Okay, so the Segway didn’t exactly change the way cities are built, as inventor Dean Kamen once suggested. After all, how many people need and can afford a $5,000 gyroscope scooter that you still have to stand in to ride? Now, GM and Segway are working on a reinvention, dubbed the Personal Urban Mobility and Accessibility Project, or P.U.M.A., for now. With help from a lithium battery, the self-balancing two-wheeler nearly triples the speed of the original Segway at 35 miles per hour and seats two for a luxurious tours of the city — smells and all. Worried about accidents? The P.U.M.A. can apparently talk to surrounding vehicles to avoid collisions. There’s no street date in sight, but the vehicle is set to debut at the New York Auto Show this week. It’ll probably cost about a quarter of what you’d spend on a typical car. Video after the jump…
Segways were supposed to be cool, until they became the transportation method of choice for mall cops, sucker tourists and lazy rich people. The Cajun Crawler, however, might still have some “wow” appeal, with its network of legs that provide crab-like movement. Inspired by Theo Jansen’s crawling beach creatures, students at the University of Louisiana wanted to create a similar idea, but one that could carry some weight on its shoulders. The legs are constructed of 5052 aluminum, and all joints contain deep-groove ball bearings. Looking at the video, it seems that the Cajun Crawler moves at a walking pace, but if you can play Chamillionaire’s “Ridin’” in the background like the student inventors did, you’d be in business. [YouTube via Dvice]
Zoomi World has the solution for people who like biking, but not so much the strenuous exercise that goes with it. The Monterey sports a 350 W rear-hub motor — larger than that of most similar bikes, Zoomi says — and a removable 36-volt 13aH battery, good for about 33 miles of travel. Bikers can select from three modes: Throttle, Pedal-assist and Pedal-only, depending on how much work you feel like doing. Speed tops out at 20 mph with Shimano Nexus 6-speed gearing. All kidding aside, it’d be great to have something like this for steep walking hills, but it obviously costs a bit more than the average mountain bike. Suggested retail price is $1,499, and it’s available now. [via Zoomi World]
When it comes to improving a car’s mileage and power consumption, the answer for BMW lies in space, sort of. The luxury automaker is looking to NASA for efficiency solutions, adding thermoelectric generators similar to those used on satellites. Though BMW’s version obviously lacks nuclear power, the generators pull heat exhaust from the engine to generate up to 200W of power. In addition to powering secondary electrical systems, this increases fuel efficiency by 5 percent. For NASA, I imagine this private consulting gig will result in much-needed cash during a time when taxpayer spending is under the microscope. Look for the space-inspired Bimmer in 2014. [CAR via CrunchGear]
Oasis of the Seas is a wave-devouring monstrosity. If you tend to feel cramped on your average cruise, kick back on the 1181-foot long passenger vessel and relax a little. You’ll be propelled through the ocean waters by 20-foot propellers strapped to 8 v12 engines, each pumping out the equivalent of 17500 swimming horses. Your room will be among the 2700 located in the two 6-story towers that are separated by a beautiful courtyard dubbed “Central Park”, where you can lay out and enjoy some rays or play a game of football. Congratulations Royal Caribbean you secured the title of world’s largest cruise ship with this $1.2 billion beast. Enjoy it for another year or two before the next one comes along. [DVICE]
We’ve previously written about the Brammo Enertia electric motorcycle, which rides for 45 minutes on a single charge at up to 53 mph. Come May, you’ll actually be able to get one for just $12,000 if you’re near any of the five selected Best Buy locations to carry it. Eventually, the bike will come to all of Best Buy’s U.S. stores, plus some in Europe and China. Interestingly enough, Brammo CEO Craig Bramscher believes his company is selling a product that’s “a lot closer to consumer electronics than to transportation.” Best Buy’s Geek Squad will reportedly do smaller repairs — simultaneously a cool and terrifying concept — using the store’s garage bays that Bramscher says are “underutilized.” Bigger jobs will have to go to a distribution center. It’s not clear whether the Geek Squad will first slap on a $200 diagnostic fee and then decide the bike needs virus cleaning (and then use 2 hours of labor looking for homemade porn on your machine). [Greentech Media via Engadget]
Just in case you wanted to capture the sheer trepidation and curiousity on your prey’s face before you pull out your Browning, the new Canon PowerShot D10 is coming to you live, in full camo. Questionable use of camaflouge aside, the camera looks pretty sweet through and through. Inside the rugged, waterproof exterior you’ll find 12.1 MP sensor, 3x zoom, DIGIC 4 processor, image stabilization, and a 2.5-inch PureColor LCD II. You’ve also got all your proofs covered–10 M waterproof , freezeproof, shockproof and shatterproof–a 2 mm shield protects the display from any potential clumsiness, or incidental hit from bird shot. Availability is set for April with a price around $330. [Engadget]
The iPhone has a lot of uses. But one thing it hasn’t been able to do is operate a vehicle, at least until now. Rinspeed, designer of all kinds of crazy concept cars, has developed the iChange for the Geneva Motor Show. The iChange is billed as “the world’s first car whose body adapts to the number of passengers on board.” Sounds pretty comfy for a sleek concept car that looks this cool. The adjustable seats and car ignition can be controlled with an iPhone, leaving the key in the past. Also gone are car doors, and instead, the vehicle’s roof tilts forward for passenger loading. The car is powered by an electric motor that runs on lithium ion batteries, with different configurations for long and short distances. [zoomilife]
Everyone who’s ever dreamt of taking a spin in the Back to the Future Delorean or KITT from Knight Rider is about to get a welcome addition to their game collection. Today marks the day that the Legendary Cars pack is available for download for Xbox’s Burnout Paradise. Four new iconic cars will be available, most anticipated among them the Jansen 88 Special, modeled after the legendary Delorean, flip up wheels and hovering action included. Ecto 1 from Ghostbusters will be played by the Manhattan Spirit, the General Lee goes by the name Cavalry Bootlegger and KITT takes on the alias Carson Nighthawk. The Jansen will be selling for $3.99/320 credits and the rest of the vehicles will be $1.99/160 credits each. Or bundle all 4 for $7.99/600 credits. [Auto Blog]
