Bloodhound Project Inspires Nationwide Interest in Mechanics and AI

Bloodhound Rocket Car

Encouraging young people to take an interest in engineering, mechanics, and the AI computing which works with it in modern machines, is not easy.

The Bristol based engineers secretly wrenching and casting bits of 3D printed titanium, are working in an nondescript unit on suburban trading estate on a world class record breaking supercar. The land speed record is set to be broken at a whopping 1000mph.


A drive to encourage young learners to look into the world of engineering and mechanics, alongside a close patriotic sense towards British ingenuity, the idea is to encourage new talent for the country as a whole. Lord Drayson, in his then role of Minister of Defence Procurement, gave the starting signal for the Bloodhound project once the idea to encourage and inspire was finalised.


"The primary goal is to inspire a generation of children to engage with STEM education, and create a legacy for British engineering,"  Mark Chapman – Project coordinator.


He goes on to impress with more fascinating detail about exactly how fast this new car is planned to be, “If you blink your eyes, your blink reflex is a fifth of a second. So if you were in a football stadium, and you blinked your eyes, Bloodhound SSC would come into the stadium on one side and leave on the other during one blink. You wouldn't see it, and you wouldn't have heard the car coming, either, because it's supersonic. Explain it in simple terms, and people start to understand just how fast it is.” Chapman.


Getting the thrilling speeds and technology in one package gives the emotional and methodical approach to learning, the element of Risk being another key factor. When one man does a crazy stunt, it encourages others to do more medium sized things which do wonders for their own lives.


A wide variety of commercial entities have shown significant interest in the Bloodhound Project over the past decade since it has been slowly and significantly being produced. Aiming to thrash several records including the fastest horizontal moving vehicle at the altitude of 2500ft, land speeds, and innovating Artificial Intelligence to allow the car to learn how it works for itself, interest is multi-field.


Ten thousand build it yourself rocket car kits have been made available to British School children via a government scheme. This is of course aimed at harnessing the buzz created around the Bloodhound Project which is aiming to make an initial run of 800mph in South Africa in 2017. The top speed record smash will take place the following year once all the data is gathered from the tests, and used to finely tune the vehicle even more.  

---