Nov 11, 2016 07:04 AM EST By Jane Reed, UniversityHerald Reporter

Last year, a student team from MIT took home the trophy for the winning Hyperloop Design. But this year, it is all about application. The real test begins on SpaceX's Hyperloop One. And college and university teams from around the world are getting ready to take this particular trophy home.

This year, there are thirty student teams participating in SpaceX's Hyperloop challenge. They all answered to Elon Musk's challenge to create a transportation system that would take an individual from point A to point B at top speed. Will these students break the speed of sound or even outrun the speed of a bullet?

It all depends on the design. According to Inverse, the pod itself must not only be effective and efficient but also affordable. And if the design can stand the test of a one mile long track through a tube with concrete and aluminum layers, then it may just win the competition. For now, these student teams are heading to SpaceX's Hawthorne, California site for the initial testing of their pod designs.

After figuring out if their pod fits the rails, can start up and work properly without glitches, then they can move on to the January 27-29, 2017 competition. If they find any faults in their design, they only have about two months to fix it.

Originally, SpaceX planned to have these teams' pods tested back in June 2016 but because of several issues concerning the completion of the Hyperloop track, they pushed the testing at a later date.

Elon Musk's vision to create such transportation system seemed absurd for some at first. But the reality of traveling from Dubai to Abu Dhabi in 12 minutes, or Finland to Sweden in 30 minutes is becoming a reality. Musk hopes to see such technology happen by 2038.

Teams are already experimenting with levitation, magnetism and more. Which student team do you think is going to win this competition?

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