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Connected Objects Personal Transportation

The Immotor GO is the Tesla of e-scooters

editors-choice-300x96The first and last miles of every commute are usually the most annoying, making any solution for them worth looking at for those sick of them.

The Immotor GO is a new entrant into this segment, billed as a smart e-scooter — and smart it is. This folding, three-wheeled e-scooter sports a wide range of design perks and smart functionality that make it unlike much else on the market. Starting up top, users will find an intelligent display (with Bluetooth connection status, charging status, remaining distance, headlight status, total distance, and cruise control status), easy-to-use controls for acceleration and braking, a SIM-based integrated GPS module, a built-in Bluetooth speaker, and LED headlights — and that’s all just in its handlebars! 

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Personal Transportation

Go and stow quickly with the Elos mini-longboard

Early in the morning or directly after work are not the times one wants to walk to the bus or the train to get to work or back home. That’s why last mile solutions are so attractive: They offer a way to cut down what can be a 15 to 20 minute or more journey to something a lot more manageable.

Looking a bit like a giant guitar pick on wheels, the Elos is a tool for those last miles that offers a familiar, longboard-esque build in a much more compact frame. A few thoughtful design decisions allows users retain control without worrying about its durability. Its wide deck allows riders to easily access lots of angles when steering, while metal protection both at its front and its nose gives it the strength to last through high-speed rides. After some feet-on time with it in Elos’ backyard in Silicon Valley, we think even the balance-challenged may have a shot with it.

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Connected Objects Personal Transportation

Atom Fliye connected hoverboard lets you zip, if not fly, around the neighborhood

Hoverboards have been heavily hyped for the past year or so despite the fact that none of them that have reached the market actually do what the name implies –- namely, hover above the ground in the air, like they did in the popular “Back to the Future” movies.

Atom Fliye is a connected hoverboard that has a single, wide wheel. It promises to travel 7 ½ miles on a single charge, and can go uphill and ride down stairs, as well as travel over rocky surfaces or grass, its makers say. A companion app is being developed for Android and iOS mobile devices that can be used to start the board. It also adds anti-theft functionality. The app shows users the exact speed the board is traveling at, mileage and battery-life. It also enables users to adjust everything on the board, including its speed.

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Personal Transportation

The SnikkyBike is a motorized penny farthing for your thoughts

For many, the big city is no place to ride a bicycle. While there are daredevils that relish the danger of risky drivers, potholed streets, and oblivious pedestrians, there are many who just can’t deal all those obstacles. For them, there aren’t very many solutions outside of waiting for a city to implement more bike-friendly policies — something that can take a long time.

The Snikpatent-claimedkyBike positions itself as the perfect hybrid, offering the agility of a kick scooter with the sturdiness and stability of a bike. It’s vintage, penny farthing-like shape allows for these benefits: Its large front wheel offers durability and tight turning circles and its small, motorized rear wheel allows it to go 20mph for about 20-25 miles per charge efficient personal transportation. Adding to the SnikkyBike’s focus on safety is how it requires its riders to stand on foldable footboards, forcing them to stay alert to the environment and also giving them the ability to get off quickly and effortlessly should they need to.

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Personal Transportation

Hang out atop the Walkbot and float your way to work

That dreaded morning walk to the bus or train and unwelcome trudge through sidewalk foot traffic isn’t a big enough annoyance to warrant purchasing a car for. Biking helps by avoiding crowds and cutting down on commuting time, but adds an element of unease as the danger of theft is always around the corner. In comparison to, the Walkbot offers a lightweight alternative to tackle these commuting grievances.

The Walkbot is essentially a square platform on wheels, a bathroom scale-like design that’s immediately easy to understand. While the Walkbot itself only weighs seven pounds, it can support a person weighing up to 220 pounds and reach a top speed of about 7.5mph. Its claim as the lightest vehicle in the world has to be taken with a grain of sale, along with its claims of portability: Its large shape makes it awkward to find a suitable bag it fits neatly in.  $249 gets backers their very own Walkbot platform by August 2016. Its flexible Indiegogo campaign is looking for $50,000 by July 1st, 2016.

The Walkbot campaign video makes it abundantly clear that the device only really works on completely smooth surfaces, leaving a majority of a city inaccessible to it. This crucial limitation doesn’t bode well for its ride-anywhere ambitions, especially when other, non-electric alternatives like the Zar and Pigeon can get people through those last miles in a far more practical way.

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Personal Transportation

MovPak hybrid backpack/skateboard takes on the daily grind

Despite its novel premise that combined a bookbag with a skateboard, the original MovPak Kickstarter campaign failed to secure enough funding for production, halting the dream of a more mobile commute for its team. Two years, a few tweaks, improvements, and a move to Indiegogo later, the improved MovPak is back for a second round.

In terms of the basic idea, the MovPak hasn’t changed drastically. The sizable, 17-pound book bag still hides a retractable electric skateboard within that uses a brushless motor powered by a lithium-ion battery for movement. Together, users can remotely control MovPak to achieve speeds of up to 20mph for a 10-mile range per charge.

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Personal Transportation

The Nimble Urban Scooter carries you and your burden

Every day, people put way too much weight on their shoulders and backs without realizing it, leading to discomfort and possible pain later on in life. Outside of some sort of clunky trolley, there isn’t much that can be done about it. At least, that was the case until the Nimble Urban Scooter came along.

The follow-up to the Nimble Scooter Classic, the Nimble Urban Scooter is a slimmed down version of its predecessor that focuses on a more agile ride while retaining the versatility of carrying a wide array of stuff. Its front loading cargo rack features custom made bungee straps to secure all sorts of boxes — even fitting bike accessories — while its linked steering system lets riders perform sharp turns safely.

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Personal Transportation

Pack, sit, or ride the eFOLDi 3-in-1 scooter

One thing most people take for granted is how mobile they truly are. For some, usually the disabled or the elderly, lack of mobility is a problem they are forced to deal with every single day.

The eFOLDi three-in-one scooter not only aids those in need of mobility support, but anyone at all seeking a way to get around just a little easier. The 42lb. aluminum scooter is able to fold up into both a suitcase and a chair for maximum versatility wherever one may find themselves. The eFOLDi in scooter mode features a four four point balancing system, a battery that gets 14 miles per charge, and a motor that can reach a top speed of 12.5mph — all with a maximum load weight of 220 lbs.

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Connected Objects Personal Transportation

Monimoto keeps a connected digital eye on your motorcycle

Motorcycle security systems are usually pretty expensive and require professional installation to install. While it’s probably a good idea for a motorcycle owner to have one installed, most don’t due to how cumbersome it can be to install and maintain them.

The Monimoto smart motorcycle alarm system takes all the wires and professionals out of the equation. Anyone can install the thin black tube using its packaged plastic strips, and all that’s needed to maintain it is a 2G/3G sim card in combination with two CR123 batteries for two years of battery life. With that much longevity, users won’t have to worry about it dying, important for an alarm system.

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Personal Transportation

CycleBoard carves out a middle ground in e-scooters

Usually, the more time passes in the crowdfunding world, the smaller the e-scooter offerings become. It makes sense: it’s hard to turn down the temptation to back an e-scooter that’s both smaller and lighter than previous incarnations, even if they’re not as accessible to more people due to that very same reason. Instead of blindly chasing a smaller, lighter, slimmer design, founder Phillip LaBonty went the other way with CycleBoard. The result is a three-wheeled electric scooter with far more appeal to many more types of people.

The most obvious thing about the CycleBoard is its construction: it uses aircraft-grade aluminum, features three shock absorbing tires — two up front and one in the back — and 8.5-inch swappable riding decks. Together, these elements come together to make the 42lb. scooter a much sturdier, confidence-inducing ride for everyone in the family. What makes it really stand out is how it’s controlled with a collapsible handle combining balance and steering into one.