A Japanese engineer in graduate school 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’. Called the ‘WalkCar’, it is made from aluminium and weighs between two and three kilograms (4.4 to 6.6 pounds), depending on whether it is an indoor or outdoor version. It can hold up to 265 pounds (120 kg), and can also easily fit into a bag, so there is no need to find a parking space.
Kuniako Saito, its creator, and his team at Cocoa Motors say that the WalkCar can reach 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. According to them, it’s also extremely simple to ride. Once the rider stands on it the WalkCar starts automatically, while simply stepping off stops the vehicle. To change direction, the user just shifts their weight.
Saito expects to see many other uses for his transporter, as he says it has enough power to help people push wheelchairs with ease. His vision was to create a type of portable transportation that can fit inside a bag. His friend challenged him to design one. At the time Saito was earning his master’s degree in engineering, with a focus on electric car motors.
Saito says he is confident that WalkCar goes beyond bulkier devices such as the Segway or Toyota’s Winglet.[blockquote type=”left”]”Maybe I just see it that way, but it seems to me that the U.S. is always the one which invents new products and Japan is the one which takes those products and improves on them to make a better version of it. But here in this case, the WalkCar is a totally new product I have started from scratch. So I also I want to show the world that Japan can also be innovative”[/blockquote]
Interested customers can now donate and reserve a WalkCar for themselves on famous crowdfunding website Kickstarter, to officially be out for public in 2016 at the approximated price of $800. And should they not be mislead by its comparison to skateboarding. It’s appropriate for all ages. Shipping is expected to begin by spring next year.
This definitely has more real-world uses than that Lexus hoverboard that everyone has been going ga-ga about.
