Science Fiction
Dictionary
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
 |
Motosk8 - Next Best Thing To Tele-Motor-Coasters
Motosk8 is a very special kind of personal transportation, designed by extreme sports enthusiast Tim Gendle. While not made by Acme, this device looks like something that Wile E. Coyote might try - it's an inline skate with a 22.5 cc two-stroke gas motor attached.
(From CNET Asia)
Only one skate is powered (which brings to mind a number of painful possibilities), and it weighs 12 pounds. However, you can hit 25 miles per hour by using a hand-held throttle cable assembly and brake using the standard inline drag brake.
And, what's more, if you run out of gas, you can just continue to free skate to the gas station. Try that with your Hummer. Not that you're likely to run out of gas; Motosk8 averages 100 mpg (the manufacturer doesn't state whether that is in the city or on the highway).
More than ninety years ago, Hugo Gernsback wrote about a device called a tele-motor-coaster in his excellent novel Ralph 124c 41 +:
...Ralph bade Alice sit down on a chair in the vestibule. He pressed a nearby button twice and a servant brought two pairs of what appeared to be roller-skates.Engineers will be eager to get their hands on some of that remarkable weight-reducing metal alomagnesium; see the previous article Obtaining Unobtainium At DARPATech 2004.In reality they were Tele-motor-coasters. They were made of alomagnesium and each weighed only about one and a half pounds... Between the wheels was a small electric motor - about the size of a lemon...
(Read more from Tele-Motor-Coasters)
Take a look at a brief Motosk8 video. See more complete specs for Motosk8's at Motosk8; story from Motosk8 CNETAsia Reviews via Gizmodo.
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 9/30/2004)
Follow this kind of news @Technovelgy.| Email | RSS | Blog It | Stumble | del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit |
Would
you like to contribute a story tip?
It's easy:
Get the URL of the story, and the related sf author, and add
it here.
Comment/Join discussion ( 6 )
Related News Stories - (" Transportation ")
SpaceX Rocket Shuttle Point-To-Point On Earth
'He came to as the ship went into free flight, arching in a high parabola over the plains...' - Robert Heinlein, 1951.
CORLEO Robotic Horse Concept Looks Ready To Ride
Imagine digging your heels in to a steam horse!
Futuristic Transit Elevated Bus Never Really Worked
It was worth a try!
Japan Automated Cargo Transport
'It was not a roadway at all, as Graham understood such things...' - HG Wells, 1899.
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.
Science Fiction
Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's 1950's
1960's 1970's
1980's 1990's
2000's 2010's
Current News
China Steals Strato Airship Design From Google App Engine
'...war-balloons, or, as it would be more correct to call them, navigable aerostats.'
The First Space Warship For Space Force
'Each of the electrical ships carried about twenty men...'
Biohybrid Jellyfish Explore The Ocean
As predicted, and detailed, by science fiction writers!
Should AIs and AI Robots Demand Rights?
'This robot is a creature... It is a manlike being. Therefore, like any other talking, thinking man, he is entitled to a court trial!'
Robot Learns Human Tool Usage By Imitation Learning
'I got one of those new electronic cameras...'
Companion Caregiver ChatGPT Dolls
'Every Artificial Friend is unique, right?'
'Pregnancy Humanoids' From China Replace Moms
'A great many of these synthetic babies were made...'
Man Builds 200 Foot Basement Firing Range
'The basement was huge... carved deep into the rock.'
Russians Create Robot Tank Platoons
'The remotely-operated robot tank is an old idea...'
3D-Printed Exoskeleton Learns From Your Hand
'...small electric motors at the principal joints worked the prosthetic framework by means of steel cables...'
Smartwatch Powered By Slime Mold
'Living protoplasm incorporated into the Ampek F-a2 recording system...'
Unmanned Boats Attack At Sea
'The autofreighter smashed into the boat...'
Carpentopod Walking Table
'Twoflower's Luggage, which was currently ambling along on its little legs...'
Iron Drone Raider Counter-UAV Operations
'You've got an aggressive machine up in the air now.'
SpaceX Rocket Shuttle Point-To-Point On Earth
'He came to as the ship went into free flight, arching in a high parabola over the plains...'
Quaise Uses Beams Of Energy To Dig Geothermal Wells
'The peculiar quality of this light, which gave it its great preeminence over all other penetrating rays...'
