In suspension systems, the infrastructure itself moves goods. No vehicles carry cargo from place to place - objects travel the same cables people do, powered by the same gravity.
Ground-based logistics requires vehicles: trucks, forklifts, conveyor belts. The infrastructure (roads, floors) is passive; vehicles provide the energy and direction.
Suspension infrastructure is already dynamic. Cables hold potential energy. Releasing an object lets gravity move it. The "vehicle" is the cable itself.
This changes what logistics looks like. Moving something doesn't require a powered carrier - it requires releasing stored height and catching at the destination.
A warehouse organized for swing access: shelving arranged in arcs reachable from a central swing point.
The retrieval sequence:
1. Swing toward target shelf position
2. At apex (momentarily stationary), latch onto item
3. Swing back, item now attached to swing
4. At return apex, transfer item to outbound route
Simple mechanical latches handle attachment - no motors, no electronics required. A hook engages a standardized handle on the item. Release is equally simple: disengage hook, item transfers to next system.
A single swing position can reach hundreds of shelf locations across its arc. Multiple swing points cover a large warehouse with overlapping access zones.
Mass doesn't change pendulum period. A 5-meter swing takes about 4.5 seconds whether empty or loaded. This means carrying cargo costs no additional time and negligible additional energy.
When you anchor a swing, you can anchor to cargo rather than a fixed point. When you release, the cargo comes with you. The physics handles it - you're not lifting or carrying, just including additional mass in the swing system.
Practical limits:
But within normal ranges, moving yourself and moving cargo are the same motion.
Stored potential energy can release in sequence, like dominoes.
A line of packages sits on shelves at graduated heights. Release the first package - it swings down, strikes a trigger, releases the second. The second swings, releases the third. A single initiating action sends a chain of items through the network.
Setting up a cascade:
1. Items positioned at height (potential energy stored)
2. Triggers set to release on impact or weight change
3. Routes configured for each item's destination
4. Single release point initiates sequence
Recharging the cascade:
Items must return to height. This happens through:
The system accumulates potential energy during normal activity, releases it in coordinated distribution bursts.
Not all distribution is cascade-style bursts. Steady flow systems move items continuously:
Gravity conveyors: Angled cable runs where items slide slowly downhill. Friction controls speed. Items queue at junction points, release when downstream clears.
Circulation loops: Cable paths that form closed circuits. Items enter the loop, travel around, exit at their destination. Like a river current that carries floating cargo.
Timed releases: Items released at intervals from high storage, creating regular delivery rhythm. A neighborhood might receive supplies every few minutes throughout the day.
Ground logistics requires vehicles because the infrastructure doesn't move. Suspension logistics doesn't need vehicles because the infrastructure already moves everything.
A truck carries cargo through its engine power. A suspension network carries cargo through height differential. The energy was stored when the item was lifted to its origin point; delivery releases that stored energy.
This eliminates:
The infrastructure cost shifts to more anchor points and cable capacity, but the per-trip cost drops toward zero.
Physical logistics can carry information. A weighted message capsule swings through the network like any other cargo. Arrival at destination is the signal - no electronics required.
More sophisticated: coded sequences. A pattern of small weights arriving in specific timing encodes a message. The network becomes a mechanical telegraph.
For simple signals (yes/no, ready/not-ready), a single indicator moving between positions suffices. Binary state visible from anywhere with line of sight.
Perishables benefit from continuous movement. Rather than storage in refrigerated warehouses, food circulates through the network - always in motion, always cooling in airflow.
Morning harvest enters the network at farm-level nodes. By afternoon, produce has distributed to residential areas through normal cascade and flow patterns. Nothing sits stationary long enough to spoil in typical climates.
Cold storage still exists for longer preservation, but day-to-day distribution is motion-based.
Height dependency: Distribution flows downhill. Uphill movement requires energy input - human effort, mechanical lift, or waiting for return traffic going the right direction.
Capacity constraints: Cable systems have maximum load. Heavy items need dedicated high-capacity routes. Peak demand can saturate the network.
Timing complexity: Cascade systems require setup. Continuous flow requires coordination. Neither is as flexible as "put it on a truck and drive."
Fragility: Some goods can't handle the acceleration and impact of swing-based transport. Padding, careful routing, or dedicated gentle-handling routes address this partially.
Suspension Transportation: The transit infrastructure that makes suspension logistics possible. Same cables, same physics, different application.
Fluid Structures: Habitation systems that receive goods through suspension logistics. A reconfigurable home receives supplies without anyone walking to a store. Distribution continues during floods - cascade systems operate above water level.