The research group Smart Cities at the MIT Media Lab has a very cool retractable scooter concept (The RoboScooter). A lightweight, folding, electric motor scooter designed to provide convenient, inexpensive mobility in urban areas while radically reducing the negative effects of extensive vehicle use – road congestion, excessive consumption of space for parking, traffic noise, air pollution, carbon emissions that exacerbate global warming, and energy use.
MIT’s scooter comes with just 150 parts and it gets electricity from a battery that gets recharged each time the vehicle is replaced to its rack. There is no conventional drive train, thanks to the specially designed wheels, each with their own motor and suspension system. It is clean, green, silent, and compact. The final show-quality prototype was presented at the Milan Motor show on November 6-9th, 2007.
Via: BornRich
