It might seem like the Hyperloop idea died when Hyperloop One went bankrupt last year, because it was the last major bastion of the idea of ultra-fast ground transportation in a vacuum tube. Elon Musk's The Boring Company also abandoned the Hyperloop concept, focusing instead on simply digging tunnels. In Europe, however, as it turned out, this idea still has support and is developing.
Recently it became known that a 1/12 scale model of a hyperloop transport capsule test stand has been created and is successfully operating in Switzerland. Testing systems on a model allows scaling the result against real products and conditions. The length of the track in the form of a weak vacuum tube reaches 125.6 m with an internal diameter of 40 cm, equipped with all the electronics necessary for the operation of the future transport and allows simulating all types of movements of the capsule and the operation of its systems.
The project is called LIMITLESS (Linear Induction Motor Drive for Traction and Levitation in Sustainable Hyperloop Systems). The project is developed and supported by scientists from the Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL), researchers from the Vaud School of Business and Engineering (HEIG-VD) and employees of Swisspod Technologies.
According to the developers, they recently conducted the “longest testing” of the Hyperloop transport capsule model. She traveled 11.8 km at a speed of 40.7 km/h. If it was a real train, it would travel 141.6 km at a speed of up to 488.2 km/h. During testing, the team “observes the operation of vital subsystems”, including propulsion, communications infrastructure, power electronics and thermal management.
Developers evaluated "power consumption, thrust changes, linear induction motor response and control during acceleration, cruise, coasting and braking scenarios." “This is a key step towards making the Hyperloop a reality and changing the way we interact, work and live,” says a spokesperson for Swisspod Technologies.
In addition to this "western" Hyperloop also has an "eastern" Hyperloop. In this direction, Chinese researchers are actively working, who also have their own section of the test track with a low-vacuum tube and a magnetically suspended capsule. The Chinese Hyperloop model looks more impressive than the European one, but it is also far from practical application. In China, as well as in Europe, capsule control and power systems are being developed. The implementation of such decisions would be a real boom and a completely different story.