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Hyundai s egg-mobile. Is this the future of personal mobility?

This article was published in Scientific American’s former blog network and reflects the views of the author, not necessarily those of Scientific American


Behold! The latest entry in personal mobility vehicles. I present to you Hyundai’s “E4U”.

Debuted at the Seoul Motor Show last month, the E4U works like no other ground vehicle that I have seen. Instead of wheels or tracks providing locomotive action, the base of the “egg” spins, much like the rotors of a helicopter, with a correcting force provided by two training wheels. Pedals allow the operator (driver?) to control the pod. The E4U is at the concept stage now, apparently capable of reaching walking speeds.

Last time we talked about a personal mobility vehicle, I pooh-poohed Honda’s Uni-Cub, where it seemed that we were engineering ourselves out of natural movement. But then I spent an entire weekend walking around a convention floor, and I would have sold my soul to get off my feet and scoot around!


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So with that in mind, I’m keeping an open mind about these devices. Perhaps one day my kids will chuckle when I talk about the good old days of “walking” around the university campus, the walking equivalent to vinyl records. At this point, I will have resigned myself to the convenience of scooting around in my own egg. In any event, it might be fun to race one of these bad boys against Scott in his solar-powered bike car-thingy.

David Wogan is an engineer and policy researcher who writes about energy, technology, and policy.

David's academic and professional background includes a unique blend of technology and policy in the field of energy systems. Most recently, David worked at Austin Energy, a Texas municipal utility, implementing a Department of Energy stimulus grant related to energy efficiency. Previously, David was a member of the Energy & Climate Change team at the White House Council on Environmental Quality for the Obama Administration.

David holds two Master's degrees from The University of Texas at Austin in Mechanical Engineering and Public Affairs. While at UT, David was a researcher in the Webber Energy Group, where his research focused on advanced biofuel production to offset petroleum use in the transportation sector. David holds a Bachelor's of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from The University of Texas at Austin, where he researched nuclear non-proliferation measurement technology.

David is a 2013 Aspen Institute Journalism Scholar, joining a select group of journalists from Slate, ABC News, and The New York Times.

David lives in Austin, Texas. Follow along on Twitter or email him at david.wogan@me.com.

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