IIT-M-incubated Hyperloop team's vacuum tube prototype inaugurated

Team Avishkar, the IIT Madras-incubated Hyperloop team have taken the next step in their journey to make Hyperloop a reality. They have started building a 0.5-kilomrtres- long test track at the IIT Madras Discovery Campus, equipped with vacuum capabilities, on-track propulsion and levitation.

Dr Pawan Goenka, Chairman Designate – INSPACe, Department of Space, India inaugurated their vacuum tube prototype and also witnessed the pod in action. This is also the first such facility built by students to test the fifth form of transportation which is expected to be ready by March 2022. In a tweet, the team mentioned that this has been designed after a year of research.

Team Avishkar comprises a group of young individuals from IIT-Madras who came together a few years ago for Hyperloop as a project and research. Since then, the team has been working with a single-minded focus on building a pod, a tube that carries the pod and the other technologies that require making this a scalable and viable option.

Called 'Garv', Team Avishkar bagged the ‘Most Scalable Pod Design Award’ at the European Hyperloop Week and were in the global top five in the mechanical, propulsion and levitation award categories. Two years ago, Team Avishar had participated in the SpaceX Hyperloop Pod Competition, and their effort and work was appreciated by none other than Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who first proposed the idea of having the fifth mode of transport — the Hyperloop — to the world in 2013.

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