For a lot of us biking to work sounds like a great way to save money, reduce your carbon footprint, and avoid a lot of pesky traffic. The problem for some of us though is that it also takes a lot of work. Well, a Boston based start up company called Superpedestrian started shipping a new product earlier this year that takes some of the work out of bike commuting. It’s called the Copenhagen Wheel, and it turns your human powered bike into a human/electric hybrid. The Copenhagen Wheel snaps onto a typical twenty-six inch bike wheel. The wheel is controlled with a simple smart phone app; it also learns about your pedaling style as you ride. When it senses that you are going down hill, it will help you brake and as doing such it will recharge itself and store some energy. Then, conversely, when it senses you’re going up hill, it will kick in that stored energy and assist you going up that hill taking some of the work off you and your legs. The accompanying app allows you to control how the added boost works, maybe you want a constant added push, or a boost just when going up hills, or maybe you want to stay at a constant speed without doing all the work yourself; the app will allow you to do that. So if you’ve considered biking but just think it’ll be too much on your legs, consider looking into the Copenhagen Wheel.
If you could be a police officer anywhere in the world, where would it be? If you said Dubai I’d have to agree with you. Dubai’s police force gets some of the coolest toys and tech in the world when it comes to their issued equipment. As if it wasn’t enough that Dubai police got to drive Lamborghinis and Bugattis outfitted with police light bars as their cruisers, now they also get to rock Google Glass. Dubai police will now wear Google Glass equipped with facial recognition software to help identify criminals in real time without having to call it in, or consult a computer. I guess what I’m saying is that someone else needs to start writing these blogs because I’m going to apply to be an officer in Dubai.
When it comes to green commuting it’s hard to beat a bicycle. There is a new contender hitting the streets however. UK based company Airwheel, and US based Ryno Motors are making unicycles for commuters. My first reaction was that it would never work because if you’ve ever ridden a unicycle they are difficult to ride. These companies have taken the hassle out of it by adding a gyroscope to take care of balance and steering. They have also removed the seat so you can ride it to the bus or train, stash it under your seat and then grab it again to get from your mass transit ride, to your door. The new unicycle works kind of like a Segway; you shift your weight to accelerate and decelerate along with steer. They haven’t made a big showing here in the US yet, but some UK postal services are implementing them for aid in delivering mail. I personally never jumped on the Segway train, but I could get behind this little transportation gadget. No seat, no handles, small and unassuming, it seems like a potential perfect storm for sidewalk commuting.
Ferrari may be known as the Ferrari of the car world (?) but that doesn't mean they are without some issues of their own. They are issuing a recall on the Ferrari 458, not because of an issue with their beautiful hand built engines, or brilliant soft leather interiors, or even their unstoppably precise transmissions. The 458 are being recalled because if you get stuck in the trunk you won't be able to get yourself out. That's right, all cars now a days need to have a safety release inside the trunk incase you get stuck in there, the 458 has one, it just doesn't work unless the car is moving. I understand that escaping from a trunk while a car is moving at the speeds a Ferrari is capable of would not be safe (hence the recall), but come on, have you seen the trunk space in a 458 Italia?!? You'd have to be a Fraggle to fit in there. That being said, safety first, so all you 458 owners out there get your car to the dealer. Then when you get it back come take me for a ride, because that car is awesome.
Personal taxis are starting to find a home with regulations. Services like Lyft and UberX helped to connect drivers with passengers via their respective apps. The idea was great; if you needed a ride, you checked the app to see if there was someone with a car in your area offering a lift, you’d contact them and next thing you know you are sharing a ride to your destination. The problem came when lack of regulations shut down these services. Taxi companies are heavily regulated: their drivers are background checked, the insurance is kept up-to-date, vehicle inspections are performed regularly, etc. These new “personal taxi” services, as they have been deemed, were not regulated and were forced to shut down because of such. Well recently, Colorado has become the first state in the US to set regulations for these services (UberX and Lyft respectively) so that the service can run lawfully and undisturbed. California has since also began to regulate the new form of transportation, and hopefully other states will follow soon.
