Think hand-held pocket bikes! Mini Cooper small edition! Smart Car ant size! All of these are just basically giants compared to the hot insect-style transport. It is called the Scarab. It’s got multiple driving modes: fast to slow, perfect park mode, sensors, Lidar, radar, transponders, GPS, guns, knives, sharp sticks!
WHOA before we go any further: I got carried away there. No guns or knives allowed. But If you ask nicely, you can probably bring your sharp sticks.
A designer by the name of David Miguel Moreira Gonçalves presents the Scarab:
The aim of this project was to develop guidelines and a holistic solution for a new system of urban transport, composed of vehicle and infrastructure, in a sustainable way and adaptable to various urban environments.
And the specs for the potential vehicle:
-The vehicle is composed of interchangeable modules that can be customized.
-Powerpack module composed of a permanent battery plus 3 options for the main energy pack (battery, biofuel ICE or a fuel cell).
-4 wheel drive through electric brushless in-wheel motors with directdrive.
-Wheels with regenerative braking through EW Brakes.
-Drive by wire and tactile HUD embedded in the Lexan canopy.
-Structural elements in Carbon-Aramid composite.
-Embedded sensors, Lidar, radar, transponders, GPS. These serve to exchange information with the system, with other drivers and to have precise location data.
-Renting of the vehicle or modules that allows for a private/public/mixed utilization and transport access for people with less financial resources.
-Doesn’t need new infrastructures.
-Is backward compatible with current transport systems and uses current day technologies.
Of course this calls to mind the film “Minority Report,” as most conceptual vehicles and weapons do. But beyond that, this doesn’t seem too far away from reality. In many ways superior to the motorcycle: size for stability, cover from the elements, storage space, and since it would be a “brand new amazing thing,” a million billion of them would be produced, so they’d be pretty much free, right?
right?
