Shift Moonwalkers Help You Walk Faster? How About Tractor Treads!
This tweet shows that there are a variety of clever ways to increase your foot speed by adding wheels - the Shift Moonwalkers.
Moonwalkers do not freewheel like roller skates. They move only when you do. This means you can go up and down stairs, step into mass transit, and wait confidently at intersections.
The 8-wheel patented drivetrain consists of overlapping wheels to simulate much larger diameter wheels to climb over uneven terrain. Two additional wheels at the toe include a one-way locking clutch.
At the heart of Moonwalkers, a state-of-the-art brushless DC motor distributes its power across eight polyurethane wheels through a precision machined gearbox.
Science fiction writers were also inspired; they wanted to add to man's solutions to the problem of personal locomotion. For example, in Magician of Dream Valley, published by Astounding Science Fiction in 1938, Raymond Z. Gallun makes the following suggestion for weary spacemen:
HIS EQUIPMENT consisted chiefly of a highly developed space armor. The thing was massive. Each foot was a miniature atom-powered tractor...
Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!)
is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for
the Invention Category that interests
you, the Glossary, the Invention
Timeline, or see what's New.
Gaia - Why Stop With Just The Earth?
'But the stars are only atoms in larger space, and in that larger space the star-atoms could combine to form living matter, thinking matter, couldn't they?'
Microsoft VASA-1 Creates Personal Video From A Photo
'...to build up a video picture would require, say, ten million decisions every second. Mike, you're so fast I can't even think about it. But you aren't that fast.'