Edinburgh University students are set to give a free talk on their project to develop an innovative transport system capable of carrying passengers at 750mph.

The team, known as HYPED, will present their project at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre (EICC), as the first in a series of free public talks at the venue.

Members of the team will explain their research towards a working model for Hyperloop, the brainchild of billionaire entrepreneur and inventor Elon Musk.

HYPED, is among dozens of groups around the world competing to design prototypes for Hyperloop, which aims to transport passengers over land, in pods held in a near-vacuum tube.

HYPED team member Jialei Ding said: “Hyperloop is a futuristic mode of transport that combines the best of rail travel with the best of aviation because it brings the speed of aviation together with the speed of rail travel.”

Hamish Geddes, another member of the HYPED team, explained that they can decrease “rolling resistance” by using “magnetic propulsion”, as well as reducing air friction by utilising a vacuum tube essentially creating “a space environment down on Earth”.

The students regularly demonstrate their research at events like the National Railway Museum in York, where they give engaging yet simple science lessons to young people in order to explain complex scientific ideas.

Recommended:

• Virtual Reality Tech to be Used to Stop Domestic Violence
• 5 Soft Skills All Tech Leaders Need to Develop
• The Power of Virtual Reality: An Interview with Viarama Founder Billy Agnew

“The earlier you start interesting young kids towards STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Maths) the better,” commented HYPED team member Abdul Hakim Norazman. “These children could be the next generation of technological scientists.”

Edinburgh’s HYPED team was founded in 2015 to construct working Hyperloop models and has grown to more than 200 students, from a range of academic disciplines.

The team will travel to California to take part in the finals of the SpaceX Hyperloop Pod Competition this summer with their third prototype – ‘The Flying Podsman’. This is the third year in which HYPED has reached the finals.

The students’ talk will take place at 6.30pm on the 4th of June at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre. For further details, visit: eventbrite.co.uk