Monday, April 7, 2008

Shooting for the 100K

Smart Cities to rent new electric RoboScooters

By Brendan Lynch

An MIT Media Lab project looking to bridge the gap between homes and public transportation has made it to the semifinals of the MIT $100K business plan competition.

The project, Smart Cities, boasts a RoboScooter -- a foldable electric scooter with electric motors located in the wheels. Using a card, commuters could take a shared-use scooter from a kiosk at a train station, ride it home, then take it back to the station the next morning and drop it off at the kiosk to recharge. A business rollout would involve thousands of scooters and hundreds of stations, according to MIT Media Lab Ph.D. candidate Ryan Chin.

"Basically, you solve the last-mile/first-mile problem," Chin said. "Not everyone lives at the train station."

Chin said the team would like to see a one-way rental on the scooter cost about $2, which would include fuel, insurance and maintenance.

The scooter's power is equivalent to one with a 50 cc gasoline engine, and it can travel 30 mph to 35 mph. A full charge gives it about an hour of driving time, and the team expects the average trip to be about 15 minutes. The bike would also have GPS displays so passengers can get directions and find kiosks.

Chin said the project's acceptance would be "automatic" in southeast Asia and parts of Italy -- urban areas with built-in scooter cultures. The scooter, which was designed by the Media Lab, would be built by Sanyang Industry Co. Ltd in Taiwan.

While other submissions in the competition's energy category focus on replacing gasoline with other fuels, RoboScooter focuses on conserving it or eliminating its use, Chin said.

"In the end, what we want to do is promote a carbon-free mix of options," he said.