Tired of walking - then get onto your new midget ride-on board

by fulltimestudent 11 Replies latest social current

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  fulltimestudent

  Lifestyle: Pocket-sized personal transporters could soon be seen on the streets of Tokyo

  BY AT EDITOR on AUGUST 7, 2015 in JAPAN, LIFESTYLE

  (from Reuters)

  A Japanese engineer has developed a portable transporter small enough to be carried in a backpack that he says is the world’s first ‘car in a bag’.

  Twenty-six-year-old Kuniako Saito and his team at Cocoa Motors recently unveiled the lithium battery-powered “WalkCar” transporter, which is the size of a laptop and resembles a skateboard more than a car.

  The slender WalkCar is made from aluminum and weighs between two and three kilograms (4.4 to 6.6 pounds), depending on whether it is an indoor or outdoor version.
  

  Saito expects to see many other uses for his transporter, as he says it has enough power to help people push wheelchairs with ease. The lightweight aluminum board is stronger than it looks, and can take loads of up to 120kg (265 pounds).

  It reaches top speeds of 10 kilometers per hour (6.2 miles per hour), for distances of up to 12 kilometers (7.4 miles) after three hours of charging

  From Asia Times: http://atimes.com/2015/08/lifestyle-pocket-sed-personal-transporters-could-soon-be-seen-on-the-streets-of-tokyo/
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  Village Idiot

  Clicking on your link gives me an error 404 message. You misspelled a word in the URL/title. It's "sized" instead of "sed".

  http://atimes.com/2015/08/lifestyle-pocket-sized-personal-transporters-could-soon-be-seen-on-the-streets-of-tokyo/

  

  And the video:

  http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/08/07/us-japan-walkcar-idUSKCN0QC1MS20150807

  Frankly I believe that it's just another pricey gimmick like the Segway which came and went.
• 

  fulltimestudent

  Yeah! me too.

  I went back to Asia Times site and the article is still there. So not sure why that's happening.

  I tried again and this link worked OK

  http://atimes.com/2015/08/lifestyle-pocket-sized-personal-transporters-could-soon-be-seen-on-the-streets-of-tokyo/.

  and can see not any difference. Mystery! or maybe i'm too technically inept to see why.

  You could go to Asia Times web-site and scroll down the page.

  http://atimes.com/

  
  
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  Village Idiot

  You misspelled a word in the URL. It's sized instead of sed.

  I don't think that some people will be able to balance themselves on that thing especially if they're older. I also think that the wheels don't have enough clearance from the ground.
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  Village Idiot

  This is my form of transportation. With an electric motor it would be able to partially substitute for some automobile driving. My two trikes handle like a car instead of a bicycle. That comes in handy for safe riding.

  

  The one I have above has a Honda 4 cycle gas engine and does 25 mph with 70 mpg gas mileage. It's similar to this one:

  

  And the one below is my other trike.

  
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  fulltimestudent

  OK. Mystery solved - dopey me, except i cut and paste the web addie. ?????????

  I had the same thought about the 'walkcar' - would an elderly person, whose lost some balancing ability, be able to stay upright once it was moving? Maybe J is like

  I like your sunX3 - but I think I'd wish for the Honda, once I hit my first hill. Havn't seen one around Sydney, so maybe the government won't register them.

  A long way from the bike scene way back in the mid 1940s.
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  Village Idiot

  Forgot to link the company that made those bikes:

  Trailmate for the Lowrider. The engine is sold separately by Honda and needs to be attached by someone with handy skills.

  Sunbicycles. Look under recumbents X3 AX Trike. You might be able to find an electric motor designed for this bike. The noise from my 4 cycle Honda is a little too much for some people. It might also not be noticed as a motorized bike.
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  Vidiot

  If it was in the form of a skateboard, it might catch on.
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  prologos

  The trouble is braking. Riding this will be like relying on WT promises, do not expect it to end as advertised.
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  Oubliette

  Great, another device to prevent/allow laziness.

  Why Obesity Is a Health Problem