Hyperloop UPV
The Hyperloop UPV concept is a levitating rail-free pod design. Using magnetic repulsion and air cushioning for levitation is expensive and can produce unpredictable forces. The pod is equipped with a hybrid system of permanent magnets and electromagnet units, being able to control lift, so it can hover from the top of the tube. That way, the pod doesn't need so much electricity to be lifted by itself. Propulsion is obtained through expansion of the air with a nozzle, located at the rear of the pod, achieving speeds of up to 1000 km/h. The turbine recovers energy from the flow allowing a more efficient journey. This clean tube layout is said to cut costs in up to 30% of the whole Hyperloop project (about 180m USD) and the possibility to comfortably fit more passengers.
Hyperloop Transportation Technologies
The company was founded by JumpStarter, Inc., utilizing the company's crowdfunding and collaboration platform JumpStartFund. The company has assembled a team of community members, attracting high level engineers and contributing corporations including Ansys for computer simulation resources and GloCal Network Corporation and UCLA Architecture & Urban Design for developing the social interface for the Hyperloop project. A December 2014 article in "Wired" revealed that the initial development work was done by approximately 100 engineers located mostly in the United States. The contributors were working in exchange for stock options, and were selected from a group of about 200 who initially applied. In 2013, HTT partnered with the engineering software developer Ansys, which ran simulation models for the fluid dynamics of the Hyperloop.