Skip to main content

Cocoa Motors' WalkCar transports passengers on a laptop-sized board

A Japanese inventor has developed the "world's smallest electric car" – an aluminium board with wheels that carries a passenger like a Segway and fits into a backpack
WalkCar by Cocoa Motors
Kuniaki Sato's company Cocoa Motors is set to launch the new personal transportation device this autumn.
The lightweight aluminium board is approximately the size of a laptop and can carry loads of up to 120 kilograms.

Available as an indoor and outdoor version, the four-wheeled WalkCar is powered by a lithium battery and can reach speeds up to 10 kilometres (6.2 miles) per hour.
WalkCar by Cocoa Motors
The device works similarly to the bulkier two-wheeled Segway device, with the user shifting their weight to change direction.
Stepping onto the board starts it automatically and disembarking immediately stops the motion. The device is small and light enough to pick up and pack away into a rucksack when necessary, similar to Impossible Technology's folding electric bike.


Related story: Clive Sinclair launches "world's lightest and most compact electric bike"

"WalkCar is the world's smallest electric car that can be mobile and put in a bag," said Cocoa Motors. "Just turn the body in the direction you want to go, you can move freely."
WalkCar by Cocoa Motors
According to Cocoa Motors, three hours of charging provides enough power for travelling distances of up to 12 kilometres (7.4 miles).
Sato came up with the idea while studying engineering. He set up Tokyo-based Cocoa Motors in 2013 and has since developed the concept into a working prototype.
WalkCar by Cocoa Motors
"I thought: 'What if we could just carry our transportation in our bags, wouldn't that mean we'd always have our transportation with us to ride on?' And my friend asked me to make one, since I was doing my masters in engineering specifically on electric car motor control systems," Sato told Reuters.
WalkCar is set to launch on crowdfunding website Kickstarter in October 2015, with a price tag of around 100,000 yen (£500) and shipping is expected in Spring 2016.
WalkCar by Cocoa Motors
Last month, the "world's lightest and most compact electric bike" surpassed its crowdfunding goal in just two days.
Lexus, meanwhile, unveiled its eagerly anticipated hoverboard last week, which uses magnetic fields to carry its rider without touching the ground.


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Father is stunned to find shocking pictures of his autistic daughter, 9, locked away and crying on the floor taken by school staff

Concerned father asked to see daughter's school file amid safety concerns, he was shocked to find photos of her crying and being punished Family have now released photos and are calling for an investigation School has been in special measures and has now got new management. The father of an autistic girl has told of his horror after he uncovered disturbing pictures of his daughter in a file at her former school. Alan Evans removed daughter Jasmine, now 11, from Tregolls School in Truro, Cornwall two years ago amid concerns about how staff were treating her.He was able to access the school's records and was shocked to find photos of her shut behind a child gate, crying her eyes out and rolling on the floor.  The father of Jasmine Evans, an autistic girl from Lanner, Cornwall, was shocked to find photos of her crying and locked behind a child gate in her school file after he became concerned she was being badly treated Mr Evans, who works as a nurse, has no...

5 young Nigerians

 ....on whether parents should be entitled to your money Nigerian parents often speak of reaping the 'fruit of their labor', but are they entitled to it? Young people were reminded of yet

Unknown Blind Girl Bath In Public