LUMS students prepare for Hyperloop Pod competition

They regret lack of support from the government

LAHORE: A team of students from the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) is all set to show their concept design at an international competition. Its members say, however, they are disappointed with lack of support from the government.

The team HyperLums will participate in the Hyperloop Pod Competition at Texas A&M University in College Station Texas on January 29 and 30 to present its design for a futuristic transport concept originally proposed by Elon Musk of Tesla motors and Space X fame.



The team consists of Ahmed Hembel (the group leader), Ali Mannan Tirmizi, Afzal Ahmad, Talha Tahir, Ahmad Sohail, Muhammad Fasihul Haq, Muhammad Farooq Mazhar, Muhammad Mohsin Aslam, Muneeb Ijaz and Obaidullah Khan.

Speaking to The Express Tribune, Tirmizi, Ijaz and Tahir said they had contacted various government agencies and functionaries, including the Punjab Information Technology Board (PITB), the Pakistan Science Foundation and Federal Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal, to secure funds for their project but had received no reply from them.

They said the LUMS had provided funds for two of their five group members to fly to the United States to attend the competition.

They said a start-up payload.pk had also pitched in by sponsoring the team’s website.

They said HyperLums was the only team from Pakistan participating in the contest. They said that of the 50 teams attending the event from 16 countries, nine were from India.



The Hyperloop is a concept first introduced by Elon Musk for a high-speed transportation system that works by incorporating reduced-pressure tubes in which pressurised capsules ride on an air cushion driven by linear induction motors and air compressors. The system will be built initially between Los Angeles and San Francisco using two elevated tubes.

The HyperLums believes that through the innovative concept of Hyperloop, a sustainable, efficient and cheap mode of transportation could be created to help change travel worldwide. They say Hyperloop would enable travel at speeds up to 700 miles an hour.

The Hyperlums design was selected from entries around the world. The winning teams would be invited to work on the final design with help from a team of engineers at Space X.



They say that if their design is selected in the first phase of the competition, they would be asked to build a prototype or a component for the final prototype of Hyperloop.

LUMS Associate Professor Muhammad Sabieh Anwar has helped the students with the project. He says the technology the team is working on represents the future of travel.

He says that it is more important for countries like Pakistan where urbanisation is happening at a fast pace.

Sabieh says it is disappointing that the team has received no support from the government.

“It is easier to secure funds for attending conferences but no support mechanism is present for students working on such projects,” he said.

He says that green transportation projects are attracting attention worldwide. He says that although the government has been spending in the transport sector, there is lack of research and innovation in sustainable green projects.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 9^th, 2016.