VicHyper revolutionary prototype wins another award

The award was presented by the Australian Information Industry Association, which hosts the iAwards to identify and reward technology innovations that help the community.

Having won at state level, the VicHyper team will represent the state in the national iAwards event in Melbourne in August which is part of Victoria’s 2017 Digital Innovation Festival.

At the national event, the VicHyper team will pitch their project live to the judges.

Philip Dalidakis, the Minister for Small Business, Innovation and Trade, has previously praised the VicHyper project.

“We can be extraordinarily proud of what the students have done,” he said.

“This is going to go down in RMIT history – what students not only can do, but should do, when they’re here.”

The prize comes in the wake of the team’s 2016 Premier’s Design Award, a 2016 Victorian Innovation Minister’s Diversity Award commendation and their Hyperloop honours.

Sponsors and stakeholders have commented how they have enjoyed liaising with VicHyper team members, acknowledging the entire team – past and present – who all deserve to share the glory.

Supported by RMIT, the VicHyper team is an interdisciplinary group of students lead by Zachary McClelland, which has 26 sponsors such as John Holland and the Victorian Government.

Earlier this year, the students competed in the SpaceX Hyperloop Competition finals in California.

Hyperloop uses a linear induction motor with air-tight pods that fly through a near vacuum tube, travelling at the speed of sound (1200km/h).

It has the potential to transport both people and cargo quickly and efficiently over long distances, such as along the east coast of Australia.

Story: Hala Khartabil