- Staff
- #1
You can carry this inflatable electric bike in a backpack
Andrew Liszewski - May 13, 2020
Andrew Liszewski - May 13, 2020
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Image: Poimo / YouTube
Bicycles are better for the environment, but they also have another big advantage: they are easier to park than a car. And with Poimo, a prototype of an inflatable electric bicycle created at the University of Tokyo, you don't even need to find a bike rack when you arrive at your destination.
An empty backpack is enough to store it.
Inflating Poimo (short for “portable” and “inflatable mobility”) is like inflating an air mattress.
• Niobium e-Bike is an electric bike with 100 km of autonomy created by the Brazilian Elon Musk• Intel pays US $ 900 million per Moovit to accelerate the creation of autonomous transport
The bike is made of flexible thermoplastic polyurethane and only needs to be pumped at less than 10 PSI to support a person's weight. So, if you don't have easy access to an electric pump that can fully inflate Poimo in just over a minute, a compact hand pump can serve as a replacement, although the process takes a little longer.
Ultimately, the bike weighs a little more than 5kg, but the team of researchers who created it believes that the weight can be greatly reduced when Poimo stops being a prototype and becomes a product ready for consumers.
Assuming it is not easy to accidentally pierce the bike, there are many advantages to using an inflatable structure instead of a traditional structure for an electric bicycle. Battery life and autonomy would be maximized thanks to the lighter weight and, in the event of an accident, replacing this inflatable structure would probably be cheaper.
Those who tested the prototype reported that the inflatable structure is much stronger and more rigid than expected - and should still provide some cushioning in the event that a cyclist accidentally collides with a pedestrian. It wouldn't be like being hit by a pillow, but potentially much less dangerous than being hit by a car.
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Image: Poimo / YouTube
Bicycles are better for the environment, but they also have another big advantage: they are easier to park than a car. And with Poimo, a prototype of an inflatable electric bicycle created at the University of Tokyo, you don't even need to find a bike rack when you arrive at your destination.
An empty backpack is enough to store it.
Inflating Poimo (short for “portable” and “inflatable mobility”) is like inflating an air mattress.
• Niobium e-Bike is an electric bike with 100 km of autonomy created by the Brazilian Elon Musk• Intel pays US $ 900 million per Moovit to accelerate the creation of autonomous transport
The bike is made of flexible thermoplastic polyurethane and only needs to be pumped at less than 10 PSI to support a person's weight. So, if you don't have easy access to an electric pump that can fully inflate Poimo in just over a minute, a compact hand pump can serve as a replacement, although the process takes a little longer.
Ultimately, the bike weighs a little more than 5kg, but the team of researchers who created it believes that the weight can be greatly reduced when Poimo stops being a prototype and becomes a product ready for consumers.
Assuming it is not easy to accidentally pierce the bike, there are many advantages to using an inflatable structure instead of a traditional structure for an electric bicycle. Battery life and autonomy would be maximized thanks to the lighter weight and, in the event of an accident, replacing this inflatable structure would probably be cheaper.
Those who tested the prototype reported that the inflatable structure is much stronger and more rigid than expected - and should still provide some cushioning in the event that a cyclist accidentally collides with a pedestrian. It wouldn't be like being hit by a pillow, but potentially much less dangerous than being hit by a car.
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