Marotti Trike

The Marotti is a radically styled trike developed in Poland. The design took inspiration from fighter jets giving it a rather extreme appearance which will probably not be to everyone’s taste - but at least it’s unique. The two vertical fins at the back of the Marotti are not just for show however, they are in fact constructed from heavy duty steel and designed to act as rollover protection in the event of a crash.

Powering the single-seat Marotti is a rear-mounted 750 cc V4 engine from Honda which produces 100 horsepower @ 11,000 rpm. In a vehicle weighing just 440 kgs (970 lbs) it should provide more than adequate straight line performance. The transmission consists of 6 sequential forward gears and an electric powered reverse gear.

The chassis of the Marotti trike consists of a box section steel spaceframe running the entire length of the vehicle. The swingarm for the rear suspension is a custom made unit sized to fit the 17 inch rear wheel wrapped in a 275/45R17 tire.

Source: Diseno-Art.com

BMW X9 Concept Is A Modern Car For Superheroes

Did you ever think if the Caped Crusader ever gets tired of his batmobile and wanna have a modern vehicle instead? What kinda vehicle he’ll opt for? The one pictured above has all that Batman would surely fall for. Hailed as the BMW X9 Concept, the 18-year old designer from Tunisia, Khalfi Oussama, might surely have thought of a modern vehicle for Batman before giving shape to this vehicle. Unfortunately we don’t have all that technical info of the vehicle or what was the inspiration behind, but checkout the images and you will rhyme with me that this weird vehicle is an ideal safari for the Dark Knight.

Designer: Khalfi Oussama

Source: Automotto.org

Quadski Transforms From Jet Ski To Land Quad With Just Push Of A Button

Flaunting its high-speed amphibian capabilities, Gibbs Technologies has come up with an amphibious vehicle called the “Quadski” that transforms from a jet ski to a land quad with just the push of a button. Essentially a personal sports vehicle, the Quadski other than offering dual mode of commutation also presents a functional design, as it can travel at over 70 km/h on both land and water. Intended for recreation activities, the new amphibious vehicle can also be used for military or rescue operations. Check out the video after the jump.

Source: Thedesignblog.org

Shadow Hawk Unveils The Ultimate Super Terrain Armored Vehicle

For those with big pockets and high headedness who love power and demand luxury with security, this super armored vehicle dubbed the Shadow Hawk suits the best. The Street Hawk is amazingly crafted vehicle with the ability to independently raise or lower each of its wheels up to 46 inches without camber or caster compromise and its ground clearance is adjustable from 0-44 inches even when in motion.

The ultimate super terrain vehicle is equipped with monster engine producing 1100hp and 1,805 foot pounds of torque. The all-wheel-drive vehicle with 40 inch tall, 15.5 inch wide tires and 22 inch wheels weighs 4,800 pounds and has a top speed of 208mph. Sprint from 0 to 60mph can be achieved in 3.5 seconds and its fuel economy on highway is estimated at 22mpg.

It also features innovative active suspension system, air suspended seats and vehicles pitch; roll and overall ride height can be adjusted from the driver’s seat while using D-pad controls beneath your fingertips.

You can have Street Hawk build as per your wish and options for the same include two or four door, exterior color, interior fabrics, satellite systems, five-point harnesses, run flat systems, right-hand drive… The vehicle’s production is a limited to 12 units per year with a price tag of $1.2 million and first vehicle will be available by the end of 2011.

Source: Automotto.org

PS ² Bulletproof Futuristic Vehicle For Security Forces

The PS ² or Public Security Services is a concept car envisioned by designer Mayeul Walser for security forces deployed in areas where crime rate is high. The vehicle offers protection to forces with its carbon fiber and Kevlar body. The bodywork is not only safe but also extremely lightweight that reduces energy consumption from the vehicle’s electric batteries.

The zero-emission concept is powered by four electric motors, one for each wheel. Accommodating four people, the concept vehicle assures that the neighborhoods are protected against housebreakings, gangs and drugs.

Source: Ecofriend.org

Aerial Rescue Chopper by Leong Huang Zi

While envisioning a scenario after 100 years or so, Malaysian designer Leong Huang Zi comes up with amazing concept dubbed the ARC (Aerial Rescue Chopper). The ARC is designed for a distant future where there will be a federation of nations to help keep the order. The chopper with retro feel yet futuristic design will fly in that world being the part of Universal Military Service Corp (UMSC). Designed as a multipurpose chopper for rescue operations in UMSC, Aerial Rescue Chopper features unique duo fan propeller, distinctive air turbo system with the capability to navigate rough terrains. This chopper is meant for surveillance and scouting in land and sea divisions.

Source: Automotto.org

iBite Sports Car Concept with Ocean as The Inspiration

The new car concept design by Iman Maghsoudi for Local Motors Competition is named as iBite and as the name suggests it sure bites some metal. The overall design as per the designers is nothing but improvising on the Toyota Prius Hybrid platform as the base and just developing the same along with other beauties thus resulting in a designer marvel. After using that as the base platform, add to it the design elements of Lotus 7 and then on top of it placing two surfing boards as the part of its body panel and voila, one can see that the car is ready to fly!

Designer : Iman Maghsoudi via Local-Motors

Case robotic car now on display at Crawford museum: Whatever happened to ...

Lynn Ischay/The Plain DealerBrandon Rutter uses a joystick to drive Dexter out of the garage at CWRU's Squire Valleevue Farm in February 2007. The driverless vehicle ran through maneuver drills at the farm to prepare for competition.

Whatever happened to Dexter, the robotic car developed by Case Western Reserve University students to navigate roads like a human?

After performing well in a national competition last fall against other driverless vehicles, Dexter has retired to post-race glory. The squat, computer-stuffed car is now on display at the Crawford Auto-Aviation Museum in Cleveland's University Circl

More than 50 students and faculty from the CWRU School of Engineering spent nearly a year readying Dexter (the name stands for "Deployable EXtreme Terrain Enabled Robot") for the 2007 DARPA Urban Challenge.

The competition, sponsored by the Pentagon's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, pitted teams from robotics-savvy universities and companies against each other.

The challenge was to produce a completely self-guided vehicle able to handle the kinds of situations city drivers face: detours, unexpected obstacles, busy intersections, merging with other traffic, and so on. The winner got $2 million and a chance to help design future autonomous military transports.

A Virginia engineering firm called ENSCO Inc. had built the original Dexter to compete in a simpler version of the DARPA challenge that took place in 2005 in the desert Southwest. For the 2007 Urban Challenge, ENSCO lent Dexter to CWRU.

Team Case heavily modified Dexter, adding advanced sensors and using a "biologically inspired" computer programming approach that mimicked the way living things evaluate information and make decisions in complex situations.

Of the 89 Urban Challenge entrants, Dexter and Team Case were among 35 semifinalists invited to show their stuff last November on a former Air Force base in California. The qualifying rounds included what may have been history's first collision between human-and computer-operated vehicles (fortunately not Dexter).

While Team Case's car performed well, in driving and parking tests, its scores were not high enough to make the finals. The winner was "Boss," a Chevy Tahoe built by robotics powerhouse Carnegie Mellon University.

Still, Dexter and its makers got their share of recognition. "Robocars," a 2008 Science Channel documentary on the Urban Challenge, featured the charismatic CWRU group. And Nortech, Cleveland's regional economic development organization, included Team Case among seven organizations it honored for developing "breakthrough technologies."

Since the contest, some Team Case members have graduated and begun work in robotics-related fields (including two who landed at ENSCO, Dexter's parent company). Others are pursuing advanced degrees and working on additional robotics projects, including building "Cutter," a self-guided lawnmower.

Team Case's leader, electrical engineering and computer science professor Wyatt Newman, is teaching a new "mobile robotics" course based on Dexter technology.

"We have no news of a 4th DARPA Grand Challenge," Newman reports, "but we anticipate we'll compete again, if one is announced."

— John Mangels

Killer Ground ‘Bots Out of Iraq: How Come?

To great fanfare last year, the Army deployed three machine gun-armed Sword ground robots to Iraq, promising they would see combat "soon." But just a few months later, the Swords were sent packing. How come? Popular Mechanics knows why:

[T]he Army’s Program Executive
Officer for Ground Forces, Kevin Fahey, was asked what happened to
SWORDS. After all, no specific reason for the 11th-hour withdrawal ever came from the military or its contractors at Foster-Miller. Fahey’s answer was vague, but he confirmed that the robots never opened fire when they weren’t supposed to. His understanding is that “the gun started moving when it was not intended to move.” In other words, the SWORDS swung around in the wrong direction, and the plug got pulled fast. No humans were hurt, but as
Fahey pointed out, “once you’ve done something that’s really bad, it can take 10 or 20 years to try it again.”

rcrc robot car: no transformer, still a robot in disguise

While I’d rather have a lifesize Optimus Prime, I might just have to settle for this R/C robot that can transform itself into a car, truck or tank.

The RCRC Transforming Robot from AOK can go from ‘bot to vehicle with a quick flick of two joysticks on the included remote control.

When in car mode, the remote lets you drive forwards, backwards, left or right. Flip back to upright mode, and the robot can spin left or right.

In all, the RCRC offers four driving modes: robot, truck, sports car, and “hip-hop dance”, whatever that means. The robot has a built-in rechargeable battery, which should give you about 30 minutes of run time per charge. Check out the video below to see the RCRC in action:

Boy, somebody clearly needs to go back to driver’s ed. Hopefully you can do a better job steering the RCRC than the guy in the video.

You can get one for yourself over at Hammacher Schlemmer for $89.95 USD.

Nissan OneOne

n Nissan’s vision of the 2050s, robots have become an integral part of our lives, blurring the line between humans and machines. The Nissan OneOne combines personal mobility with the family robot concept.

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Billed as the ultimate pet, the Nissan OneOne (pronounced “wan-wan,” the Japanese sound for a barking dog) is a friendly, helpful member of the family of the future. Able to operate autonomously without a driver, the GPS-guided vehicle can help out by picking up the dry cleaning, fetching the groceries, and taking the kids to school.

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OneOne propels itself forward by flexing and relaxing synthetic polymer muscles in its “legs,” much as you would if skating on roller blades.