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Hyundai unveils the future of personal mobility — Parallax Forums

Hyundai unveils the future of personal mobility

Ron CzapalaRon Czapala Posts: 2,418
edited 2013-04-11 17:57 in General Discussion
Kinda dorky IMHO...
The egg is entitled the E4U – standing for Egg, Evolution, Electricity and Eco-friendliness. The result of an annual invention contest among Hyundai engineers in South Korea, the odd-egg was designed as a potential future of personal mobility: It can travel up to speeds just shy of 20 mph, weighs 176 lbs. (sounds mobile to me), and boasts a 24V battery attached to a 500W electric motor.

Comments

  • Heater.Heater. Posts: 21,230
    edited 2013-04-09 11:18
    The driver looks about as confident as I am that this is the stupidest thing you have ever seen.

    I have seen more practical electric wheel chairs recently. At least they can handle some pot holes and ice on the sidewalk.
  • rod1963rod1963 Posts: 752
    edited 2013-04-09 12:55
    Another piece of high tech idiocy like the Segway.

    And there's no way it could sold here in the U.S. with it's preponderance of two legged 300 -400lb manatees, as they could easily crush it with their enormous behinds.

    Better off encouraging people to walk or bike would be a better solution.
  • NWCCTVNWCCTV Posts: 3,629
    edited 2013-04-09 13:09
    Another piece of high tech idiocy like the Segway
    Yea, But the Segway is actually gaining ground. The Port Of Seattle Police have modified versions and they are pretty slick. They use them for traffic control at the airport.
  • Heater.Heater. Posts: 21,230
    edited 2013-04-09 13:37
    At least with a Segway you can get to the top of the cliff: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimi_Heselden
  • John AbshierJohn Abshier Posts: 1,116
    edited 2013-04-09 14:56
    I was in western Kansas this morning: 20 F, wind chill probably below 0, and freezing drizzle. I will stick to a car with a roof, windshield, and a heater. In a few months, an air conditioner will perhaps not be a requirement, but very welcome.

    John Abshier
  • Peter KG6LSEPeter KG6LSE Posts: 1,383
    edited 2013-04-09 16:30
    At least the SEGWAY has gained me my independence and NOT at the TAXPAYERS expense thank you VERY MUCH ..

    OH How about YOU pay for better busses in town that go past 8 PM ..... YEA No you dont want to pay the tax dollars casue YOU have a car ....


    Lose the car and Ill bet people will sing a much different tune .

    For the record I have had 2 Knee operations in the last 12 Months ..... and can never drive a car..... NO Bike ! for the rest of my life ..

    want me to walk I better have some pain pillls . Yea the Segway has saved my life ..... I had NO quality of life till it got it .

    Think Dr House Cranky and ticked off all the time with massive pain .........
  • bill190bill190 Posts: 769
    edited 2013-04-09 19:04
    Those small wheels on the back are not going to work outside. Office chairs have similar size wheels. Try taking one out to your street and pushing someone!
  • teganburnsteganburns Posts: 134
    edited 2013-04-09 20:22
    Hyundai your silly... no one wants to drive an egg.
  • LoopyBytelooseLoopyByteloose Posts: 12,537
    edited 2013-04-09 20:47
    Make it bullet-proof and it will find a home in law enforcement.
  • ercoerco Posts: 20,256
    edited 2013-04-09 21:25
    Reminds me of a classic Seinfeld scene...
  • whickerwhicker Posts: 749
    edited 2013-04-09 21:46
    That egg gives evolution a bad name.

    thanks for the chuckle.
    The proportions are all wrong, and if and when the thing tipped over, the egg shape would encourage incredible injuries (to the rider).
  • Heater.Heater. Posts: 21,230
    edited 2013-04-09 22:01
    At least Clive Sinclair got the concept the right way up back in 1985. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinclair_C5
  • LoopyBytelooseLoopyByteloose Posts: 12,537
    edited 2013-04-09 23:16
    Considering that the Sinclair C5 remained the world's best selling electric car until 2010, I have to wonder where the market for electric cars is really going.

    I am beginning to think the world has replaced its appetite for superheros with electric car fantasies.
  • Heater.Heater. Posts: 21,230
    edited 2013-04-10 03:22
    He, he, the C5 is a serious electric car fantasy. Someone suped-up a C5 to do 0 to 60 in 5 seconds and reach 150 miles per hour.
    Sounds like just the little rocket sled I need to do that 5 miles to work and back every day.
    If only regulations weren't so stingey.
  • Heater.Heater. Posts: 21,230
    edited 2013-04-10 03:24
    Of course then there is this:
    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2124408/Pimp-Sinclair-C5-Plumber-turns-electric-wheeler-40-mph-monster-truck.html
  • mindrobotsmindrobots Posts: 6,506
    edited 2013-04-10 07:33
    NWCCTV wrote: »
    Yea, But the Segway is actually gaining ground. The Port Of Seattle Police have modified versions and they are pretty slick. They use them for traffic control at the airport.

    Now a "pursuit" version of a Segway sounds like lots of fun!!

    The Interceptor Crown Victorias are fun to drive!
  • Peter KG6LSEPeter KG6LSE Posts: 1,383
    edited 2013-04-10 09:25
    Trust me you Do not want to go much faster then 20 MPH on any Segway like device...... as safe as they are ..... being thrown from any vehicle Is gonna be a trip to the ER ....... I have only once bailed on mine .... rain and a speed bump did me in ...... and WHAM !

    NO EPAMD is over 15 MPH by law...... and NO segway has been made that can go over 12.5 .\

    the police ones are just modded handle bars for the lights and a bumper .. Same Stock i2 base as mine .

    I may get the pursuit bar as I can mod it more to hold better gear ....
  • rod1963rod1963 Posts: 752
    edited 2013-04-10 12:17
    The local sheriff's dept tested a few at the local mall and dropped the Segway because it didn't work out. They couldn't drive them on side walks because they were too big and forced pedestrians off the side walk(they seemed much bigger than most segways I've seen). And for parking lot security they were both useless and dangerous - imagine spending 8-10 hours on one of these rube goldberg contraptions and worrying when a car is going to run into you.

    But back to the egg machine. It's a dangerous top heavy solution to a problem that doesn't exist. Rascals serve the disabled and fat people communities quite well and healthier people just don't need them.
  • Peter KG6LSEPeter KG6LSE Posts: 1,383
    edited 2013-04-10 13:42
    Rascals serve the disabled and fat people communities quite well and healthier people just don't need them.
    NO WAY !


    I am legally disabled. Yet I wold GET fat siting in a mobility scooter as I can still stand ......

    DO you have a MD in front of your name . are you a Expert on the ADA act or the way people with handicaps live?

    What makes you have the right to claim that healthier people just don't need them.

    Its a spectrum ..... One I can see that needs to be understood...


    allow me to educate as a person with mobility issues .( That makes me a " Expert " )


    18944.jpg

    this is a power chair .. another Very close friend in highschool was in one . she cant Breath on her own ....

    they cant clear curbs and are prone to tipping

    a VERY uique chair called the IBOT the more sedate version of the Segway .


    2-xb420blue-LG.jpg

    a mobility scooter AKA hover round and rascal are in the Mid class.
    they can go up to 15 MPH with more then a HP of cont power in to the wheels ..... Zoom Zoom ...... the XB-420 is one hot Rod .
    they are popular with the temperately disabled and the elderly as they are not as sedate as a true power chair .

    EPAMD's ( AKA a Segway )




    Segway+wheelchair.jpg

    Some one here has modded there's to be a SIT DOWN chair ........
    some people cant stand and cant walk . some have NO kneecaps and have fused legs . some have Like me a Long term recovery from a injury Years ago and its taking Years to recover ..


    I am able to stand ..... Why should I let my legs wither away while my knees heal In fact my MD was Very happy I have a seg as it Helps me transition from a chair bound person the first few weeks after my knee job ,,, to where once a week I just walk ..... ...the rest I use the seg ..


    any of the 3 are capable of being abused by non handicapped folks Some are made for both the people whom are disabled and the non disabled alike ( the segway is one of these ....

    I can get hit by a car regardless of what I am on or if I just walk ....

    I am also not happy with how I became mobility impaired .


    I wonder if any one here knows what Self image is ...How it can Eat at your soul .
    I was Happy and heltly just 4 years ago . I had a normal life as a young man ..
    I bet any one here whom in there mid 20s would get really depressed losing the ability to go on a date .... dance . EXERCISE Scuba dive . walk more then a few 100 feet a day in horrid pain ....


    I chose the segway as it does not SCREAM Oh Look I am now Really messed up in the knees ..... it does not scream handicapped .....
    As I have no intentions to stay this messed up .. each week I am in PT to heal 4 years of damage...

    Segways are VERY agile and is less of a social impact to others then a mobility scooter . It has a smaller foot print then most power chairs and mobility scooters.

    It can do more I am not stuck to a paved sidewalk like the other options have to . If I need to I can off -road and take a detour .....
  • Heater.Heater. Posts: 21,230
    edited 2013-04-10 15:36
    Peter,

    Quite so.

    What most "healthy" humans forget is that we are all disabled. Why else do we need cars and busses and jumbo jets? So that we can do things we otherwise cannot do.
  • User NameUser Name Posts: 1,451
    edited 2013-04-10 16:03
    teganburns wrote: »
    Hyundai your silly... no one wants to drive an egg.

    Vaguely reminiscent of a scene from Hairspray. (Not a good thing.)
  • Peter KG6LSEPeter KG6LSE Posts: 1,383
    edited 2013-04-10 21:45
    Heater. wrote: »
    Peter,

    Quite so.

    What most "healthy" humans forget is that we are all disabled. Why else do we need cars and busses and jumbo jets? So that we can do things we otherwise cannot do.

    that was exactluy my point... Il bet half of us here cant Run a mile ..... some may have a Ebike as it enables the folks whom are less Lance Armstrong ( Sans the Roids ) to use a bike ..... the segway is a tad more sedate then a bike . there is No petal backups . but you still have to Drive it ... Trust me you Dont just stand on one . its a Whole body exercize to use one . esp at high speeds ..... try to turn at 12 MPH and unless you Lean like on skis you are gonna have some problems .
    \

    that Egg is not self balancing . it has NO fault tolerance ..... one hockey puck sized pot-hole and you are a omlett not a egg
  • LoopyBytelooseLoopyByteloose Posts: 12,537
    edited 2013-04-11 00:15
    So, 'The Egg' might go Humpty-Dumpty in the real world.

    Frankly, it does look like it was inspired by a manga comic.... something for a super-hero or a transformer. Vehicles are inherently lethal.
  • prof_brainoprof_braino Posts: 4,313
    edited 2013-04-11 07:27
    I'm DEFINITELY getting one of these if I find it on surplus! It would be SOOOO easy to mod into a mobile version of the Portal turret!
  • Peter KG6LSEPeter KG6LSE Posts: 1,383
    edited 2013-04-11 10:31
    Proff You sir are WIN ...
  • Beau SchwabeBeau Schwabe Posts: 6,566
    edited 2013-04-11 11:15
    Who comes first the "Chicken" or the egg ... Now if these were bumper cars, THEN we might talk :-)
  • skylightskylight Posts: 1,915
    edited 2013-04-11 14:42
    took 60+ years to come true!

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bGr5y2tNoqM
  • PropGuy2PropGuy2 Posts: 360
    edited 2013-04-11 17:57
    Thanks for your post - - -
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