A team of students from the University of Cincinnati looks on as their Hyperloop Prototype prepares to levitate. Credit: Jay Yocis/University of Cincinnati
The whirring sound of Hyperloop UC’s hover engines filled the conference room as an anxious crowd shuffled closer for a better view. The answer came in a matter of moments as the 8 miniature engines gained revolutions per minute – emitting noises reminiscent of Star Wars sound effects – and the 14-foot-long Hyperloop UC pod achieved roughly a quarter-inch of magnetic levitation.
The unveiling and demo of Hyperloop UC’s prototype at the University of Cincinnati’s Myers Alumni Center on Oct. 17 was indeed a moment to celebrate for a team of more than 60 UC students who had been working nonstop to refine their entry into an international Hyperloop competition hosted by Tesla founder Elon Musk. Musk has challenged the world to submit ideas – and now prototypes – for a tube-based passenger system that would allow for travel between cities at the speed of sound. Testing of prototypes will take place January 27-29 when they will insert their pod for takeoff in a mile-long test track next to SpaceX in Hawthorne, California.
Rendering of a finalized Hyperloop UC pod. photo/provided
UC got involved when UC aerospace engineering graduate student Dhaval Shiyani took Musk’s challenge to heart last year and began assembling an interdisciplinary team from across campus. UC’s group is one of just 30 that has advanced to the test round of the Hyperloop competition out of more than 1,200 teams worldwide. “We are very proud of the design we have created,” said Shiyani, Hyperloop UC’s president and an international student from India. “It hits all the marks with respect to performance, safety and scalability.”
Hyperloop UC’s design team has created conceptual drawings of their pod in use. photo/provided
Fellow graduate student Sid Thatham, also born in India, oversees finance, operations, marketing and fundraising for Hyperloop UC. “Our journey has been pretty amazing,” said Thatham. “We’ve had a chance to work on something that’s larger than all of us, something that actually is going to change the way people travel in the near future.”
If successful, the venture could completely shift the way commuters travel. Cincinnati to Chicago, for example, could be travelled in a half-hour – all while passengers relax in a capsule that levitates through the tube at more than 700 mph
Rendering of a finalized interior concept for Hyperloop UC pod. photo/provided
UC Board of Trustees Chairman Rob Richardson, Eng ’02, JD ’05, also offered words of encouragement to the team. “When we talk about innovation and what that means, it is not about making money,” said Richardson, who received his first degree in electrical engineering. “It is really about that spirit and that passion that anything is possible, and you can rebel against the status quo.” Richardson has also been the key driver behind Next Lives Here, an innovation summit at UC on Oct. 20 that will also include the Hyperloop UC prototype.
UC’s hyperloop team was among 120 teams invited to Texas A&M University in January of 2016 to present their ideas, where they were then selected to be among just 30 who are moving on to the final round of competition. UC is also the only group representing Ohio universities. Next, UC’s team will ship their pod to California for preliminary track testing in early November ahead of the competition with the 29 other teams in January.
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jr62jlAq5vg
http://magazine.uc.edu/editors_picks/recent_features/hyperloopuc.html
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