Electric Scooter Sings As It Travels

August 25, 2010 by Mike Szczys 34 Comments

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MaQuRnZYKPc]

This scooter has been fitted with a three-phase induction motor. It reminds us of the sound effects from vehicles in the Jetsons. Right now they’re using lead-acid batteries and get about 15 miles of range from one charge. Once they switch over to lithium polymer they calculate the range will be closer to 45 miles due to the reduced weight and increased capacity. Not bad for $600 in parts, and we’d bet it’s both faster and more stable than the one-wheeled-wonder we saw last week.

A Different Take On Electric Motor Cars

August 23, 2010 by Jakob Griffith 43 Comments

[Craig Carmichael] has been hard at work on his electric hub motor for cars. Unlike typical electrical vehicles the plan is to bypass the transmission, differential, and everything else all together by connecting directly to the hub of the wheel. The goal of giving greater thrust and still allowing the use of a gas engine if need be.

There’s really too much detail for us to even begin to try to explain the entire project in a short recap, but [Craig] builds the entire motor (from magnets to coil windings) and wires his own controller (from schematic to finished PCB), all while documenting the process thoroughly for those wishing to make their own.

A Bicycle Build For… 2.0

July 23, 2010 by Mike Szczys 24 Comments

Here’s an interesting way to fill the second seat on your tandem bicycle. It seems no one ever wants to be the stoker, so this gentleman decided to build his riding partner. JouleS powers the bicycle from the back using the same motions a human would. It’s not the easiest way to make an electric bicycle but the mechanics that went into it are quite beautiful. See the old boy pedaling away after the beak.

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Building An Electric Kart

July 8, 2010 by Mike Szczys 12 Comments

[Henry Herndon] is working on building an electric kart, mostly with surplus parts. He’s got some experience with electric vehicles but that doesn’t mean the build is going without a hitch. So far he’s come up with a way to make the peculiar motor shaft play nicely with his rig but once everything was put together he had trouble with the chain coming off of the cogs.

We know there’s a lot of links here so far but just a couple more: [Henry] took some shots of the kart chassis before adding the motor, and just for fun, take a look at his scotch tape dispenser. When you’re done clicking on those join us after the break for some test drive footage.

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Heel Treads Make Shoes Go

July 7, 2010 by Mike Szczys 50 Comments

Motorized treads as a replacement for the heel of your shoe? Okay, remember how The Jetsons had moving sidewalks everywhere so you wouldn’t have to walk at all? Well, there’s a much more efficient way to do it and Treadway Mobility seems to have figured it out. In the video after the break you can see several of their prototype units zipping the wearer around quite happily. We think the best part is that with the tread locked in place you can stand and walk like normal, assuming you don’t feel like you have a block of concrete attached to each foot. Maybe the real question is which is more geeky, this or the power lace shoes?

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30 Mph Electric Mountain Bike

July 6, 2010 by Caleb Kraft 40 Comments

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xBn-VIzJsSk]

A 48 volt power house pushes this mountain bike at speeds up to 30Mph. That’s a bit of a boost from many off the shelf E-bikes. [Jennifer Holt] wanted speed, and to retain the off road capabilities of her bike, so she made a custom one. As you can see in the video, this thing gets going fast and hills are no problem. She says that it will toss you off if you slam the throttle, and we believe her. We know some of you will insist on chiding her because she’s not wearing a helmet in those videos. She did manage to break her elbow offroading in the video after the break. That part is edited out though.

[via Makezine]

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BAMF2010: CMT 380X Blackbird

May 23, 2010 by Phil Burgess 44 Comments

Okay, we lied, we totally want one of these too. The CMT 380X Blackbird is one wicked hybrid car!

Looking like it just rolled off the set of the next Batman film, the Blackbird is the brainchild of Electronic Arts Chief Creative Director [Richard Hilleman]. Starting from a kit car base — the Factory Five Racing GTM chassis — [Hilleman] created a unique 230 horsepower drive train combining a 30 kilowatt diesel turbine and 24 KWh lithium polymer battery pack.

As a purely plug-in electric car, the Blackbird has a range of 85 miles. In hybrid mode, range is extended to 500 miles. The car can accelerate from 0 to 60 in about 7 seconds. Come decelerating, the car makes use of regenerative braking.

It’s strictly a one-off for the time being, but several companies have approached [Hilleman] about possibly commercializing the design. A couple more choice pics follow the break…

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