For more than a century, elevators have gone pretty much just up and down. Ever since the first elevator was introduced in 1854, a cable-based design has pulled the elevator car along a single shaft, using steel ropes connected to a counterweight.

But now, ThyssenKrupp, a German conglomerate that specializes in automotive technology, has developed an elevator system called Multi, in which cables are replaced with magnetic levitation technology, also known as maglev.

Maglev vehicles float rather than roll. A magnetized coil running along the train's track repels magnets located in the train's undercarriage, causing the train to levitate a short distance above the tracks. The trains are then pulled forward by a moving magnetic field, created by coils embedded in walls alongside the track.