Aramis
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.
The book is a fictionalized account, but it draws heavily on the real-world history of the Aramis project, a personal rapid transit system developed in France during the 1970s and 80s.
Aramis is a key example of Latour's actor-network theory (ANT) in practice, using a narrative approach to explore the complex interactions between technology, society, and politics, a theme central to much of his sociological writing.
The narrative is presented through various perspectives, including a young engineer, a professor, company executives, politicians, a sociologist, and even the Aramis system itself, offering a multifaceted view of the project's development and failure.