I would guess that the motors are harder to turn than they would be if they were just in the air. There must be some current in the baseplate which creates a magnetic repulsion opposing their motion.
I would be a touch concerned in such an environment due to the need to cool the "floor". Lacking air, you would only be able to dissipate heat via radiation.
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I'm naively surprised at the amount of torque and power required to spin the magnet heads. Those are huge motors.
It would require some serious refinement to have benefits over air cushions, but I can certainly see a practical use for moving heavy loads slowly.
I would guess that the motors are harder to turn than they would be if they were just in the air. There must be some current in the baseplate which creates a magnetic repulsion opposing their motion.
One benefit over air cushions is that it also works in evacuated tunnels where you don't have enough air to blast it around.
I would be a touch concerned in such an environment due to the need to cool the "floor". Lacking air, you would only be able to dissipate heat via radiation.
But yeah, no air? No problem.
You can wrap the tunnel's copper sheath with cooling on the outside; only the inside of the tunnel is evacuated.
The currents induced in that 1/4" copper plate will be substantial. Enough to warm up the plate!