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What began with a Twitter idea from Elon Musk will be tested in reality by students this summer.

As part of a global competition, the Boring Company called for the development of a new type of tunnel boring machine.

400 applications were received and twelve teams will be there in California this summer to show how they use the technology.

Including the TUM Boring Team at the Technical University of Munich (TUM).

Behind the project is, among others, the initiator and founder Kilian Schmid, a mechatronics student in his fifth semester and 22 years old.

"I started building my own tunnel boring machine about two years ago because I was so excited about the traffic situation in Munich," he says in an interview with "Gründerszene".

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Schmid shares Elon Musk's vision that cheaper tunnel systems could relieve traffic.

Electrically and autonomously operated - this is how the 22-year-old sees future road traffic underground.

“At the moment, tunneling is still far too slow.

That's why it's far too expensive, ”says Schmid.

He was able to complete the first prototype with the help of fellow students and, according to his own statements, has already completed a successful test drilling.

Now it's a matter of building an even more efficient drill for the competition.

According to the founder, one of the greatest challenges is logistics.

"On the one hand, building material has to be brought to the front of the machine, on the other hand the removed material has to be transported out."

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The Munich-based company is relying on automated logistics for this.

They don't want to reveal exactly what is behind the technology yet.

Hyperloop as a model for the Boring Company

The aim of the competition is to drill a 30 meter long tunnel.

It's about both the speed and the precision of the drilling process.

At the end of the competition, there must be a completed tunnel and a lane available so that a remote-controlled mini-Tesla can drive through.

As part of the competition, the tunnel will initially only have a diameter of 20 centimeters, the drilling machine currently weighs around 30 kilograms.

What still sounds like a toy format should lay the foundation for further development.

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It was similar at the time with the TUM Hyperloop initiative, which started in 2016 under the name WARR Hyperloop.

Her Hyperloop pod later reached a top speed of 463 kilometers per hour in the competition, setting a record.

The Munich team is now developing a test track in Bavaria.

TUM Boring needs a six-figure amount for drills

TUM Boring is not that far yet.

Nevertheless, the ambitions are great.

A team of 60 is now working on it.

The initiative is supported by TUM President Thomas F. Hofmann and the Makerspace Unternehmerertum.

In addition, the first sponsors are on board to support the project financially.

Despite the small scale, a six-figure sum is necessary to develop the drill, says Schmid.

The team is currently in the process of ordering the necessary parts.

The founder hopes that the lockdown regulations will soon be relaxed so that at least teams of five can work on the drill.

Currently only two people are allowed to work together.

“Because the project takes a lot of time, my studies are currently on hold.

I don't take any exams, ”says Schmid.

Elon Musk and the Boring Company have not yet revealed what there is to be won.

The Hyperloop competition featured a signed Hyperloop model.

The then head of the Munich Hyperloop project, Mariana Avezum, now works for Tesla in Berlin.

The exact time of the competition has not yet been determined.

In addition to the Munich-based company, not only the well-known MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) is participating in the project, but also another German team, namely DHBW Mosbach with the promising project name Dirt-Torpedo.

This text comes from a cooperation with the magazine "Gründerszene".

Click on the links, leave welt.de and land in the articles at gruenderszene.de.

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