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Richard Branson and Virgin join forces with Hyperloop One
Today, the Virgin Group has announced that it has invested in Hyperloop One, the startup that recently demonstrated a working prototype of the travel system. As well as cash, and the involvement of Sir Richard Branson, the company will re-brand as Virgin Hyperloop One in the near future. In a statement, Branson described the technology as the "world's most revolutionary train service."
A hyperloop route may zip between Kansas City and St. Louis
The earliest hyperloop routes might not be limited to wealthy tech havens like California or the UAE. Missouri officials and Hyperloop One are seriously exploring the possibility of a hyperloop route that would run between Kansas City and St. Louis. In theory, the pod-based system would shuttle you between the cities in under half an hour, instead of the nearly 4 hours it takes by car -- you could commute from one end of the state to the other for work.
Hyperloop One is closer to deciding its first planned route
One of the ways that Hyperloop One is working out which routes it wants to build is through its "Global Challenge" program. It is, essentially, an X-Factor style competition in which candidate cities and states can audition for the prize of getting to buy their own high-speed travel systems. Now, the company has announced which regions are in the running to be the first to get their own Hyperloop route.
India wants its own, 27-mile Hyperloop
Hyperloop Transportation Technologies, Dirk Ahlborn's crowdsourced Hyperloop project, has signed another deal in another country. The company has shaken hands with the Andhra Pradesh Economic Development Board in India with the aim of building a loop connecting the two cities of Vijayawada and Amaravati.
Even if Hyperloop fails, public transport will win
One hundred and fifty teams from around the world entered the third SpaceX Hyperloop Pod Competition. Of those, 25 made it to the company's weeklong event in Hawthorne, California. And like the prior years' events under the Southern California sun, after days of testing and dry runs, only a select few were chosen to do a proper vacuum-sealed run down the 1.25 kilometer track.
Hyperloop Pod Competition winner hits over 200MPH
Adjacent to SpaceX headquarters, 25 teams gathered for another Hyperloop Pod Competition. This time the winner would be judged by how quickly they could go down the 1.25 kilometer (about .77 miles) track. On the final day of competition, three teams advanced to the finals and had the chance to push their pod to the limit.
Bloomberg: Elon Musk is building his own Hyperloop
Elon Musk may have dreamt up the Hyperloop, but the bulk of its development has been carried out by others. When he unveiled the white paper in 2013, the South African billionaire said that his vision was "open sourced," and it would be for other startups to build it out. Now, however, sources close to Musk say that he will now build his own Hyperloop, starting with the New York to Washington D.C. route.
Hyperloop One's passenger pod takes its first ride
Just weeks after Hyperloop One demonstrated a working, albeit slow, version of its levitating sled, the company has made another leap forward. This time around, the startup has successfully tested its XP-1 passenger pod, reaching speeds of up to 192 mph and levitating off the track as it accelerated.
Elon Musk’s Hyperloop 'approval' seems to be from the White House
Earlier today, we reported that Elon Musk and The Boring Company had reportedly been given verbal government approval to build a Hyperloop that would connect New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington DC, according to a tweet posted by Musk.
South Korea wants its own Hyperloop for high-speed transit
Hyperloop Transportation Technologies has signed a deal to codevelop the future of transit with South Korea. The partnership will see the company working with both the local government, its institute of civil engineering, and Hanyang University. The group will research all aspects of Hyperloop technology, from the tubes themselves through to developing safety regulations determining its use.
Hyperloop One reveals its plans for connecting Europe
One of Hyperloop One's smartest ideas was the Global Challenge, a "competition" where cities could pitch for the honor of hosting a Hyperloop. From the suggestions, the company then produced a shortlist of routes that were both technically feasible and economically viable. We've already seen the candidate cities in the US, and now the company has revealed its thinking for Hyperloop corridors across Europe.
SpaceX announces date for second Hyperloop pod competition
It's been less than three months since the first Hyperloop Competition blasted test pods down a 1.25-kilometer test track in Southern California and SpaceX is already gearing up for the second edition. Hyperloop Pod Competition II will take place at SpaceX's Hawthorne, California facility over the weekend of August 25-27th, 2017.
Hyperloop One's test route is ready to run
It was August 2013 that Elon Musk, under pressure from Shervin Pishevar, published his white paper on the Hyperloop. Just three years and seven months later, and the world's first Hyperloop tube has been declared ready for testing. Hyperloop One has announced that DevLoop, its Nevada test facility, has been "finalized," and will serve as the testbed for the future of transportation.
ICYMI: Watching plants grow and playing 'Mario Kart' with an actual car
Today on In Case You Missed It: The thought of watching a plant grow seems, well, boring. But researchers from the Institute of Science and Technology in Austria used lasers, fluorescent lights and a microscope to track the growth of a flowering weed's roots. The end result is a close-up 3D video that looks more like a glowing burrowing worm than a plant. The researchers also twisted the plate the plants are growing on to see how the roots adjust to changes in gravity, which could be helpful when we need to grow food in space.
Hyperloop company begins building its first passenger pod
Hyperloop Transportation Technologies has announced that construction will soon begin on its first passenger capsule. The pod is being built in partnership with Spanish engineering firm Carbures and is expected to be unveiled in early 2018. HTT says that the craft will be tested and tweaked at its Toulouse HQ, ready to run in the first "commercial" Hyperloop system that the company expects will be announced in the near future.
Hyperloop One offers a proper glimpse at its Nevada test site
Hyperloop One has been showing off bits and pieces of its high-speed tube transport system over the past several months, but now it's ready to show something more complete. The company has offered a fuller look at its in-progress Nevada test tube, the DevLoop, and... it's a long tube. Really, though, this shows that the 1,640ft-long project is progressing and should be ready for its first public trial. However, you might be waiting a little longer than expected to see it in action.
After Math: Baby come back
This was a week of many happy returns. Stanford students brought back 5,000 year old Chinese beer, Prince's catalog has reappeared on streaming services not owned by Jay Z and a pair of classic Hot Wheels cars are coming out of retirement to make their Rocket League debut. Numbers, because how else will we know how long you've been gone?
Exiled Hyperloop One co-founder launches rival venture
The former co-founder of Hyperloop One has made his grand return to the world of firing people across the country in vacuum tubes. Brogan BamBrogan has announced the launch of Arrivo, a new company that'll develop technology based on Elon Musk's Hyperloop concept. It's the third such company to enter the fray, competing with Hyperloop One and Hyperloop Transportation Technologies.
Watch three teams compete for the best Hyperloop pod design
Last Sunday 27 teams brought their completed Hyperloop pods to SpaceX's headquarters in Southern California hoping to get time in the vacuum-sealed track. After a battery of tests by the judges, only three of the vehicles were deemed worthy of the tube. Engadget caught up with members of groups from MIT, Delft University in the Netherlands and the Technical University of Munich about their pods and the technology behind them.
SpaceX's Hyperloop competition finally puts pods in the tube
"I almost cried the first time it went 50 kilometers per hour." Marleen van de Kerkhof is part of the Delft Hyperloop team from the Netherlands. It's been an eventful 12 months for the crew. After qualifying as finalists at the Hyperloop Pod Competition Design weekend in Texas along with 26 other teams, they had to actually build a working pod. Those sketches, models and 3D renderings filled the Kyle Field Hall of Champions at Texas A&M this weekend, where they sped down the 1.25-kilometer tube SpaceX built next to its headquarters in Southern California.
