Alternate technologies

[longtimelurker]

I've been watching videos today about transportation technologies that never made it big, beyond the zeppelin.

* the rotodyne
* the aero-train
* passenger hovercrafts
* nuclear cargo & cruise ships
* the coleopter

In most cases, they had solvable technical problems that delayed them to the point where funding was cancelled due to changing priorities and recessions.

When you imagine your ATLs, beyond just the geopolitical changes what do you imagine in them? What technologies like these do you imagine as being common rather than curiosities?

A Fellow Mustard fan, I see!
In that toy TL I keep talking about, I imagine that technology emphasizes more resource/energy efficiency (so vacuum-zeppelins replace airplanes in most applications, because fuel is really, really expensive)

 

[UniversalCommons]

Better than vertical farms are a kind of integrated bioshelter farm system where aquaponics and hydroponics are integrated. You can grow fresh fish, lettuce, mushrooms, tomatoes, different small fruit trees in old big box stores or abandoned malls.

 

[ComradeHuxley]

One interesting alternate technology would be " Blowing Bubbles to Pollinate Flowers - Researchers in Japan have developed a soap bubble-based pollination method that is as effective as doing it by hand" just for the aesthetic otherwordlyness.

 

[UniversalCommons]

If you want to have some interesting technology, not a whole lot has been done in near space. It is possible to build large floating structures in near space for a variety of purposes, high altitude solar power, stratalites for communication, high altitude telescopes basically airship telescopes, also launch platforms for small satellites.