The top three academic teams in the SpaceX Hyperloop Pod Competition used Dassault Systèmes’ 3DEXPERIENCE platform to design and develop award-winning pods having the potential to impact the future of high-speed travel. The Hyperloop concept of a pod travelling through a tube at high speeds is being explored as a safer, faster, less costly and more sustainable alternative to current modes of transportation.
Technical University of Delft placed first overall and won the award for design and construction using the 3DEXPERIENCE platform on the cloud to design a pod to reach speeds over 1,200 km/h with a mass of 149 kilograms, minimal air resistance and a fail-safe braking system. Technical University of Munich, which used CATIA applications, came in second place overall and received the award for the fastest pod. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, which used SOLIDWORKS applications, came in third place overall and won the safety and reliability award.
These same virtual applications have long been deployed by industry to imagine, explore and create the disruptive experiences in air, space, land and sea travel that are defining an era, from the first solar-powered aircraft to fly around the world without fuel to the development of fully connected and autonomous electric vehicles and technologically advanced boats. Dassault Systèmes’ technology enabled dozens of students on each team to collaboratively design, manage engineering complexity, and simulate real-world performance of their pods to introduce features that differentiated them from those of 24 other competitors.
The Hyperloop Pod Competition was created by Elon Musk and SpaceX to help accelerate the development of a functional Hyperloop prototype and encourage student innovation by challenging university students to design and build the best Hyperloop pod.
“What an achievement by the three Hyperloop Pod Competition finalists, whose students represent the future of engineering through ideas that could dramatically change how we live,” said Philippe Forestier, Executive Vice President, Global Affairs and Communities, Dassault Systèmes. “Imagine the experience of comfortably travelling between major cities in record time thanks to renewable energy. Dassault Systèmes is proud that its technologies played a role in creating the pods that took home the competition’s top prizes.”
