For our weekend edition, we bring you the “Top 5 Strangest Transportation Gadgets”. Which ones are your favorites?

5. DIY Hoverboard

Jason Bradbury created his own working hoverboard that costs just $261 to make. It uses a petrol leaf blower for the “hover” and is constructed from wood/pool lining.

“Right now, all the device does is perform like a heavy block of ice (with a few stones in it that keep snagging on the ground every four feet or so). I can stand on it and float and I can affect a sort of motion, in the way you can use your wait to alter a skateboard’s trajectory.”

[Source]

4. Electric Motorcycle

Todd Kollins, maker of electric vehicles, decided to hack away and create this electric motorcycle. All it took was a custom motor/controller and just one evening of work.

If you’ve been wanting to convert a car to electricity, but want to get your feet wet with something smaller and with less wheels, you may want to make an electric motorcycle first.

[Source]

3. Wheelman

Wheelman is a new two-wheeled device that combines “the best of surfing, skating and skiing concept gears”.

It cruises along on spokeless wheels triggered by a 43cc 2-stroke engine. Drivers can easily fix in their feet into the wheels and drive it whilst standing upright. The oil holding capacity of the Wheelman is around one liter and delivers an hour and a half of smooth riding at a top speed of between 16-19mph, which is pumped via squeezing a pneumatic ball held in your hand. It steers with body and foot movements

[Source]

2. Jet-Turbine Powered Bicycle

This crazy bicycle is powered by two Jetcat model aircraft jet-turbines and looks fun to ride — as in dangerous.

1. Scarpar – The All-Terrain Motorized Board

The Scarpar is a futuristic board that “apparently gives you the best of snowboarding, surfing, skating and motocross”. It’s slated for a 2007 release. Pricing has not yet been announced. [Source]

Honorable Mention – Robotic Giraffe

Engineer Linsday Lawlor built this incredible 17-foot tall robotic giraffe named “Rave Raffe” — powered by three 450-amp batteries and a 12hp propane engine. At 1,700 pounds, it features a “pneumatic powered 8-foot neck, 40 strobe lights, 400 LEDs and a killer speaker system”.

The bot walks by moving two of its wheeled legs forward at a time, and then locking them with hydraulic brakes while the other two shuffle ahead

[Source]

Honorable Mention – The Velocipede

The black and yellow Velocipede is the world’s first human powered vehicle with an ultra strong carbon fiber monocoque chassis. Designed by Michael Goretzky, this vehicle weighs only 60 lbs. and has two forward 20-inch wheels, perfect for those twisties. You’ll find a “slipstream airfoil shape” cockpit and recumbent seat on the inside. Now here’s the real shocker, it costs $13,999.95.

“…the customized vehicle combines the low-impact exercise benefits of a recumbent bicycle with the stability of a three-wheeled cruiser and the aerodynamics of a concept automobile.”

[Source]

Author

A technology, gadget and video game enthusiast that loves covering the latest industry news. Favorite trade show? Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.