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Foodtubes Proposes Underground, Physical Internet

Posted by Soulskill on from the snail-mail-two-point-oh dept.

geek4 writes "Automatically routed canisters could replace trucks with an Internet of things, says Foodtubes. A group of academics is proposing a system of underground tunnels which could deliver food and other goods in all weathers with massive energy savings. The Foodtubes group wants to put goods in metal capsules two meters long, which are shifted through underground polyethylene tubes at speeds of up to 60 miles per hour, directed by linear induction motors and routed by intelligent software to their destinations. The group, which includes an Oxford physics professor and logistics experts, wants £15 million to build a five-mile test circuit, and believes the scheme could fund itself if used by large supermarkets and local councils, and could expand because it uses an open architecture."

19 of 431 comments (clear)

  1. Man in the middle by DeBaas · · Score: 4, Funny

    Ok, I'll be the man in the middle

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    1. Re:Man in the middle by DigiShaman · · Score: 4, Funny

      A sandwich comes in at one end, and empty wrapper is left behind at the other. Nice.

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      Life is not for the lazy.
    2. Re:Man in the middle by SwordsmanLuke · · Score: 4, Funny

      So what you're saying is, if you want to avoid detection, the data must only be sniffed, not consumed.

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      Any plan which depends on a fundamental change in human behavior is doomed from the start.
    3. Re:Man in the middle by TheKidWho · · Score: 4, Funny

      Well, if you stole one slice of ham off of every ham sandwich being sent, you would have a lot of ham.

    4. Re:Man in the middle by imakemusic · · Score: 4, Funny

      Peter Gibbons: [Explaining the plan] Alright so when the sub routine combines the sandwich it uses all these extra chunks of ham that just get sliced off. So we simplified the whole thing, we round them all down and drop the remainder into a fridge we bought.
      Joanna: [Confused] So you're stealing?
      Peter Gibbons: Ah no, you don't understand. It's very complicated. It's uh it's aggregate, so I'm talking about fractions of a crumb here. And over time they add up to a lot.
      Joanna: Oh okay. So you're gonna be making a lot of sandwiches, right?
      Peter Gibbons: Yeah.
      Joanna: Right. It's not yours?
      Peter Gibbons: Well it becomes ours.
      Joanna: How is that not stealing?
      Peter Gibbons: [pauses] I don't think I'm explaining this very well.

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      Brain surgery - it's not rocket science!
    5. Re:Man in the middle by RealGrouchy · · Score: 5, Funny

      Citizens of Washington: barrels are no more!

      Enter the age of pork-tube politics!

      - RG>

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      Hey pal, this isn't a pleasantforest, so don't waste my time with pleasantries!
    6. Re:Man in the middle by Capt.DrumkenBum · · Score: 5, Funny

      Don't call me Shirley.

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      If I were God, wouldn't I protect my churches from acts of me?
    7. Re:Man in the middle by Capt.DrumkenBum · · Score: 3, Funny

      So no using it to send lobster I guess...

      His name is Doctor Zoidberg to you!

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      If I were God, wouldn't I protect my churches from acts of me?
    8. Re:Man in the middle by Hotawa+Hawk-eye · · Score: 3, Funny

      Or just let the idiots ride. If they get injured, they have to deal with the consequences. If they get hit by a capsule and die, their estates have to pay the costs of scraping them off the sides of the tubes. We go to a lot of trouble to try to thwart Darwin in modern society -- perhaps too much trouble?

    9. Re:Man in the middle by rts008 · · Score: 4, Funny

      Who would be suspicious of the box of Fudgepackers Browneye Chocolate Bar®, and a crate sent from Golden Showers Apple Orchard 100% Natural Organic Apple Juice®?

      Where is your marketing sense of adventure?

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      Down With Slashdot BETA!!! I've been around the corner and seen the oliphant; you can only abuse me from your perspecti
  2. We are going to need new acronyms by paiute · · Score: 5, Funny

    DDOS = distributed denial of snacks

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    If Slashdot were chemistry it would look like this:Cadaverine
    1. Re:We are going to need new acronyms by masman · · Score: 3, Funny

      DDOS = Distributed Delivery of Snakes

  3. Polyethylene Pam by digitaldc · · Score: 3, Funny

    So what happens when the canned Spam going 60mph gets accidentally jammed between the ham and lamb? Would we have something to ram the spam through this ham & lamb dam?

    I think we already had an energy-saving networked system like this that produced way less carbon than Diesel trucks, they were called TRAINS.

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    He who knows best knows how little he knows. - Thomas Jefferson
    1. Re:Polyethylene Pam by Hogwash+McFly · · Score: 4, Funny

      Yeah, all it will take is a packet collision between my order from an air conditioning company and some other guy's stool sample on its way to the lab and the shit will really hit the fan.

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      Mother, do you think they'll like this sig?
  4. We are going to need new laws by digitaldc · · Score: 4, Funny

    We also need legislation to stop these DDOSnack attacks...call it The 'Canned-Spam Act'

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    He who knows best knows how little he knows. - Thomas Jefferson
  5. Re:Bush was right after all by AndrewNeo · · Score: 3, Funny

    Unfortunately this will be more like UDP, and the destroyed canisters won't get resent.

  6. Re:Logistic issues I see: by imakemusic · · Score: 5, Funny

    8. Spam. Cans and cans of the stuff. Flowing into your house.

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    Brain surgery - it's not rocket science!
  7. Re:Then stick people in them by jank1887 · · Score: 4, Funny

    step 3) might I kindly request we put the air back in first?

  8. Re:Bush was right after all by thisisntme · · Score: 3, Funny

    I tried to but it said I was unauthorized, so I decided to take the 404 instead, but I couldn't find it...