With the slogan “Car in your bag.”, Japanese startup company Cocoa Motors tries to revolutionize how people get around. Founder and CEO, Kuniaki Sato, started in August 2013 and has been working on the “Walkcar” ever since.
At first it looks similar to other kinds of “hoverboards” and motorized skateboards, but the cool thing about the Walkcar is that it’s so compact, it actually fits in your bag.
The idea behind the Walkcar is to eliminate the walking in-between commute stops. This means it is not supposed to replace your whole commute, but much rather speed you up between home and the bus station or the way between the train station and your office. You basically get rid of the last bit of walking in your day to trade it in for saving time.
Specs and facts
This tiny transportation device is no larger than a 13-inch laptop, weighs 2.8 kg (6.17 lbs) and can drive up to 16 km/h (10 mph) fast for up to 60 minutes total driving time. If you want to give it a charge, it will take about 60 minutes as well. So you have an 1:1 what you give / what you get ratio on the Walkcar battery.
Design
The design is functional but not much more. You have a little platform that is mounted on four tiny wheels to get you around faster than walking. The promo video makes it look smooth, but I am not sure how the driving experience feels as soon as you get on somewhat uneven or even bumpy roads and sidewalks.
Steering
On the positive side, you are able to control the Walkcar only with leaning your body as you might know it from their bulky grandfather, the Segway. If you can see you’re about to get into trouble while riding the Walkcar, you just hop off into safety, and the Walkcar will stop on its own.
Legal issues?
It’s very difficult to assess where you are actually allowed to ride “hoverboards”. For example, Law of California allows the use of such devices under a few restrictions. But your best bet is to check with your local lawmakers on that one before you spend your money on something that you can’t really make use of.
Preorder now
You can preorder the Walkcar today for $1,280. Cocoa Motors plans to ship out the first items in September 2017.
We are curious to see what is going to happen to the way we are going to get around in the future. What do you think? Share your thoughts below in the comments!
YouTube: WALKCAR | Pre-order now
Story pitched by news scout Pupu Liang.
Thanks for that!
Photo credit: Cocoa Motors
Source: Cocoa Motors website
