You know, you really gotta' admire the idea behind the Segway: create an efficient, easy way for people in cities to get around that requires no fossil fuels and produces no pollution.
Smart, right? But what the designers missed, however, was that people - especially in North America - really don't want look stupid as they move around town.
That's why you have to wonder whether these new concepts jointly produced by GM and Segway will ever get any traction.
Recently created in Shanghai, these "Electric Network Vehicles", or EN-Vs, run on electricity and are an attempt to deal with the fact that, by 2030, 60% of the world's population will live in cities.
The cars (pods?) seat two, are made of lightweight carbon-fiber and are 1/6th the size of a traditional car. On top of that, they apparently drive themselves using a combination of GPS and distance-sensing technology, an especially useful feature since you'll often be ducking to avoid having your friends see you in one.
While there are no plans for production, the concepts will be seen at the World Expo 2010 in Shanghai in May.
[Source: Techradar]
About the Author
Navneet Alang is a Toronto-based technology and culture writer whose work has appeared in The Atlantic, The New Republic and The Globe and Mail. Between 2010 and 2011 he wrote technology commentary for TECHi on Apple, cloud video and the future of the desktop computer.
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