair ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Otis Hovair

In research: Otis Hovair appears in engineering research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Otis Hovair in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Otis Hovair is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Airport infrastructure manufacturers, Airport people mover systems, Hovair people movers, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Otis Hovair outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Otis Hovair in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Otis Hovair means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Otis Hovair out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Otis Hovair in simple terms?

Otis Hovair Transit Systems is a type of hovertrain used in low-speed people mover applications. Traditional people mover systems used wheeled vehicles propelled by electric motors or cable traction.

Why does Otis Hovair matter?

Because it connects several engineering ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Otis Hovair?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Otis Hovair.