[wordup] Move over segway ...

[Adam Shand]

Yowza ... that's *freaking* cool ...

Adam.

From: http://www.forbes.com/2003/11/04/cx_dl_1104vow.html

Hot Wheel
Dan Lienert

We love reading about new products and designs from Bombardier, mostly 
because besides building things like airplanes and subway cars, the 
privately held, Quebec-based company also builds fun stuff like Rotax 
karts, Ski-Doo and Lynx snowmobiles, Bombardier ATVs, Sea-Doo sport 
boats and Johnson and Evinrude outboard engines.

No wonder, then, that they have produced an exciting answer to the 
Segway Human Transporter. Like the Segway, Bombardier's Embrio 
concept--a prototype that may or may not make production--uses gyroscope 
technology to balance riders but adds a dash of flair absent in the 
Segway, which we as car nuts find slightly nerdy.

The Embrio concept also uses one less wheel than the Segway and will 
attract, Bombardier hopes, a younger demographic. The vehicle is 
designed as a guess at what transportation in the year 2025 might look like.

It is a fascinating idea because it combines the simplicity and 
alternative-fuel technology of forward-thinking commuting vehicles with 
the excitement of "recreational" products like ATVs. Indeed, the Embrio 
could attract people who drive a more fun sort of vehicle, what with its 
motorcycle-derived styling cues and, like an ATV, the fact that you have 
to lean in order to turn.

The Embrio is powered by a hydrogen fuel cell, a technology that creates 
power by mixing hydrogen and oxygen, ideally resulting in water as the 
only exhaust. Carmakers are also developing this technology for 
automobiles, and General Motors (nyse: GM - news - people ) stands by 
its plan to sell hydrogen cars by 2010.

The Embrio also borrows several other advanced technologies from cars, 
like infrared night vision and an active suspension, which can vary its 
damping rates based on road conditions. Its riding position resembles 
that of a motorcycle, and it balances one or more passengers with a 
network of sensors and gyroscopes. To move the Embrio, you use an 
accelerator trigger on the left handlebar and a brake trigger on the right.

The vehicle is made of lightweight materials, like aluminum, magnesium 
and nylon. It weighs only 360 pounds.

Forbes Fact

Although Bombardier says the gyroscopes are enough to balance the 
Embrio, the vehicle is also kept longitudinally stable by a smaller 
wheel that operates like an airplane's landing gear. It touches the 
ground when the vehicle is stopped or just starting. Once the Embrio is 
in motion, the landing gear will retract when the vehicle reaches about 
12 mph. During braking, the gear redeploys when the vehicle slows to 12 mph.
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: http://images.forbes.com/images/2003/11/04/vow_420x310.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 22028 bytes
Desc: not available
Url : http://lists.spack.org/pipermail/wordup/attachments/20031105/4b27d033/attachment.jpg