MIT unveils prototype Hyperloop pod design

Hyperloop technology has taken a leap forward this week, as two separate teams have debuted their new pod technologies.

The Hyperloop was an idea dreamed up by Elon Musk (the CEO of Tesla, SpaceX, and SolarCity) in 2013, when he released a 58-page paper calling for the creation of a new technology. It’s like bank pneumatic tubes crossed with maglev: People or products in pods would be whisked through tubes between cities at speeds nearing the speed of sound (767 mph or 1235 km/h), thanks to the great reduction in friction granted by magnets.

Or, in other words, such a system would take you from Los Angeles to San Francisco in about 30 minutes—a journey that normally takes six hours driving or around an hour of flying.

Critics have already chimed in, arguing that the Hyperloop will be too expensive to create and implement (not to mention uncomfortable for those who ride it), but that hasn’t stopped a huge number of groups from trying.

MIT takes the crown

In February, SpaceX held a competition at Texas A&M in which more than 100 teams competed to design the Hyperloop, and a team from MIT won. Known as MIT Hyperloop, they have unveiled their pod design just yesterday, as reported by BBC.

The proud team who brought the pod to reality. We’re grateful for all your help and support! pic.twitter.com/16fKiHEyyW

— MIT Hyperloop (@MITHyperloop) May 14, 2016

MIT’s pod is shaped like a water droplet, and—as called for by Musk—uses magnets to lift itself off an aluminum track. It’s currently a scale test model of future pods, coming in at about one-third to one-half the size of what the real things will be. However, the team is confident that scaling up the model will be a fairly straightforward task. According to RT, trials funded by Musk inside tubes will begin in August.

However, their model currently has two major issues. First, it’s not quite there in terms of real-life output: Turning (even gently) is a “huge problem,” as the team told BBC; the brakes need “more testing”; and, according to RT, the team has admitted that their model can only reach 250 mph (402 km/h) at the moment.

Who will win the game of thrones?

Second, they have some stiff competition. A mere three days before MIT debuted their pod, a startup company known as Hyperloop One held its first public test in the desert outside of Las Vegas. The track was short and not enclosed by a tube, and the pod reached only 116 mph (187 km/h), according to The Guardian, but the company is confident for the future.

Backed by companies like GE Ventures and France’s national railway, SNCF, they will attempt a full-scale, full-speed test inside a tube by the end of the year.

“Today, we are one step closer to making Hyperloop real,” said the start-up’s chief executive Rob Lloyd, in a statement. “We will be moving cargo in 2019, and we think we will have passengers safely transported by Hyperloop in 2021.”

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Image credit: MIT/Facebook

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