Since the advent of civilization, humans have always been curious. Curious to see what lies beyond the world they inhabit. Whether it is early nomads travelling through desserts, forests and rivers or the pioneers that sailed across oceans with no knowledge of what them might find, people have continued to push forth into the uncharted. Today of course this same curiosity has fueled our exploration into worlds outside of our own. Space travel has become a real part of life as we know it. Modern day pioneers will very soon be making trips across our solar system and maybe even beyond. To boldly go where no man has gone before.

It is incredible to think that less than a hundred and fifty years since the first powered human flight, we are seriously considering habitation of worlds outside of our own. In the context of human history, the timeframe is miniscule.

With the development of civilization, one of the milestones that has led to the globalized world we live in is the advent of constantly improving means of transportation. Once people could travel safely across most parts of the inhabited world, we began to see the flow of people, culture and ideas across continents. Without this we could not imagine the culturally diverse societies that have formed across the world.

Apart from carrying people over what once seemed impossible distances to cover, transportation has contributed to another large aspect of the way our world is built. The advent of the industrial revolution made it possible to produce goods at high volumes. All these volumes would have no value unless these goods could be transported to a large number of people that might not necessarily be in the same area. The transportation industry was critical to the boom of industrialization and its continued march into the modern day behemoth we have become accustomed to.

Even today, the large conglomerates in the field of transportation are testament to how dependent we are on its merits. Countries all over the world have invested heavily in highway infrastructure to aid the smooth movement of goods and people. The ease with which commercial vehicles can transport goods across the country is integral to its economic growth. This is especially relevant in countries whose economies are heavily dependent on manufacturing.  If transporting products to docks and ports is not cost effective, it often defeats the price advantage the manufacturers of the country, integral in an extremely competitive global economy.

The landscape of the transportation industry is deeply linked with industrialization. As one evolves, we see the repercussion flow through the other. Today with greater automation and dependency on technology becoming a theme across most sectors of business, from advice on car detailing to innovations in the transportation industry.

The ambition of large transportation companies like Uber and Hyperloop seem to be following the same path.

They are innovating rapidly, trying to make the transport of goods and people more efficient. One of the hallmarks of their innovation is the lack of dependency on human operators. Instead they aim to use technology and systems to make sure they optimize routes, consuming the bare minimum amount of time and fuel to complete the journey safely.

While there is an obvious push towards improving technology, there is another hurdle that stands in the way of the industry at large. Since its inception it has been dependent on carbon based fossil fuels to power it. In the recent past this has come under heavy criticism owing to the massive emissions that are a byproduct of the mass use of existing technology. Countries all over the world are aware of their carbon footprint and the need to control it. They are slowly but steadily bringing in legislature to curb the output and reverse the damage caused to the environment.

This has led to the need, for the industry as a whole, to shift to sustainable sources of energy. Like the energy industry, we see larger sums of money dedicated to research and development, dedicated to finding alternatives powered by eco friendly sources of energy. Whether the change is enforced or just natural evolution, the technology and innovation seen in the field is undeniable. Apart from the obvious environmental benefits, the use of such technology is making it easier and more affordable for an increasingly large part of society to adopt such means of transportation.

The human desire to see new places is a part of our programming. That coupled with the economic benefits of moving goods and people across distances efficiently will continue to drive the technology we adopt to do so. With the realms of possibility no longer restricted to our world, it is only a matter of time before people are making journeys that were once considered possible only in science fiction. As a species, we will always remain on the move, the only question is where we are going.