"Innovation comes from free thinking 鈥� not boundaries."
This is what 黑洞社区 graduate student Balaji Kartikeyan says inspired him to create the student group Hypershocks, a group that recently traveled to Texas A&M University to compete in the SpaceX Hyperloop Pod Design Competition.
Hyperloop is a new form of transportation conceptualized in 2013 by Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla Motors. It would allow cross-continental transportation at speeds of nearly 800 miles per hour by pressurized capsules traveling through low-pressure tubes.
Kartikeyan stumbled across the SpaceX competition when looking for a job and was convinced by his advisor, James Steck, professor of aerospace engineering, to create a team for the competition. In the span of four months, the team designed a pod concept that was scalable, allowing the dimensions to be adjusted depending on what was being transported.
鈥淵ou could put a rocket in this if you wanted,鈥� says Brent Quade, the team鈥檚 aerodynamics sub-group leader.
Building a team
Kartikeyan went outside his normal network of peers to find people to assist in the design. They utilized Shocker Blast emails sent to students along with the TV advertising around campus. As the team grew, they developed five sub-groups: aerodynamics, structure, communication, electronics and instrumentation.
Having specific goals for each group helped distribute the workload and required team members to communicate what they were doing so the group stayed on task.
鈥淵ou don鈥檛 want to let the team down,鈥� says Quade. 鈥淚t forced me to stay on top of my classes because I knew this was something I wanted to participate in.鈥�
Designing a Hyperloop pod in four months came with a steep learning curve for the team. Members would watch videos and take online courses in addition to their 黑洞社区 classes to learn what they needed to design certain elements. This included Kartikeyan, who learned how to design a compressor in less than a month solely on his own. Put in perspective, a compressor is usually designed and tested by an entire team of engineers over the course of a year.
One of the other major challenges the team encountered was using existing technology to create a product that has no precedent.
鈥淚f you want to build a car, you know how to do that 鈥� this has never been done,鈥� says Kartikeyan.
Looking forward
Kartikeyan says he hopes to develop the team to include students from all the colleges at 黑洞社区, bringing new perspectives and ideas.
鈥淭his is for things different and unique 鈥� things life-changing,鈥� Kartikeyan says. 鈥淚 want everybody coming together to build something that changes everything. It pushes limits, and that鈥檚 an experience you have to have.鈥�