Super Terrific Japanese Thing: Robo-Skateboard
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?From JapanSugoi:
It was just a matter of time before the Japanese scientists combined a
skateboard and a robot into a robot skateboard! Developed by the Shibaura Institute of
Technology in Tokyo, the robo skateboard prototoype weighs 15kg, is
30cm wide, 60cm long and 25cm tall.This mean machine can tool you around the streets of Tokyo without
you breaking a sweat. You simply lean forward or back to get it to
move, and it can truck along at up to 6mph. Its speed and direction
can be controlled by shifting your body weight. For example, when you
put your weight on either one of your feet, the skateboard will
automatically accelerate. There are load sensors on all four corners of
the board, motors (and wheels) on the sides and a control computer
unit in the middle.The robo skateboard is suitable for riders weighing up to 80kg and
can be used continuously for about an hour on a single charge.
Enh, it’s not the hoverboard from Back to the Future 2, but it’ll do for the next five years.
About The Author
Robert Bricken is one of the original co-founders of the site formerly known as Topless Robot, and its first editor-in-chief, serving from 2008-12. He brought the site to prominence with “nerd news, humor and self-loathing” as its motto, raising it from total internet obscurity to a readership in the millions, with help from his savage “FAQ” movie reviews and Fan Fiction Fridays. Under his tenure Topless Robot was covered by Gawker, Wired, Defamer, New York magazine, ABC News, and others, and his articles have been praised by Roger Ebert, Avengers actor Clark Gregg, comedian and The Daily Show correspondent John Hodgman, the stars of Mystery Science Theater 3000 and Rifftrax, and others. He is currently the managing editor of io9.com. Despite decades as both an amateur and professional nerd, he continues to be completely unprepared for either the zombie apocalypse or the robot uprising.