Mechanical engineering students at the University of Illinois built a working 1:24 scale model of Elon Musk’s Hyperloop concept as a design project for this past spring semester.
The scaled-down model still takes up an entire room, and several design concepts had to be modified and simplified to get it working, including changing the design to be an oval loop instead of the proposed straight “highway”.
The lead on the project, Andrew Horton, recently graduated and is no longer working on this project, but there are others still at the University eager to continue building more prototypes based on his work (you can read more details about changes made for the model and part of an interview with Horton at VICE).
More students are expected to get involved in the wake of SpaceX’s announcement of the Hyperloop Pod Design Competition, and one team has already been created to work on a prototype of their own for the competition.
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