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This was a hyperloop hat trick by a team of German engineering students at the third annual SpaceX pod contest Sunday. WARR Hyperloop, from the Technical University of Munich, won first prize – and set a new record – with its self-propelled aerial work platform reaching a top speed of 287 mph (457 km / h).
WARR Hyperloop was one of three finalists to participate in the competition. The teams were tasked to develop a pod to go down the 1.2-kilometer (0.75-mile) tube, as part of SpaceX's vision for Elon Musk, for a futuristic transportation system at large. speed. The pod that reached maximum speed would be crowned winner. The only other requirement was that all nacelles be self-propelled. In addition to WARR, the other qualified teams were the University of Delft of the Netherlands and the EPF Loop of Switzerland.
This was the third time SpaceX had held its hyperloop competition at its Hawthorne headquarters, California – and it was the third time that WARR Hyperloop was returning home the highest honor. Under a blazing sun, hundreds of engineering students from around the world came together to present their vision of tube-based ultra-fast travel, as Elon Musk had for the first time envisioned. 2013. The event had the atmosphere of a Musk-inspired summer music festival, with food trucks lining Jack Northrop Avenue and sunburned college students playing ping pong, Cornhole and SpaceX brand Jenga. There was a group of covers from the 80s called The Spazmatics. And of course, Musk himself could not resist the urge to make an unexpected appearance.
WARR Hyperloop, from the Technical University of Munich, also won the first two prizes in January and August 2017. Once again, the prototype of the stable has reinforced submissions from the other three teams. The 154-pound (70 kg) carbon fiber pod is powered by a 50 kW electric motor and features pneumatic friction brakes that allow the pod to stop within five seconds, depending on the amount of power required. team. The main difference this time was the absence of a SpaceX "pusher" vehicle to help propel the pods into the tube. WARR also won one of three innovation awards, in recognition of the team's ambitious project to build two modules: one for speed competition and another to demonstrate its levitation abilities. Other awards for innovation were awarded at the University of Washington and Eirloop of Ireland.
Not all teams were able to reach the desired speed. The nacelle from the University of Delft reached a top speed of 88 mph before dropping into the tube. The team encountered "serious problems" during trials of the week before the competition, including a fried circuit board, according to team members. The Swiss EPFLoop also encountered a number of complications, which allowed its pod to reach a top speed of 55 mph.
SpaceX is not affiliated with any startups that are currently working on building a true hyperloop, but the ultra-fast transport system remains close to the heart of Musk. In 2013, Musk published its "alpha paper" which theorized that aerodynamic aluminum capsules filled with pbadengers or cargo could be propelled through almost airless tubes at a speed close to the speed of sound. He called it a "fifth mode of transportation" and argued that it could change the way we live, work and travel.
The most famous scenario that he proposed was a trip from Los Angeles to San Francisco in just 30 minutes. As could be expected, the idea captured the imagination of engineers and investors around the world. Three companies, all based in Los Angeles, are actively engaged in building their own hyperloops. And as part of his Boring Company business, Musk is now talking about digging tunnels under LA and Chicago as a way to bypbad traffic. Musk said he wanted to build a hyperloop between New York and Washington, DC.
Just as in years past, Musk made an unplanned appearance at the contest that he helped inspire. With his girlfriend Grimes (aka Claire Elise Boucher) and five of his young sons, the CEO of SpaceX visited some teams' booths, inspecting the different modules and making jokes with the students.
Standing behind a podium constructed from nested LEGO-esque bricks made from the earth excavated by the boring company, Musk congratulated the teams for their commitment to the futuristic project.
"It's really the first opportunity to create a new mode of transportation," he said. "It's really what this competition is about: things that could radically transform cities and the way people move."
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