This IIT-Madras team will present Hyperloop concept to Elon Musk
Later next month, a team of engineering students from the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras would be participating in the final round of the famed Hyperloop Pod Competition in Los Angeles, California. The competition is sponsored by SpaceX, the aerospace manufacturer founded by tech entrepreneur Elon Musk. The team, called Avishkar Hyperloop, will be competing against 20 other finalists from across the world.
Avishkar Hyperloop pod can cover Mumbai-Chennai distance in 1 hour
Avishkar Hyperloop is a team of 30 engineers, designers and business leaders who work together at IIT-Madras' student innovation lab- Center For Innovation (CFI). It was founded by Suyash Singh, a final year M.Tech student at IIT-Madras. Along with Singh, the team is headed by Ankit Kukadia and Vinit Sharma. Reportedly, their pod can reach 800kmph and can travel between Mumbai-Chennai in one hour.
Avishkar Hyperloop's pod has a wheel-based model
"We will be employing a wheel-based model. Our pod would run on wheels, powered by individual motors and battery packs," Singh told The Logical Indian. "It is approximately 2.7m in length, resting over a chassis made up of carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP). We are targeting speeds of 300-350kmph in a distance of 1.5km in a vacuum tube," he added.
Hyperloop, the 'fifth mode of transportation'
Hyperloop was conceptualized by Tesla and SpaceX founder Elon Musk, who termed it the "fifth mode of transportation" which includes a pod- carrying passengers or cargo- traveling at high speed through a vacuum tube using technologies such as magnetic levitation and linear induction models (LIM).
This is the fourth Hyperloop Pod Competition
Although Hyperloop is still a far-fetched reality, the competition continues its quest for innovation. Announced in 2015, the competition's first three editions were held in January 2017, August 2017 and July 2018. All three times, the WARR Hyperloop team from the Technical University of Munich, Germany won top honors. Pods are judged on maximum speed and successful deceleration inside a sealed vacuum tube.
These are the companies sponsoring Avishkar Hyperloop
Tube Investments of India Ltd., IT service management company Hexaware, pneumatic components manufacturer SMC India, software developer COMSOL, P2P lending firm RupeeCircle, Mouser Electronics are some of the companies sponsoring Avishkar Hyperloop's prototype, which will be presented at the competition on July 21.
