A competition for the development of a pod-like express vehicle was earlier launched by Elon Musk-led SpaceX. A group consisting of 20 engineering students and advisers from UC Santa Barbara (UCSB) has been selected among the finalists. The team is called UCSB Hyperloop.

The competition involves a senior project, which is an opportunity of lifetime. SpaceX is a popular private space technology company which indulges in designing, producing and launching self-made rockets and spacecrafts. The competition is particularly for university students and independent engineering teams.

At the beginning of the competition, 1,200 teams across the world applied for the project. A design weekend was hosted at Texas A&M University to shortlist the teams. A total of 22 teams have been selected for finals on the basis of novelty, system applicability, and comprehensiveness of the design, along with other aspects of the vehicle. The pod-like vehicle being designed by teams will an essential part of a high-speed concept transportation system, known as the Hyperloop.

The system will enable a less than 30-minute traveling time between San Francisco and Los Angeles. The idea for the Hyperloop system was initially bought forward in 2013 by Elon Musk, the SpaceX and Tesla Motors co-founder.

The final round for the competition will be held in June. Now, for the finals, the selected teams will have to convert their respective designs of pod into a full-scale version with electromagnetic levitation, necessary for being tested on a mile long track of SpaceX.

There will be no prize for the winner of the competition. The winner will only get the right to be proud for winning such an esteemed competition, along with the ability to connect with engineers, who are already operating in this area. The captain of UCSB Hyperloop team, Trevor Fritz, said that the team will now be required to install a brake system in their design and make it capable of being ridden by an individual.