Hyperloop pod competition

The Hyperloop Pod Competition was an exciting event that happened every year from 2015 to 2019. It was supported by SpaceX and brought together many teams of students and others from all over the world. These teams worked hard to design—and sometimes build—small models of a special kind of vehicle called a Hyperloop. The goal was to show that the ideas behind the Hyperloop could really work.

The competition took place in the United States of America, and teams had to show how well their small vehicles could perform. This helped everyone learn more about new ways to travel quickly and safely.

There were plans for a bigger competition in 2020 with a longer track, but this did not happen. Instead, in 2021, the focus changed to a new challenge: teams had to build a small tunnel that was 30 meters long and 30 centimeters wide, very quickly and accurately. This new competition was a different way to test creative ideas about building underground spaces.

Overview

From 2015 to 2019, SpaceX held an annual Hyperloop Pod Competition. Teams from around the world designed and built small models of Hyperloop pods. The competitions took place on a special test track in Hawthorne, California.

In 2017, 30 teams were chosen to build and race their pods. Delft Hyperloop from the Technical University of Delft won for the best design, while WARR Hyperloop from the Technical University of Munich won for the fastest speed. In 2018, WARR Hyperloop again won with an even faster speed of 467 km/h (290 mph). The competition continued into 2019, with plans for a longer track in 2020, though this did not happen.

Results

History

In August 2013, Elon Musk shared an early design for a new transport idea called the Hyperloop. This idea imagined passengers or cargo moving in small pods inside a steel tube, almost without air, using special motors and air cushions. The plan suggested a route between the Los Angeles area and the San Francisco Bay Area.

In June 2015, SpaceX announced a competition for teams to design Hyperloop pods. They built a 1-mile test track near their office in Hawthorne, California. Over 700 teams applied, and the first competition was set for January 2017. Teams from around the world worked on their designs, and in January 2017, 27 teams competed. A team from the Technical University of Munich, called WARR Hyperloop, won the top prize. More competitions followed each year. In 2019, the winning team reached a speed of 463 km/h (288 mph). Plans for a longer 10 km track in 2020 were made, but by November 2022, the original prototype tunnel had been taken apart and removed.

Technical overview

Each year, teams competed on a 1-kilometre-long test track in southern California. The track was built to help test new ideas for fast tube transport systems. The pods could not carry people or animals and were used only to try out new technologies. During tests, each pod was sped up, reached its highest speed, and then slowed down before the end of the track. There was a special area at the end to safely stop any pods that did not stop on their own.

The SpaceX Hyperloop test track, also called the Hypertube, was finished in 2016. It was a prototype to help learn about building future Hyperloop tracks. The track was different from early designs, allowing teams to test many kinds of technologies. Some pods used air to glide, some used magnets, and others used wheels. Teams could focus on testing just one part of a pod or a whole system.

The track had specific sizes and materials. It was made from strong steel and aluminum, with a concrete base for wheeled pods. Teams could choose the pressure inside the tube for their tests. There was no heating or cooling system, so teams had to design pods that could handle different temperatures. Pods had to stop using their own braking systems, as the only safety stop was a foam pit at the end. Teams could use power before launching but not during the test. Each pod had a device to record important data during the run, and there were special marks inside the tube to help pods know where they were.

Competitions

Competition I (January 2016 and January 2017)

Competing teams

Many teams from around the world joined the first competition in 2016. Some came from universities, while others were special school teams. The teams that moved forward to build their prototypes included groups from places like Arizona State University, University of Wisconsin–Madison, University of California, Berkeley, and Delft University of Technology, among others.

Phase 1: Design weekend (January 2016)

In January 2016, five design awards were given out. The MIT Hyperloop Team won the "Best Overall Design Award" for their idea of a pod that could travel safely at high speeds. Other awards went to teams like Delft Hyperloop and Badgerloop for their creative designs.

Phase 2: Test track runs (January 2017)

In January 2017, teams tested their pods on a special track. Only a few teams managed to complete all the required tests and run in the vacuum tube. The winners included WARR Hyperloop from the Technical University of Munich, who had the fastest pod, and Delft Hyperloop for their overall score.

Competition II (August 2017)

The second competition in August 2017 focused on how fast each pod could go without crashing. WARR Hyperloop won again, reaching a speed of 323 km/h (201 mph). Other top teams were Paradigm and Swissloop.

Competition III (July 2018)

In 2018, teams had to make their pods move by themselves without any help from outside pushers. During the testing week, teams faced many challenges, but only a few were allowed to test their pods in the vacuum tube. WARR Hyperloop won once more, reaching an amazing speed of 457 km/h (284 mph).

Competition IV (July 2019)

The 2019 competition was much like the one before, but teams had to use their own communication systems. Only four teams were chosen to test their pods in the tube. TUM Hyperloop (formerly WARR Hyperloop) won again, reaching a top speed of 463 km/h (288 mph), though they had to stop early because of some damage to their pod.

Tunnel-boring competition (September 2021)

Plans for a pod race in 2020 were canceled because the longer track was never built. Instead, in 2021, a new competition began in Las Vegas, Nevada to see who could build a small tunnel the fastest and safest way. The winning team was TUM Boring from the Technical University of Munich, who dug a 22 m (72 ft) tunnel using a smart method to store pipes. The second-place team was Swissloop Tunneling, who dug an 18 m (59 ft) tunnel.

Future

A worldwide college-level hyperloop competition will happen in February 2025 at the Discovery Campus of Thaiyur, IIT Madras in India. The host university plans to build a 410-meter hyperloop vacuum tube by September 2024, which will be one of the longest in the world. This will be the first time India will host such a competition, which was previously held in the US and Europe.