Half-spider, half-goat, half-car
December 31, 2016 4:29 AM Subscribe
Meet the Swincar, a tilting 4-wheeler electric vehicle with independent appendages that looks like "a spider doing leg stretches". Also used as an off-road wheelchair for disabled riders.
The phase one prototype was even more badass.
posted by AlonzoMosleyFBI at 5:26 AM on December 31, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by AlonzoMosleyFBI at 5:26 AM on December 31, 2016 [3 favorites]
When I can fold it up into a large suitfcase and stash it inside my personal LM, then I'll buy.
posted by Devonian at 5:57 AM on December 31, 2016
posted by Devonian at 5:57 AM on December 31, 2016
Looks awesome! Let's put a mower on that sumabitch.
posted by ian1977 at 6:21 AM on December 31, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by ian1977 at 6:21 AM on December 31, 2016 [3 favorites]
Oh you spider-spider Swincar, spider-spider Swincar we love you...
posted by lagomorphius at 6:58 AM on December 31, 2016
posted by lagomorphius at 6:58 AM on December 31, 2016
In America we do the same thing, but we build them with un-muffled V-8 engines and use them to go rock crawling.
Joking aside, that is a really neat little vehicle that probably will turn out to have some practical uses.
posted by Dip Flash at 7:01 AM on December 31, 2016
Joking aside, that is a really neat little vehicle that probably will turn out to have some practical uses.
posted by Dip Flash at 7:01 AM on December 31, 2016
A couple of questions/comments....
First off, one would imagine the tires would be a bit thicker for more traction.
Also, how does any "official" video air with ZERO sound? I'd like to be able to hear how noisy the little beast is.
posted by Samizdata at 8:04 AM on December 31, 2016
First off, one would imagine the tires would be a bit thicker for more traction.
Also, how does any "official" video air with ZERO sound? I'd like to be able to hear how noisy the little beast is.
posted by Samizdata at 8:04 AM on December 31, 2016
I'd like to be able to hear how noisy the little beast is
Not a lot apparently. Here you can hear the CEO talk next to a running Swincar. The 2nd and 3rd videos on this Facebook page have sound. The thing does a lot of bzzz-bzzz-click-click-click sounds (particularly when it's stuck in a ditch...) but one of the selling points is that it's quite silent for a motor vehicle.
posted by elgilito at 9:19 AM on December 31, 2016
Not a lot apparently. Here you can hear the CEO talk next to a running Swincar. The 2nd and 3rd videos on this Facebook page have sound. The thing does a lot of bzzz-bzzz-click-click-click sounds (particularly when it's stuck in a ditch...) but one of the selling points is that it's quite silent for a motor vehicle.
posted by elgilito at 9:19 AM on December 31, 2016
First off, one would imagine the tires would be a bit thicker for more traction.
Not really - I didn't really see any issue of grip or traction in the video at all. If it were heavier it may need wider tyres, but it looks like it performs pretty well to me over all that terrain. It only really loses grip over very dusty, dry mud on the unloaded tyre, which is not surprising. Being as it has genuine independent four wheel drive (unlike any IC engined 4wd) it will have plenty of traction.
Besides, a wider tyre would not necessarily increase the contact patch unless the wheel was always firmly flat on the ground, which is not really where this vehicle gets to the edge of traction, it's on the more extreme surfaces.
posted by Brockles at 9:43 AM on December 31, 2016
Not really - I didn't really see any issue of grip or traction in the video at all. If it were heavier it may need wider tyres, but it looks like it performs pretty well to me over all that terrain. It only really loses grip over very dusty, dry mud on the unloaded tyre, which is not surprising. Being as it has genuine independent four wheel drive (unlike any IC engined 4wd) it will have plenty of traction.
Besides, a wider tyre would not necessarily increase the contact patch unless the wheel was always firmly flat on the ground, which is not really where this vehicle gets to the edge of traction, it's on the more extreme surfaces.
posted by Brockles at 9:43 AM on December 31, 2016
In America they do the same thing and then they send the vehicles to Mars.
posted by tss at 10:01 AM on December 31, 2016
posted by tss at 10:01 AM on December 31, 2016
For a off road vehicle tire size is more often about impact than grip. Without knowing the weight it's tough to talk about the tire size in an informed way but it would be interesting to see this vehicle tackle marsh, snow or sand. Ideally you'd want to float over instead of digging in. Something usually better handled by a wide low pressure tire.
posted by Mitheral at 10:35 AM on December 31, 2016
posted by Mitheral at 10:35 AM on December 31, 2016
Went down a YouTube link-following hole and ended up on The Rock Dawg. Pretty impressive articulation!
posted by Alterscape at 11:04 AM on December 31, 2016
posted by Alterscape at 11:04 AM on December 31, 2016
one would imagine the tires would be a bit thicker for more traction
I think the tire choice is a byproduct of sourcing an existing heavy duty e-bike wheel to keep prototype costs down. A production version more explicitly equipped for off-road use would likely use off-the-shelf ATV tires and, fortuitously, a wider hub that could enclose a much more powerful motor.
Electric wheel hub 4wd minimizes many undesirable characteristics of drive train design while maximizing several desirable ones. It will probably become commonplace, if not ubiquitous.
posted by CynicalKnight at 2:44 PM on December 31, 2016
I think the tire choice is a byproduct of sourcing an existing heavy duty e-bike wheel to keep prototype costs down. A production version more explicitly equipped for off-road use would likely use off-the-shelf ATV tires and, fortuitously, a wider hub that could enclose a much more powerful motor.
Electric wheel hub 4wd minimizes many undesirable characteristics of drive train design while maximizing several desirable ones. It will probably become commonplace, if not ubiquitous.
posted by CynicalKnight at 2:44 PM on December 31, 2016
Went down a YouTube link-following hole and ended up on The Rock Dawg. yt Pretty impressive articulation!
My favorite thing is the front license plate implying it's street legal.
posted by stet at 5:26 PM on December 31, 2016 [1 favorite]
My favorite thing is the front license plate implying it's street legal.
posted by stet at 5:26 PM on December 31, 2016 [1 favorite]
It probably is consdering there isn't much need for turn signals if it isn't. Also the plate is a "Farm Truck" plate so he may live or play someplace that requires plates for OHVs if they ever touch a road. BC for example requires plates on OHVs if they are used on crown land or on limited circumstance on regular roads and highways. The zoom booms I operate are usually plated because they sometimes get unloaded or operate on roadways.
posted by Mitheral at 6:01 PM on December 31, 2016
posted by Mitheral at 6:01 PM on December 31, 2016
This actually looks really fun. (And did anyone else see the creepy Jedi at 1:50 in the first video?)
posted by iffthen at 4:41 AM on January 1, 2017
posted by iffthen at 4:41 AM on January 1, 2017
My favorite thing is the front license plate implying it's street legal.
There are parts of the US where you can pretty much register anything with wheels. It's not quite that permissive here, but I haven't had to do an emissions or safety test in well over a decade and I doubt a crazy-looking vehicle like that would ever get pulled over unless you were otherwise flouting traffic laws.
posted by Dip Flash at 7:39 AM on January 1, 2017
There are parts of the US where you can pretty much register anything with wheels. It's not quite that permissive here, but I haven't had to do an emissions or safety test in well over a decade and I doubt a crazy-looking vehicle like that would ever get pulled over unless you were otherwise flouting traffic laws.
posted by Dip Flash at 7:39 AM on January 1, 2017
« Older The Adventures of Donkey Ollie, or, The Greatest... | One Man Band, Amsterdam Style Newer »
This thread has been archived and is closed to new comments
posted by iffthen at 5:13 AM on December 31, 2016 [1 favorite]