WSC 2025 - The Future Wasn't Meant to be

Explore the following futuristic technologies that failed to be widely adopted. What prevented their success, and is there a situation in the future where they might find popularity?

• rocket mail | flying car | maglev | zeppelin | suspension railway

• ground-effect vehicle | supersonic transport | nuclear propulsion | hyperloop

• hydrogen vehicle | mecha | metaverse

Rocket Mail

• May become less popular in the future as technology develops

Overview: 

A method of mail delivery through the launch of a rocket or missile. 

• Invented by Gerhard Zucker in the 1930s

Why it didn’t succeed

• High costs

• Numerous failures (explosions, losing most of the letters)

Flying Car

• May be popular in the future as technology develops

Overview

• First attempt — “Curtiss Autoplane” 

  • By Glenn Curtiss in 1917

• Most successful— “Taylor Aerocar” by Moulton Taylor in 1949

Why it didn’t succeed: 

• The driver must be licensed as a driver and a pilot

• Unsafe and unreliable

• Flight impacted by weather conditions

• High costs

Maglev

• May be popular in the future as technology develops

A system of rail transport that is levitated by electromagnets (magnetic levitation) rather than being rolled on wheels → eliminates rolling resistance 

• Higher speeds

• Lower maintenance and noise

Why it didn’t succeed:

• Too expensive (potential for low costs but spending on R&D increases costs)

• Underdeveloped

Zeppelin

• May become less popular in the future as technology develops

Overview

A type of airship that mainly used for military services and transport

• First successful flight — designed by Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin in 1900

• Passenger travel in zeppelins were popular in the 1920s-1930s

Why it didn’t succeed:

• Use in war: were found too vulnerable as targets to be shot down

• Unsafe: Filled with hydrogen → extremely flammable 

• The Hindenburg disaster in 1937 

  • Led to a decline in the popularity in airship public transport

• Airplanes as a better alternative

Suspension railway

• May be used for tourist attractions but would require more engineering power

Overview

A type of elevated transport system where trains hang from a track instead .

• First suspension railway opened in 1825

• Invented by Eugen Langen, Henry Robinson Palmer and some other inventors

• Used for tourism (views)

Why it didn’t succeed

• Harder to engineer 

• More expensive than normal rail systems

Ground-effect Vehicle 

• May become more popular in the future

Overview

A vehicle that is able to glide over a surface by using the ground effect.  (mainly as watercrafts)

Ground effect: aerodynamic interaction between the moving wing and the surface below— the aircraft flies just above the surface. 

• First developed by Toivo Kaario in 1932 (the idea of using the ground effect)

• Significant developments from Christopher Cockerell in 1950

• Better fuel efficiency as there is less drag (being able to go at higher speeds with less fuel)

Why it didn’t succeed

• Unstable: Narrow speeds and altitudes where the ground effect properly works

• Expensive: Not cost-effective

Supersonic transport

• May become popular in the future

Overview

An aircraft designed to transport passengers faster than the speed of sound 

• By Concorde and Tupolev (airline companies)

• Brigadier General Yeager first pilot to successfully achieve supersonic flight in 1947

Why it didn’t succeed:

• Congress canceled the project

• Very expensive, loud

• Very high emissions - seen as a major issue

Nuclear Propulsion 

• May be popular in the future as there is ongoing research on this

Overview: 

The use of nuclear reactions such as fission and fusion to generate a force.

• Used to propel objects (eg. vehicles, rockets)

• Nuclear fission was discovered in 1938 by Otto Hahn and Fritz Strassmann

• APPLICATION: First nuclear-powered submarine “USS Nautilus” by the US Navy in 1954

Why it didn’t succeed:

• Too big and heavy to be used for rockets

• Safety concerns: use of nuclear materials

Hyperloop

• May be popular in the future

Overview:

A high speed transportation system that make use of low pressure tubes and air pressurefor high speeds.

• Concept published by Elon Musk in 2013

Why it didn’t succeed:

• Underdeveloped

Hydrogen Vehicle 

• May be less popular in the future

Overview:

A vehicle that is powered by hydrogen

• By reacting hydrogen with oxygen

• Invented by Eitienne Lenoir in 1860

Why it didn’t succeed:

• High emissions

• Better alternatives (EVs)

Mecha

Giant humanoid robots (usually controlled by humans)

• Mainly fictional 

Why it didn’t succeed: 

• Only created for entertainment purposes, not many people bought them

• Expensive

Metaverse

• May be popular in the future

Overview:

A virtual 3D world where users can interact with each other through avatars.

• May include video games

• Usually through VR headsets

Why it didn’t succeed:

• Underdeveloped 

• Privacy issues

• Not very well known

For many, the 1990s were an unabashedly optimistic time; the academic Francis Fukuyama infamously suggested we might have reached the end of history, or at least the end of conflicts between dictatorships and democracies. This optimism extended beyond political and academic circles into popular culture. Review the following artworks, then discuss with your team: what kind of excitement did they reflect for the upcoming century? Were they justified?

• Scorpions | “Wind of Change” (1990)

• Jesus Jones | “Right Here, Right Now” (1991)

• Michael Jackson | “Heal the World” (1991)

• Michael Crawford | “Counting Up to Twenty” (1995)

Will Smith | “Will 2K” (1999)