IIT-M Students’ Hyperloop team emerges among top 3 at global event

Avishkar Hyperloop of the Indian Institute of Technology-Madras (IIT-M), the only non-European team to be nominated in several categories, has emerged among the top three teams globally in certain technical categories at the recently-held European Hyperloop Week 2023 (EHW).

Team Avishkar Hyperloop comprises an IIT-M student team with more than 50 members, focused on revolutionising transportation with sustainable hyperloop technologies with funding support from various stakeholders, including the Union Government.

Having been granted several patents on Hyperloop technology, the team is pushing itself forward to build a 350 km-long Hyperloop corridor between Chennai and Bangalore that could bring down the travel time to just 30 minutes.

“We are looking at a timeline of developing India’s first Hyperloop corridor in the next two decades – with the first step being on-going construction of the upcoming 400m long Hyperloop test facility at IIT-M,” Siddhant Patole, student team lead, Team Avishkar Hyperloop, IIT-M said.

Team Avishkar Hyperloop team finished in the global top three for the category of ‘Full Scale Socio-Economic Aspects of Hyperloop,’ showcasing their extensive research on the estimated energy consumption and ticket pricing model of a typical Hyperloop corridor.

The team, which is also backed by industry partners like Tube Investments of India and L&T Construction, participated in the SpaceX Hyperloop pod competition in 2019 and finished in the top 10 among more than 1,600 teams, being the only Asian finalist.

The team also won the ‘Most Scalable Design’ award at the EHW 2021 and emerged among the global top five in the traction systems, electrical systems and complete pod categories in the European Hyperloop Week 2022 held in the Netherlands.

Around 23 participants from various institutions across the world qualified for the final rounds of this competition hosted this year by the University of Edinburgh. EHW 2023 is an annual international event that enables university students, guest speakers, and companies to discuss Hyperloop technology, feasibility and scalability of the Hyperloop.

“Avishkar continues the tradition of keeping our flag flying high as in previous years. Over the years, we have got to develop the full stack of Hyperloop technologies and I look forward to improving them in the future,” Prof. Satya Chakravarthy, Faculty Advisor, Avishkar Hyperloop, IIT- M, said.

Medha Kommajosyula, student team lead, Team Avishkar Hyperloop, IIT-M, said Avishkar’s new pod - ‘Garuda’ - is completely designed in-house and comes with multiple upgrades, thereby making it Asia’s most advanced pod.

It is powered by a Linear Induction Motor designed completely by our students' team, which is also the pod’s primary mode of braking, and incorporates bidirectional run capabilities and EMS levitation with a high lift-to-weight ratio while still being extremely power efficient, the IIT-M said.