This smart little car does it all, compacting to smaller sizes on demand, sliding horizontally into parking spots (no more need to try and parallel) and linking up to form fleets of semi-automated vehicles.

The EO Smart Connecting Car 2 (or: EOscc2) grew out a project by the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence, and has more than a few tricks behind its up-swinging doors.

The biggest feat is the app that allows the car to be connected to other vehicles on the road, forming an invisible chain led by a single automobile.

Having an individual master controller frees up other drivers to become passengers, sitting back and relaxing while someone else steers the modular fleet.

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The same science-fiction ion drive engines found in TIE fighters and sub-warp Star Trek ships is being developed for real in Redmond, Washington, thanks to a $67 million grant from NASA to fund electronic propulsion system technology.

Over the next three years, Aerojet Rocketdyne will work on a solution that would improve fuel efficiency tenfold over chemical rocket systems, ultimately giving us greener and better ways to get to Mars, Saturn and asteroids (and be much safer than NASA-funded nuke-propelled rockets dating back to the 1960s).

Solar arrays on the spacecraft generate electrical power, which is used to produce positively charged ions and accelerate them through an electric field. After acceleration, electrons are injected into the ion beam to maintain a neutral plasma.

“Development of this technology will advance our future in-space transportation capability for a variety of NASA deep-space human and robotic exploration missions, as well as private commercial space missions,” said Steve Jurczyk, associate administrator of NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate.

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Bridging the almost-artificial divide between conventional quadricycles and lower-powered scooters, this micro-vehicle fits the legal system in France just right, allowing it to be driven by teenagers who are not allowed to pilot an ordinary car.

Weighing 1,000 pounds and with a maximum speed of around 50 miles per hour, the idea was in part to provide a lighter-weight but ultimately street-safer alternative to bikes and mopeds for teens just learning to take the wheel.

The version of the Renault Twizy teenagers can actually drive legally is a bit smaller than described above, modified to fit within French regulations regarding the maximum size, speed and capacity of a vehicle that can be used with just a road safety certificate.

Assuming the design manages to leap the pond, it is unlikely to similarly allow younger driving in other places, but still has plenty of other advantages – at its size, it can fit into half-sized parking spaces, those extra zones you curse for not being big enough to fit your car in the city, and can even be parked perpendicular to the curb, squeezing it in just about anywhere.

The post Drive at Age 14: Teens Allowed Tiny Electric Car in Europe first appeared on Gajitz.

Spoke space is free, just like solar energy, reasoned this Solar Bike inventor, an engineer who decided to see if he could build a bike powered by the sun – this is his second iteration, and it works like a charm.

An engineer in Copenhagen, Jesper Frausig developed this working prototype that stores energy in an onboard battery and can then carry a rider up to 40 miles at up to 35 miles per hour, perhaps more with further optimizations.

Human effort can assist the process as needed, helping save up energy for tougher parts of the trip, but the rider can also sit back and enjoy letting the sun do the work as desired. Lights are also tied into the solar energy system.

“The Solar Bike was designed to be like any regular bike. That’s why the Solar Bike is easy to ride and maintain. The Solar Bike charges energy from the sun. The on-wheel solar cells deliver clean energy directly to the battery. While the Solar Bike is standing still, it charges the battery. When it is in motion, the solar cells and the battery provides energy for the motor.”

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Solving the ‘last mile’ problem for daily commutes and short urban trips, the Bolt skateboard boasts a combination of features as well as its status as the world’s smallest, lightest and easiest-to-carry electric vehicle.

From the designers: “Walking is too slow and time consuming. Most of the time taking the car is cumbersome  and useless because you need to find space for parking. The bicycle must always be locked and made safe otherwise can be stolen. Even if you use  public transport, you still need a last mile solution small enough to be carried with you everywhere.”

With speeds up to 13 miles per hour, it may not compete with a car but is comparable to a bike while being a lot less bulky and something you don’t need to lock up between uses. At 24 by 10 inches (4 thick), it is small enough to fit onto the back of a pack. As a bonus, you can use the board’s charge to power your mobile electronic devices as needed, too.

More on its origin from its maker, a robotic engineering student named Lorenzo Cella: “Every day I take the train to go to university. From home I have to walk to the station, take the train and once there I have to walk to class. I have to do the reverse path back home every noon. I’ve counted that I spend 1 hour and 30 minutes walking everyday, 7km (4.5 miles) . I noticed that covering this distance by foot every day, in addition to waste my time, makes me get home tired and with little desire to do anything else.”

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