The UPV, again, finalist in the 4th edition of the Hyperloop Pod Competition, organized by Space X
The Universitat Politècnica de València will be the only Spanish in the final phase. Of the 300 teams presented from around the world, only about twenty pass the cut.
Turian is the name of the third prototype of the UPV. With this project, the Valencian team hopes finally to achieve victory in this fourth edition
The team of more than forty students of the Universitat Politècnica de València has been classified, again, for the final phase of the Hyperloop Pod Competition IV, organized by the US company SpaceX, a benchmark in the aerospace field. The competition will take place in the city of Los Angeles next July 2019.
One more year, and there are four consecutive years, the UPV will be among the best teams in the world and will be able to present its fully functional prototype before the judges of the competition. Of the 300 aspirants from all over the world who have tried it on this occasion, only a score have managed to qualify for the final round. No other Spanish team has ever managed to overcome these first tests.
And is that these initial phases are tremendously demanding and only two out of 30 proposals pass the cut. It is required to write an extensive document with all the technical details of what will be a posteriori prototype built and defend by videoconference the feasibility of the design.
Hyperloop, the transport of the future
Hyperloop is an idea of means of transport based on a system of large vacuum tubes, which circulate some capsules capable of transporting passengers and goods that reach speeds of more than 1,000 km / h in a completely sustainable way. The goal is to connect the most important cities in the world to make life easier for people.
At the end of 2015, the visionary Elon Musk launched a university competition with his company SpaceX and encouraged students from all over the world to participate in the competition by proposing ideas. Since then, the Hyperloop Pod Competition has held three editions, which have served to develop innovative solutions, as well as recruit the best students.
Hyperloop UPV, from the beginning among the best in the world
The UPV has not missed any of these competitions. In the first edition, held in February 2016, the Valencian project was surprised to win the award for Best Conceptual Design and the Best Propulsion System. A year later, the team partnered with Purdue University (USA) and managed to be in the top 10 with its built prototype, the Atlantic II.
The following design, already totally Valencian, came to lead the competition in the summer of 2018. In fact, he managed to overcome a total of 50 tests and validations before suffering an electrical breakdown that prevented him from continuing. Finally, Valentia repeated his position in the list of winners, among the top 10, ahead of such prestigious universities as Berkeley or Michigan.
Year after year, the requirement of SpaceX and the level of universities increase exponentially. In the opinion of the students who have participated in its editions, Hyperloop is one of the most complicated engineering competitions on the planet. Hyperloop UPV, consolidated as one of the best teams in the world, will finally seek victory in this new edition.
Turian, a prototype to win
The students are now working against the clock to realize their third prototype, which has been baptized as Turian. Hyperloop UPV remains committed to the goal of showing its Valencian origins throughout the world, so the name chosen refers to the river that crosses the city.
The Hyperloop Pod Competition IV will take place in July 2019. It will then be when Turian tries to drive at the maximum speed possible in a nearly 1.5 km vacuum tube, which SpaceX has built in front of its headquarters in Hawthorne, California
Hyperloop UPV has the support of more than 50 companies and institutions that are firmly committed to innovation and university talent. However, the team is convinced that such a large project requires the maximum possible support, so it encourages more companies to get on this train and revolutionize the world of transport.