It has been a year since Elon Musk announced that he was planning on building a five-mile-long Hyperloop test track, where companies and student teams could test out pod designs. Right on schedule, last weekend was the first official SpaceX Hyperloop Pod Competition at Texas A&M University. The 22 winning student teams, including one from MIT, will advance to the testing round in California.
Winners were chosen from over 120 engineering teams, representing 27 U.S. states and 20 countries. Judges selected the final 22 based on factors like innovation, design uniqueness, system applicability and economics, detail, analysis and test support, feasibility and overall presentation. If everything goes according to Musk’s plan and the Hyperloop is made a reality, it will transform mass transit by allowing passengers to speed from Los Angeles to San Francisco in less than 30 minutes.
