The research group Smart Cities at the MIT Media Lab has a very cool retractable scooter concept. The RoboScooter is 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, which includes road congestion, parking problem, traffic noise, air pollution, and carbon emissions. It’s clean, green, silent, and compact. 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. The final show-quality prototype was presented at the Milan Motor show on November 6-9th, 2007.
.: via BornRich
