Hyperloop UPV: Pioneering the Future of High-Speed Travel

Hyperloop UPV – Eurocircuits

Picture yourself travelling in a train-like capsule which is levitating inside a tube at incredibly low pressure, moving at 1000 km per hour… It sounds like something taken straight out of a movie, but it’s actually what our team, Hyperloop UPV, is working on.

We are a multidisciplinary team of 50 students from the Polytechnic University of Valencia dedicated to developing this technology. Every year, we design and build a hyperloop vehicle and take it to the European Hyperloop Week, an international competition which, this year, will take place in Zurich.

At the beginning of every season, we like to reflect on where we’re at and where we want to move towards, and then based on that we set new goals. For example, to keep working towards scalability, this year we will implement a pressurised cabin. However, we also want to focus on other aspects, like innovation and efficiency, and that’s why we’re also working on developing a much more potent, innovative motor.

In a vehicle like ours, electrical and electronic components are a must. Over the years, we’ve integrated and hand-soldered 7.210 components!

Back in H7, two years ago, we were the first team to bring a vehicle to the competition that could truly levitate without touching any surface. Now, in H9, we aim to continue working towards innovation, and one of the ways in which we’re going to do that is by implementing a more efficient levitation control.

This is something that will be made possible thanks to our partnership with Eurocircuits since they have supported us with many different PCBs; and, in particular, with the LCU (levitation control unit).

The LCU controls the vehicle’s levitation system. It’s in charge of monitoring 10 levitation units, and to do that it receives 40 PWM signals and reads information from more than 30 sensors. It also has Ethernet, SPI and CAN FD communications.

The LCU is also in control of 10 coils and all of its possible monitoring variables. Based on the information collected from the distance sensors, it calculates the vehicle’s position inside the tube and controls the current given to each coil to correct any disturbances as quickly as possible. It also calculates the most optimal levitation distances to consume as little as possible and to increase the efficiency of the vehicle.

As imaginable, this board has a long list of requirements. It’s a very big PCB board, and it needs not one but two microcontrollers to be able to read and control all sensors and actuators. It also needs impedance control to ensure that high-frequency protocols such as Ethernet work adequately. Therefore, to route all channels appropriately, we have chosen a 6-layer stackup.

Thanks to Eurocircuits, our vehicle has PCBs with incredible quality, which allows us to keep innovating and pursuing our goals. We’re so grateful to be working with them, and we’re looking forward to what lies ahead!