Existing Examples of Personal Transport Vehicles

So far I’ve talked about Personal Transport Vehicles based on chairs.

Our friends recommended a cute French movie Intouchables based on a true story of a quadriplegic and his caregiver. In search of his previous life of speed and daring, they soup up a wheelchair and speed past a Segway. 

But I had a revelation of the innovation in Personal Transport Vehicles on a trip to Portland Oregon. Browsing through the inflight catalog on the United flight, I saw a cool looking device called the Solowheel. But I’m always skeptical of things I see in those catalogs, in part because my daughter and I have a pet project of building a catalog of improbable things. 

While walking in the Portland Airport, I saw someone moving quite fast on the powered walkway – and his head wasn’t moving as it would be if he were walking rapidly. As he popped out at the end of the walkway, voila he was on a Solowheel! I watched him disappear down the hall. Later I saw him stop, pick up the Solowheel, fold up the steps, and board an airplane – I knew I had to blog about it. There are some videos on the Solowheel website which I recommend so you can see how easy this is to use – I wouldn’t believe it if I hadn’t seen it in person, so I hope you enjoy them. 

While browsing, I got drawn in by self-balancing unicycles. One that intrigued me is the Enicycle. This shows progress toward a portable Personal Transport Vehicle that doesn’t require the skills of a skateboarder to keep from falling over, and that allows you to sit down while traveling. The video shows how easy this is to use, and how it can be used in everyday life. He doesn’t ride it onto the train, but he does carry it aboard, showing at least a partial demonstration of Hierarchical Nesting.

As usual, YouTube will lead you to some other interesting vehicles, if you are so inclined.

One is a protoype Toyota Riding Machine, sort of a portable Segway, being tested by Toyota. The thing that intrigued me was a comment by the announcer that Toyota says in the future it can be automated to take you where you need to go – and you thought I was just dreaming!

I’m sure there are other innovative ideas to come, but hopefully this establishes that several of the building blocks of my proposed Transportation System are just around the corner. 

So let’s get on with other aspects of the Transportation System and the impacts on our everyday lives.