Researchers have unveiled a new style of personal mobile vehicle they have developed called the Permoveh, that will allow users to move in a sideways direct as well as the traditional forward and backward directions.
The sideways directional movement is possible, due to a new style of wheel which has been created by the team. The research team’s leader Masaharu Komori, associate professor of mechanical engineering at Kyoto University,can be seen demonstrating the new design in the video after the jump.
The new vehicle has been named Permoveh, short for “Personal Mobile Vehicle,” and is equipped with four omnidirectional-drive wheels, each equipped with 32 rollers, similar to those for roller skates along the sides of each wheel.
Uisng the rollers to move sideways and wheels to move backwards and forwards, with a maximum speed of 6 kph. The researchers are now working on making the vehicle lighter and cheaper to make as it currently costs around 3 million yen or $36,000. The Permoveh is expected to arrive in stores in around 3-5 years time.
Source: DVICE : KyodoNews