Tag Archives: Personal commuter

Foldable e-scooter for last-mile travel within city limits is a futureproof nano mobility solution

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Nano mobility is all about getting from one place to the other (especially in cities) with the minimum footprint to avoid traffic congestion or maneuver your way around tight spots. The idea of personal mobility has kicked off in the last couple of years with rising strain on global city traffic.

Such personal commuters are majorly electric to be in line with the idea of lowering carbon emissions. They can be anything from an e-bike or an electric scooter to something much bigger for more than a couple of people to travel. Slotted somewhere in this domain are the highly practical foldable e-scooters that can fit easily in your car’s boot for ease of portability.

Designer: Eugenio Costa, Edoardo Graci, Nicolò Tallone and Bonshe Design

The portability of a personal commuter is the primary feature that aligns it with the user’s needs. ANT Formica is one practical last-mile travel solution tailored for city life and versatile enough for indoor spaces when not in use. In the folded configuration the e-scooter looks like a high-end CPU mod or powerful new gaming console on the horizon. The wheels, pedals, and steering column retract back into the exterior frame of the scooter, making it an ultra-compact personal vehicle for quick intercity travel.

If one looks closely at the folding mechanism, it is a mechanical treat to watch in action. The whole process takes no more than a minute – both in the opened configuration and the closed one. The ease of use is the king here which most commuters will love. The electric motor resides in the rear section of the e-scooter which can be topped with a quick dart of charge for short trips to the supermarket. The handlebar positioning is fully adjustable and the absence of a saddle means you’ll have complete freedom to scoot around in the city.

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This fusion of a hoverboard, e-scooter and skateboard is a PMD done right

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Hoverboards and electric scooters come with their own set of advantages and irks that influence the buying decision. While hoverboard is the preferred choice for short jaunts, e-scooters with an average range of 10-40 miles are well suited for extended trips in the city. E-scooters also come with the advantage of better top speeds and performance.

On the hind side, e-scooters are more expensive and less swanky when compared to hoverboards. Someone looking for hands-free freedom of commuting in cities once in a while over short distances is much better off with a hoverboard or a trusted skateboard. What if we could have the best of both worlds? Of course, anything is possible in the concept design realm.

Designer: Eojin Jeon, Sumin Park, Changyu Seo and Geunyeong Do

Craving urban freedom without compromising on style, comfort, or ease of navigating around without having to worry about running out of juice is what this Personal Mobility Device (PMD) aims to target. Dubbed Modi, the vehicle is a mix of a hoverboard and e-scooter, adapting the best features of both to appeal to every kind of city dweller. According to the designers, the motivation behind the design is to address modern-day transportation issues. Even the current league of PMDs has become a “nuisance on the roads due to their heavy weight, large size, and disorderly presence.”

Conventional personal mobility vehicles are heavy and securely parking them at random palaces can be a headache if you are already in the rush of things. Modi aims to get over these problems with a compact and lightweight design that can be easily carried or stored in your backpack when not in use. The PMD comes with retractable footrests for design integrity without compromising the function. These footrests provide stability and comfort while riding, and simply vanish away when not in use.

Although the designers have not detailed in about the working mechanism of the PMD, I assume it reacts to the pressure applied with your feet in either direction. The thing is much more stable than a self-balancing hoverboard that for some reason has never earned my confidence for its operating mechanism. That said, the personal commuter is also going to appeal to people who love skateboards, and always wanted a battery-powered alternative!

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Self-driving taxi for one concept is perfect for solo commuters

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The majority of self-driving car concepts envision a future where family and friends take advantage of the freedom these vehicles offer. Even strangers, however, can also benefit from autonomous vehicles by making mass transit more efficient. Not all commuters, however, are comfortable traveling with strangers, and even self-driving sedans could be a waste of space and energy for these people. If self-driving vehicles are supposed to make traveling more efficient and, therefore, more environment-friendly, then they should also take into account the needs of solo commuters, which is exactly what this concept for a single-person autonomous taxi tries to do.

Designer: Tony Ma

To be fair, not having to worry about driving while interacting with other people in the vehicle is one of the biggest pulls of the concept, but it’s not the most fundamental benefit. What autonomous cars offer is the freedom to do more important things other than almost mindless driving, whether it’s socializing, preparing for your next meeting, or even resting. Spending some alone time is not exactly easy if you’re traveling with others, whether they’re strangers or not, and having a four-passenger car all to yourself every day is a wasteful use of resources.

TAXI for one is a design concept whose name says it all. Instead of a car, it looks more like a mini golf cart split in half to fit only one person inside. And since it’s a self-driving vehicle, that person is the one and only passenger, with no other people to potentially disturb you or make you feel less secure. It’s perfect for people who, for whatever reason, prefer to travel solo and have very few things to carry with them, like going to and from the office.

The key design requirement for such a single-passenger autonomous vehicle would be the compactness of space while still providing comfort and room for storage. The latter goes into a compartment in front of the vehicle rather than at the back like a traditional trunk. This makes loading and unloading easy because the storage is near the vehicle’s door rather than forcing riders to go around first.

In exchange for the more compact form, however, the TAXI for one has very little room for reclining the seat and stretching your legs. As such, it isn’t exactly designed for longer periods of travel and is better suited for inter-city commutes only. That is probably fine for future workers who just want to get to the office and back home without much fuss, fanfare, or dealing with random people.

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