Posts Tagged vehicle gadgets
X-Frame folding vehicle
Posted by admin in Future Concepts on September 2nd, 2010
Some of you might remember the end of the Jetsons title sequence. After George dropped off his family, he went to work and his flying car folded up into a briefcase.
There’s some technology that would save us a lot of parking space, wouldn’t it? Unfortunately, this X-Frame folding vehicle is not at that level, but it does have some of the folding thing down.
I couldn’t find a good picture of the X-Frame completely folded, but if you look closely on the photo of the X-Frame on display, you can see smaller pictures of what it looks like when it is folded. It certainly takes up a lot less space width-wise than your regular automobile. For those who are looking for more room in the garage, this is probably the way to go.
The vehicle is also eco-friendly as it has an electric battery in the rear wheel. The X-Frame appeared at the Good Design Expo of 2010, and it has the potential to replace the motorcycle as far as free-wheeling transportation goes.
This was developed by researchers at the Nagoya Institute of Technology, there doesn’t seem to be any word as far as if this going to be mass-produced or anything.
Cool Gift Idea: Digital Picture Frames, check out our reviews.
[ X-Frame folding vehicle copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]
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X-Frame folding vehicle
Power Laces, as seen in Back to the Future II
Posted by admin in Future Concepts on September 2nd, 2010
I think we all know that Back to the Future II has inspired much technology that is yet to become real by the year 2015. That was the year that Marty and Doc traveled to at the beginning of the film, for those that don’t remember it.
Granted, we are closer to a hoverboard than we were before, and someone is working on “Power Laces”. Hopefully, you remember the scene in the movie when Michael J. Fox is dressing in future attire and puts his feet into some Nikes. The shoes tied themselves, by tightening the laces automatically, and the Nike logo glowed. (Clearly some obvious product placement by Nike.)
The Power Laces trick was actually done with a motor that was behind the shoe itself. However, Blake Bevin is working on a way to make Power Laces a reality.
Her first “proof of concept” designs had and obvious motor in the back, which would not fly in the real world. You can see it in the picture with the shoe that looks like it has overdosed on 80’s pastel colors. Her latest design has the motor for the laces safely in the sole. You can see that design on the left, and it looks more like the shoe from the classic film.
You can support Blake by sending her some money, and you can get some Power Laces merchandise with high donations. You will also be sent info when the shoe goes up for sale.
Tech Cult – We cover the latest tech news, but always with a funny twist.
[ Power Laces, as seen in Back to the Future II copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]
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Power Laces, as seen in Back to the Future II
Keep the kids occupied with headrest emulators
Posted by admin in Audio Gadgets on August 31st, 2010
We know that kids these days who have had a taste of modern video games will probably pooh pooh the 8-bit and 16-bit titles of yore, mainly because there are no snazzy 3D graphics to look at. Well, that’s because they have a choice, but bundle them into a car on a 3-day long road trip and see whether they will change their mind or not. Instead of looking out the window and going through their favorite movies time and again, why not “torture” them with this product from Chinavasion? It is an in-car AV entertainment system which will swap out headrests on the front seats for two DVD players that have an LCD display, an FM transmitter and an NES/SNES emulator for the kids to enjoy, although the generic looking gamepads will make you lose some of that authentic feel. Heck, your $175 purchase even comes with a CD full of 550+ classic ROMS – of course, the legality of the situation is rather questionable. Perhaps this would help them appreciate Zelda in his 2D glory.
Product Page from OhGizmo
Cool Gift Idea: Digital Picture Frames, check out our reviews.
[ Keep the kids occupied with headrest emulators copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]
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Keep the kids occupied with headrest emulators
Venturi Buckeye Bullet breaks 300mph Hydrogen speed record
Posted by admin in Car Gadgets on August 28th, 2010
I always like seeing this cars that look more like rockets, designed to do nothing more than just go really, really, really fast.
This is one of the latest of these super-fast vehicles, known as the Venturi Buckeye Bullet. It was built by student engineers, at Ohio State University’s Center for Automotive Research.
It also runs on hydrogen, and it just achieved an average speed of 307.7 mph at a two-run pass at the Bonneville Salt Flats on August 24.
I must admit that I have never been to the Salt Flats before, but if this picture is what they look like, then it looks like a frozen over ocean. I like how the Venturi Buckeye Bullet looks a lot like a shark in the midst of these frozen-over waters.
As for the “car”, for lack of a better word, is about 36 feet long and is only 1.5 inches from the ground. The battery pack in the Venturi Buckeye Bullet V 2.5, is capable of providing “instantaneous power of more than 600 kW. The pack reportedly uses 1,600 cells’.
I believe that the speed record for this particular vehicle is the fastest for any hydrogen-based vehicle. I have heard that the actual land speed record is over 700 miles per hour, with a non-hydrogen vehicle.
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[ Venturi Buckeye Bullet breaks 300mph Hydrogen speed record copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]
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Arctic Drifter keeps on rolling
Posted by admin in Future Concepts on August 26th, 2010
This is the Arctic Drifter, it is a very different mobile research station.
Instead of being some sort of RV thing with wheels or tank treads, the whole thing is one big ball! As you can see from this image, this ball-shaped room has some weird cushions on the outside so it blows up like a giant volleyball.
Apparently this is made so it can roll around by Arctic winds, and then collect data along the way. Hopefully it won’t fall prey to the snowball effect. By the way, that whole room is on a gimbal that keeps the food on the table while it is rolling along.
In case the researchers do want to actually stop, they can deflate the cushions around the ball-shaped room, and the steel cage should stay in one place.
Clearly, the Arctic winds must be pretty strong if you can keep rolling along like this. In all honesty, I feel like I could live here very comfortably. Unless the heater broke down, which leads to the question of where does this thing get its power from? Perhaps a big battery?
This is still an idea from New York based Stuido Les Betes, and I wonder if anyone has an Arctic research experiment that would require this big ball?
Check out the Coolest Gadgets 2008 Gift Guides, Christmas shopping made easy.
[ Arctic Drifter keeps on rolling copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]
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Arctic Drifter keeps on rolling
RYNO is one wheeled Segway, again
Posted by admin in Future Concepts on August 25th, 2010
For some reason reason, there has been an excess of one wheeled vehicles like the Honda U3-X, the PUMA by GM and Segway, as well as the eniCycle.
So, why should I report on the RYNO? Well, you can see from the video here that, from the back, this looks just like someone who is riding a motorcycle.
Seriously, if I was behind a person riding the RYNO on the freeway, I would probably just think: “oh, it is a guy (or girl) on a motorcycle”. Then if he or she were to turn a corner, I probably would say: “hey, that thing has just one wheel!”
This is actually the reason why I like the RYNO. I think that the Segway has this reputation of being sort of white and nerdy. If you don’t believe me, just listen to the song “White and Nerdy” by Weird Al Yankovic.
However, the fact that I was able to mistake a RYNO for a cool motorcycle, even if it is only from behind, is a testimony to balanced vehicles everywhere.
I’m not certain if this RYNO is going to be mass-marketed, or if it simply a concept vehicle of some kind. Either why, I would love to know what RYNO is supposed to stand for. Perhaps it is not an acronym, but just put in all caps to make it sound cool like vitamin water is in all lower case letters.
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[ RYNO is one wheeled Segway, again copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]
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RYNO is one wheeled Segway, again
To the blogmobile!
Posted by admin in Car Gadgets on August 24th, 2010
I must confess, if I were single, had no kids, and wanted to travel the nation and blog, then this would be my vehicle of choice.
This is the Bufalino, and it is based on the Piaggio APE 50 three-wheeled vehicle. Designer Cornelius Comanns apparently went out of his way to put all sorts of drawers and even a place to sleep. There is even a terrific place to sit with your laptop. It does look a little cramped, though.
Still, any sort of mobile home where all I would need is a regular-sized parking place would be pretty great. All I would need is now is a non-pay toilet and some free Wi-Fi, and I’ve got a brand new life.
Of course, I do like having the life that I do now, and I think I am too old to do that whole Jack Kerouac On The Road thing. However, when I was in my twenties, blogging (as we know it) didn’t exist. I know that shows my age with that particular comment.
For all those who would be interested in driving or living in one of these, I don’t have any information about how to attain one of these vehicles as yet.
Coolest Gadgets UK – For all your UK centric tech and gadget news.
[ To the blogmobile! copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]
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To the blogmobile!
T-Shirt shop has life-sized Lego Car
Posted by admin in Car Gadgets on August 23rd, 2010
I have made a lot of Lego cars in my day, but this is the first Lego car that one could drive.
Some guy decided that he wanted to drive one of his Lego cars, so he went and built one using gigantic Lego bricks.
This is one of those times where I wish my Source had a lot more information about this than it does. We do know that the car is based on the original style Mini. See the sign of “Artwork” scrawled on the side? This is the name of a T-shirt shop in Manila, The Philippines, which apparently owns this Lego car.
The first thing I would ask is if the car could be changed around with big enough bricks. I can see some parts like the windshield wipers, headlights, bumper, and license plate which are genuine auto parts, but is the rest interchangeable Lego pieces? I would have found some fire-engine red pieces and made myself a Chevy Camaro or something. With a little bit of restructuring, this could be the next step in modular cars.
Of course, if I had to chose, I would probably choose a car made up of hundreds of thousands of pieces. Of course, can you make an engine made of Lego for something like that?
Tech Cult – We cover the latest tech news, but always with a funny twist.
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T-Shirt shop has life-sized Lego Car
HumanCar can go 60 mph with just human power
Posted by admin in Car Gadgets on August 21st, 2010
This is the HumanCar, and it is a vehicle that does not require gas. Oh yes, I am not making this up.
It is designed by Charles Greenwood, and it made by the user “rowing” to go forward, and it also has a back-up electric battery. Somehow, this allows the driver to reach speeds of up to 60 miles per hour.
There is a video of this after the jump if you want to see this row-powered vehicle in action.
I suppose that we have all wanted the human powered car since we saw Fred use one on The Flintstones. I suppose it was just a matter of time before someone saw that arm power was better than the courtesy of Fred’s two feet. Just be grateful that you don’t have to brake with bare heels. I’m guessing that this is a lot like riding a bike, and I don’t really want to take this up hill.
This vehicle does weigh in at 10,000 pounds. It will be available next year, but the inventor has already received approximately 100 pre-orders already. It also has an all-weather roof, and it apparently has a touch-screen display, as well as a GPS.
So are we looking at an age where the HumanCar floods our streets? Well, perhaps not the freeways. I do like the idea of saving on gas.
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[ HumanCar can go 60 mph with just human power copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]
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HumanCar can go 60 mph with just human power
Vertrax skateboard has a tank tread with electric motor
Posted by admin in Future Concepts on August 19th, 2010
I always like covering the latest in skateboard technology, perhaps it is because I used to have a skateboard, and I know its limitations.
For example, if you are skating along, and you come to some grass or gravel, then you are picking it up and walking. After all, skateboard wheels are not exactly designed for all terrains.
However, the Vertrax is. Designer Brian Lovett created this one with a tank tread that has the ability to travel on the aforementioned grass and gravel. It can also go on sand, which would be excellent for the beach. It can also go on the snow, which makes this particular board terrific for winter.
Now, you are probably wondering how well a tank tread could travel compared to that of a skateboard. I mean, just look at how fast a tank travels compared to a car. Well, the Vertrax skateboard has an advantage: an electric motor. It’s similar to the robotic skateboard that we reported on a while ago.
My Source does not say how fast this Vertrax actually goes, but I would love to see how it handles. It certainly would be fun to check it out going uphill. Any idea if it could do a half-pipe? That is a semicircular skateboard ramp for all you non-sk8ters.
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[ Vertrax skateboard has a tank tread with electric motor copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]
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Vertrax skateboard has a tank tread with electric motor