The small and light electric car completely folds in half when parking, making it a perfect fit for public or private transportation in an urban environment.
Looking for a parking space for hours at a busy shopping mall or being stuck on roads jammed with cars releasing large amounts of carbon dioxide are all-too-familiar scenes for city dwellers.
A group of researchers at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) recently developed a possible solution to such problems: a foldable, compact electric vehicle that can be utilized either as a personal car or part of the public transit system to connect major transportation routes within a city.
In-Soo Suh, associate professor of the Graduate School for Green Transportation at KAIST, and his research team introduced a prototype micro electric car called “Armadillo-T,” whose design is based on a native animal of South America, the armadillo, a placental mammal with a leathery armor shell.
The research team imitated the animal’s distinctive protection characteristic of rolling up into a ball when facing with threat from predators. Just as armadillos hide themselves inside the shell, Armadillo-T tucks its rear body away, shrinking its original size of 2.8 meters (110 inches) down to almost half, 1.65 meters (65 inches), when folding.
Armadillo-T is a four-wheel-drive, all-electric car with two seats and four in-wheel motors. Since the motors are installed inside the wheels, and the 13.6 kWh capacity of lithium-ion battery pack is housed on the front side, the battery and motors do not have to change their positions when the car folds. This not only optimizes the energy efficiency but also provides stability and ample room to drivers and passengers.
Once folded, the small and light (weighs 450 kg) electric vehicle takes up only one-third of a 5-meter parking space, the standard parking size in Korea, allowing three of its kind to be parked. With a smartphone-interfaced remote control on the wheels, the vehicle can turn 360 degrees, enhancing drivers’ convenience to park the car, even in an odd space in a parking lot, the corner of a building, for example.
Professor In-Soo Suh said, “I expect that people living in cities will eventually shift their preferences from bulky, petro-engine cars to smaller and lighter electric cars. Armadillo-T can be one of the alternatives city drivers can opt for. Particularly, this car is ideal for urban travels, including car-sharing and transit transfer, to offer major transportation links in a city. In addition to the urban application, local near-distance travels such as tourist zones or large buildings can be another example of application.”
The Latest Bing News on:
Micro Electric Car
- 10 Blankets for the Best Sleepon April 20, 2021 at 1:20 pm
Nothing says comfort like a blanket. Lie down with one of these best blankets designed for a variety of different types of sleepers.
- Worldwide Micro Electric Vehicles Market to Witness Robust Expansion by 2026| Ingersoll Rand, Rhoades Car, Textron, Polaris Industrieson April 20, 2021 at 2:57 am
The Global Micro Electric Vehicles Market analysis report provides a detail study of market size of different segments and countries of previous years and forecasts the values to the next Five years.
- Could a Long-Lost Postwar Georges Irat Prototype Roadster Have Become the French Porsche?on April 19, 2021 at 10:00 pm
Then again, even for a French carmaker, Georges Irat was far from typical, so it was rather appropriate for the luxury-sport/compact -sport/quirky-sport carmaker (that also dabbled in EVs and early ...
- Tata Will Launch These 7 New Cars By Diwali To Challenge Maruti, Hyundai (Full List)on April 12, 2021 at 3:47 am
Tata is now working on a host of new products across different segments. 7 new cars and new variants of existing cars combined is what the carmaker is working on, take a read to know more about these ...
- Industrial Electric Vehicle Market to Witness Huge Growth by 2026 | John Deere, Jungheinrich, Kion Groupon April 8, 2021 at 9:27 am
What’s keeping Ayton Willow, Bradshaw Electric, Caproni JSC, Crown Equipment Corporation, Hyster-Yale, John Deere, Jungheinrich AG, Kion Group GmbH, Liberty Electric Cars, MAN Truck & Bus AG, Toyota ...
- NH Mid/Small Cap Issue: Micro-mobility Market Set to Bloomon April 7, 2021 at 5:39 am
The author is an analyst of NH Investment & Securities. He can be reached at [email protected] -- Ed. What is micro-mobility?Electric kickboards are coming into greater usage among younger ...
- Electric Urban Commuter, Microlino, Is A Reimagined Bubble Car For The 21st Centuryon April 5, 2021 at 11:09 am
This is a contemporary take on the classic bubble car for which the team ... in the front and in the rear. Micro remains one of the leaders in the premium electric scooter sector.
- Military Electric Cars Market Seeking Excellent Growth : Alke, Star EV & Tomcaron March 29, 2021 at 12:16 pm
03/29/2021 -- A new business intelligence report released by HTF MI with title "Global Military Electric Cars Market Insights, Forecast to 2025" is designed covering micro level of analysis by ...
- Leading the charge: how the hospitality sector is building Australia's EV networkon March 27, 2021 at 3:48 pm
Airbnb hosts and other operators are installing micro EV chargers Last modified on Sun 28 Mar 2021 16.42 EDT For David Ritchie, installing three electric car chargers for customers at his winery w ...
- Electric Microcars Market Size 2021 to 2026, Capacity, Production and Consumption Professional Analysis with Impact of COVID-19 on Industryon March 24, 2021 at 1:43 am
Mar 24, 2021 (The Expresswire) -- "Final Report will add the analysis of the impact of COVID-19 on this industry" Global “Electric Microcars Market” has numerous changes in recent years and ...
The Latest Google Headlines on:
Micro Electric Car
The Latest Bing News on:
Fix the internet
- Teachers rally to get Baltimore County Public Schools to fix internet, other issueson April 20, 2021 at 3:35 pm
The Baltimore County teachers' union said it's fed up with internet problems as members rallied Tuesday, calling on the district to fix things.
- Baltimore County teachers rally to get district to fix issueson April 20, 2021 at 3:32 pm
The Baltimore County teachers' union said it's fed up with internet problems as members rallied Tuesday, calling on the district to fix things. The Teachers Association of Baltimore County is ...
- TABCO votes to stop all voluntary work until BCPS fixes internet issueson April 20, 2021 at 3:28 am
FM 101.5 - The Teachers Association of Baltimore County voted to encourage members to stop all voluntary work until the district fixes its ongoing internet problems.
- A Tesla giveaway won’t fix this one, David Dobrikon April 19, 2021 at 7:06 pm
The end of March marked the downfall of the internet’s goofy “golden retriever” and Tesla-gifter David Dobrik. While long-awaited and satisfying to many, this was catastrophic to a particular few.
- The most common Xbox Series S problems and how to fix themon April 19, 2021 at 9:16 am
The most common Xbox Series S problems include low storage space and constant crashing, and in this guide, we're going to show you how to solve them.
- What would the $2 trillion infrastructure plan do for the suburbs?on April 19, 2021 at 8:29 am
Road construction and other infrastructure priorities are part of the $2 trillion American Jobs Plan President Joe Biden is promoting. Paul Valade | Staff Photographer On the heels of the $1.9 ...
- How mayoral hopefuls are promising to fix the city's interneton April 16, 2021 at 10:53 am
While broadband policy rarely fires up a political base, fixing the city's spotty and unequal internet has become a focal point in the Democratic primary race for mayor. Front-runner Andrew Yang has ...
- How Fixable Is the Unsafe Internet?on April 15, 2021 at 5:00 am
The larger the Internet superhighway of information grows; the more users get run over by privacy abuses and stolen data. If only we could rebuild the Internet's infrastructure to make data's journey ...
- Will Regulating Social Media Misinformation Fix the Internet?on April 12, 2021 at 10:06 pm
A congressional hearing last month took up the sticky issue of when and how to hold companies like Facebook, Google and Twitter accountable for misinformation. Lawmakers are now faced with a ...
- Could Regulating Social Media Companies Fix the Internet?on April 9, 2021 at 3:11 pm
A congressional hearing last month took up the sticky issue of when and how to hold companies like Facebook, Google and Twitter accountable for misinformation. Lawmakers are now faced with a ...