It's called the City Car, and the key to the concept lies in the design of its wheels. Dreamers have been reinventing the wheel since the days of cave dwellers. But the work underway in "the Cube," the Media Lab's basement studio, may be the most ambitious remake yet.The MIT team has transformed the lowly wheel into a sophisticated robotic drive system that will power the City Car. Embedded in each of its four wheels will be an electric motor, steering and braking mechanisms, suspension, and digital controls, all integrated into sealed units that can be snapped on and off.And under the hood . . . well, there won't be a hood on the City Car. Just an eggshell-shaped glass plate -- part roof, part windshield -- framing the modular cabin and stretching almost to the chassis.
0 comments:
Post a Comment