If the team's design comes to fruition, interstate travel could go from hours to minutes.
AZLoop, a team comprised of over 100 people, is one of 24 student teams competing in the upcoming SpaceX challenge meant to boost development of the Elon Musk's interstate transportation system.
The team, led by Lynne Nethken and Josh Kosar, has been preparing for the competition and developing their 'pod' since September 2016.
Their miniaturized pod, which is designed to travel inside a vacuumed chamber, is expected to "achieve speeds upwards of 300 miles per hour on a one-mile test track," Nethken said.
Immerse yourself in the AZLoop team's workspace and learn more about their project in the 360º video below.
The competition, which runs August 25-27, is focused towards each team's maximum speed, according to the SpaceX website.
Although AZLoop has run into challenges over the last 11 months, Kosar is confident that their design will pull together.
"Not only will we have a running pod, but we'll have an incredibly successful pod at competition weekend," Kosar said.
Nethken and Kosar strongly believe that this type of transportation could revolutionize society.
"If we were to build a route from Phoenix to Los Angeles, essentially your travel time would only be 30 minutes," Nethken said.
For context, the drive time from Phoenix to Los Angeles is almost 6 hours, while flights are 90 minutes, according to online travel sites.
