By Steve Winter, special to wtop.com
LAS VEGAS — What’s the best way to get around Vegas during the Consumer Electronics Show?
Shuttle buses? The monorail? A rental car? Good old fashioned shoe leather?
How about the Hovertrax?
A feet only, hands-free contraption created by a company called Solowheel, the Hovertrax is a two-wheeled motorized personal transport device that you control solely by balance. One of several dozen creations at CES that mechanically moves individuals through space, the Hovertrax is one of many devices to use gyroscope-based technology in an effort to emulate the undisputed granddaddy of the personal transport industry — the Segway. At a cost of $995, the Hovertrax is available exclusively online from the company’s website.
At roughly double the Hovertrax price tag, $1,800, IO Hawk introduces Smart Wheels, a virtual doppelganger of the Hovertrack. With flashing LEDs leading the way, IO Hawk’s CEO John Sobiatian describe his product as a battery powered motorized device that uses slight pressure from your feet to guide it where you want it to go. When you shift your balance, the device responds and moves in that direction. “It’s all in the toes,” Sobiatian says. “It doesn’t take long to get used to how it works.”
Without changing a word, Sobiatian could well have been parroting the same exact product specification speech issued by Solowheel spokesman Daniel Lehto. The main difference between the products? Aside from the LED lights, the Smart Wheel product is not yet on the market, while the Hovertrax is available today.
But two-wheeled hands-free motorized creations are only the tip of the CES personal transit iceberg.
The Z Board Electric Skateboard takes the baggy pants genre deep into the 21st century through technology that allows the user to approach skateboard speeds of up to 20 mph with a range of 16 miles on a single charge. By leaning forward, the skater accelerates, leans back to decelerate and travel in reverse. Highly sensitive and delicate footpads makes riding the board easy, even for a novice user. Still, at $999 to $1,199, the cost is considerable.
Bringing the concept of personal transport up a level, several urban mobility solutions have also made their mark at CES.
The GenZe electric scooter was created as an eco-friendly vehicle after market research with millennials and urban commuters identified parking, gas prices and the ability to carry belongings as significant pain points for this audience segment.
Key specs of the GenZe include a seven-inch touch screen display and a removable, rechargeable battery that can be charged at any 110v outlet. The vehicle tops out at 30 mph and can travel 30 miles on a full charge. While license requirements may vary by state, most will not require a full motorcycle license for operation. Built domestically in Ann Arbor, MI, the product will launch in March 2015 in California and Oregon.
INU is a portable personal transportation vehicle that’s built for short trips within a city or as a complementary option to public transit. One key feature in its lightweight design is the ability to fold on command through gesture or voice using your smartphone, which makes it manageable in small home or office spaces.
INU also comes equipped with a phone dock, GPS and GSM. The eco-friendly vehicle was designed by automotive engineers and designers. Now it its final prototype stages, pre-sales are expected to begin in the coming months.
Also making its debut as CES is the Ecoreco M5 Scooter, a vehicle designed for short trips when walking is a bit out of reach such as short commutes, coffee runs, or traversing a university or corporate campus. Its quiet, electromagnetic motor produces no exhaust or CO2 emissions and powers riders to a top speed of 20 mph. Ecoreco can travel 23 miles on a single charge from any wall outlet on an energy efficient battery that is inexpensive to charge.
Lastly, there are the Segway wannabes. After all, imitation is still the highest form of flattery.
Virtually identical in appearance to the personal transit pioneer, the Ninebot has a few differences. For one, it requires no gripping of handlebars in order to use it, instead looking more like a unicycle than it does a lazy man’s bike. There is also another model available, the Ninebot One, which is far easier on the eye and is more lightweight, featuring only a single wheel and two small platforms on which the user’s feet can rest.
So, when it comes to getting around Vegas, sure, you can wait in an hour long taxi queue, flag down a passing limo or even hoof it up the strip from the MGM Grand to the Cosmopolitan, but it’s nice to know you have several personal transportation options.
Editors Note: Longtime CES attendees Steve Winter and Kenny Fried are contributing reports from the show. In their day jobs, they are public relations professionals with Sage Communications. During CES they are not reporting on any of their clients’ products or those of direct competitors.
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