Walk or WalkCar ?

Kuala Lumpur: Earlier the sole purpose of a car was to move us from point A to point B, but the rapid advancements in automotive technology has left us with a never ending desire for greater comfort, better functionalities and more luxuries. The auto industry is constantly coming up with advanced technologies, be it regarding safety, entertainment, utility or just pure comfort. The rate at which technology is changing personal transportation accelerates every year, making the arrival of the future car a dicey proposition. Going back to the roots, remember the time when just a thought of moving on wheels gave us an adrenaline rush. The time when it was considered just a utility and not divine luxury. Moving forward in the 21st century with big and aggressive mean machines we have somewhere forgotten our concept of compact and concise machines.

This 'compact trend' led to the advancement of 'portable transportation'. The concept of using a hoverboard as a method of personal transportation was popularised by the sci-fi movie series 'Back to the Future'. Further, it was conceptualised in many forms like Segway, electric scooters and skateboards. However, recently advertised Cocoa Motor's new 'WalkCar', make these gizmos look huge. Designed by a twenty-six-year-old Japanese engineer named Kuniako Saito and his team at Cocoa Motors, this tiny portable transporter has already got the tag of “world's smallest electric car”.

The WalkCar resembles a laptop and can be easily carried in a bag when not in use. It has got an aluminium frame along with four tiny wheels. The slender WalkCar weighs between two and three kgs, depending on whether it is an indoor version or outdoor version. The indoor variant is suitable for use in warehouses or large office buildings and weighs 2 kg while the more appealing outdoor version weighs 3 kg. Both these versions can handle payloads weighing up to 120 kg. Powered by lithium batteries, it can cover up a distance of 12 km after three hours of charging and can attain a top speed of 10 kmph.

Once the rider steps on the WalkCar, it starts automatically and stops as soon as it detects the rider has disembarked. Changing directions is simply accomplished by shifting weight to the desired side. It's creator Kuniako Saito was quoted as saying- “I thought, what if we could just carry our transportation in our bags, wouldn't that mean we would always have our transportation with us to ride on?, and my friend asked me to make one, since I was doing my masters in engineering specifically on electric car motor control systems.”

Potential buyers would be able to book their WalkCars on the crowd-funding website Kickstarter in next few months. Priced at $800 (RM3215), shipping is expected to begin by spring 2016.