PUSH THE BOUNDARIES
Our mission is to advance urban connectivity by making underground transportation, utility, and construction infrastructure cheaper, more efficient, and sustainable.
WINNERS of the 2024 Not-a-Boring-Competition Mini-Event
We are a zero-bloat team, committed to extreme ownership and a first-principles obsession with optimizing tunnelling.
What is a Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM)?
At its core, a TBM is a big drill that's used to construct tunnels underground. TBMs are safer, more sustainable, and cost-effective alternatives to existing tunneling methods and are used for infrastructure projects within utilities, telecom, energy, transportation, and mining.
Deep Innovation
Historically, tunnels were made using cut-and-cover: a trench is dug, the tunnel is made, and the surface is returned to its original state. This method of tunneling is time-consuming and disruptive.
Penn Hyperloop is developing trenchless tunneling machines to accelerate tunneling and push the boundaries of urban topology.
The Competition
Every year, The Boring Company (TBC), founded by Elon Musk, holds a global competition for university students to design, build, and test innovative TBMs, fueling the field of next-gen transportation with ambitious, young, and talented engineers ready to take the mantle. For the 2024-25 season, we are competing in the main event, where teams dig a half-meter diameter, 30-meter long tunnel.
WHY PENN HYPERLOOP
Simplify, Automate, Accelerate, Win.
Penn Hyperloop approaches microtunneling from first-principles. We question requirements and simplify where our others add undue complexity. This allowed us to make a fully functioning MTBM with 294 parts, whereas most competitors used 5000+. With only four engineers and three months, this is unheard of in student teams.
