Aramis, or, The love of technology /
Aramis Love of technology
Bruno Latour ; translated by Catherine Porter.
- Cambridge, Mass. : Harvard University Press, 1996.
- x, 314 p. :
1.An exciting innovation-- 2.Is Aramis feasible-- 3.Shilly shallying in the seventies-- 4.Interphase three year of grace -- 5.The 1984 decision : aramis exists for real -- 6.Aramis at the CET stage will it keep its promises -- 7.Aramis is ready to go
A guided-transportation system intended for Paris, Aramis represented a major advance in personal rapid transit: it combined the efficiency of a subway with the flexibility of an automobile. But in the end, its electronic couplings proved too complex and expensive, the political will failed, and the project died in 1987. The story of Aramis is told by several different parties, none of which take precedence over any other: a young engineer and his professor, who act as detective to ferret out the reasons for the project's failure; company executives and elected officials; a sociologist; and finally Aramis itself, who delivers a passionate plea: technological innovation has needs and desires, especially a desire to be born, but cannot live without the sustained commitment of those who have created it.
0674043235 (paperback : alk. paper)
Local transit--France--Paris Metropolitan Area. Personal rapid transit--France--Paris Metropolitan Area.