| 16 weeks 6 days 22 hours ago DataStream: Robo Scooter
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(NECN) - The science of saving energy and money is in the limelight as the cost of fossil fuels goes through the roof. NECN's Scot Yount shows how little it will soon cost to get around.
Script:
The whole gas price thing has all of us thinking about how we can be more efficient. It shines the light on emerging technologies that are certain to make getting from place to place cheaper, and cool too.
The Robo Scooter has germinated from the fertile minds at MIT's Media lab. The scooter folds up and is electric. Its creators are guessing a five-minute charge will get you an hour of silent zero emission riding. Another idea is that as you ride around the city, you turn in your exhausted battery and pick up charged ones from vending machines....or as in the zip car model, just turn the whole thing in at a kiosk and pick up another scooter when you need it.
It is going to reduce congestion, reduce pollution and increase fuel efficiency. The cost is 25 percent less than a gas scooter and it has a tenth of the parts and weighs half as much.
The concept is a stackable foldable electric car. MIT's Smart Cities Group has teamed up with General Motors to produce the car...which like the scooter, will fold up and more. All wheel drive and all wheel steering....four electric robot wheels...suspension and braking. Digitally controllable....so tuning to your personal driving preferences should be great. Expect air conditioning and all the comforts.
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other thing the vehicle can do, is park sideways, pull up sideways into a space. Speed is almost no object because electric motors have great performance and torque 100 miles an hour is not hard to do.
The robo scooter will be on the market in Taiwan to start as early as next fall...the foldable stackable electric car...more like five years...we can't wait
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