UC Irvine HyperXite 2024-2025

Founded in 2015, UCI HyperXite is a team of multidisciplinary undergraduate students on a mission to revolutionize the transportation industry by bringing a new kind of sustainable high speed bullet train to life.

HyperXite 9 members preparing the pod during Demonstration Day 2023 Each year, we work to incorporate new technologies into the design of our internationally top-ranked hyperloop pod. What started off as a small air-based levitation system project has now become a team of 35 dedicated students seeking to innovate this original formula through new designs utilizing thermal cooling, aerodynamics, and soon, magnetic levitation.

From creating linear induction motors and complex circuit boards to building powerful braking systems and pod chassis, our team gives UCI students a unique opportunity not found anywhere else on campus. Our members gain hands-on experience and apply their classroom knowledge to real-world problems through comprehensive design, testing and construction of our pod. Over 10 years, we have built a rich history of excelling in competitions against graduate students and industry professionals. This includes international competitions such as European Hyperloop Week and the SpaceX Hyperloop Pod Competition, where we placed in the Top 6. These achievements, along with being a celebrated project at UCI – winning the Dean's Choice Award amongst 200+ other senior design projects multiple times in recent
years – showcase our team's capabilities and dedication.

HyperXite team presenting at European Hyperloop Week 2022

 

HyperXite 9 receiving a stator core sponsored by Proto Lam LLCLooking Forward 

This year, we seek to further develop the last pod’s first ever linear induction motor (LIM) system. Achieving this has led to the introduction of new subteams investigating strategies for greater cooling and reduced drag. It additionally brought forth the creation of our Levitation Research and Development team to study the physics of magnetism, ultimately paving the way for future pod magnetic levitation systems.

HyperXite member angle grinding during their work day

 

In order to showcase our latest technical advancements, we plan to attend the Hyperloop Global Conference – an international competition in Canada and the first competition we have attended in three years. We aim to showcase our work through entering into award categories for subsystem design, overall pod design, and new research. Our team plans to continue hosting our annual Demonstration Day to showcase our pod to the UCI community and our sponsors.

Presentation during Demonstration Day

 
By continuously improving our pod and participating in global competitions, we aim to empower students to grow as engineers in order to help bring the Hyperloop concept to life.

HyperXite 10 timeline

Our objectives for Pod 10:

1. To raise 15k for pod components – including our new magnetic levitation and aerodynamic shell 
2. To compete in the Canadian Hyperloop Global Conference and Competition
3. To successfully present our pod at Demonstration Day

How You Can Help Us

With your support, our team will be able to continue championing our cause and improve upon our numerous pod iterations. As a student-led project, we rely on many charitable donations to help fund components for our system and travel abroad for competitions. We’re grateful for all the donations we’ve received in the past and to keep this project going, we hope to raise our goal of 15k. Your contribution is critical to our project and any amount donated is greatly appreciated!