Jonathan Lung and Phil Lam, two PhD candidates at the University of Toronto (U of T) have built something new: a part-bike, part-car emissions-free vehicle.
With the support of U of T’s Impact Centre, a cross-disciplinary institution that helps get tech startups off the ground, the duo were able to fund and build the prototype through their startup firm Sojourn Labs.
They said they hope to see it sold commercially very soon.
From the driver’s seat, it feels as if you’re in a futuristic virtual simulator. It has a pod-like aluminum frame with a windshield and roof to protect from rain and wind.
Wires, a trunk, and even Tupperware containers make up some of its other parts.
By pedalling as if it were a recumbent bicycle, the driver can control the speed, and also charge a battery which then powers its motor.
With enough juice, the vehicle’s programmable motor can accelerate the vehicle, allowing the driver to pedal with ease, but reach up to 32 kilometres an hour, its legal speed limit.
The battery can be recharged from a wall outlet. The duo said they would like to see it have solar panels in the future.
“You can ride this thing to work, leave it on the sidewalk at nine, and even on a cloudy day, by five it will still be charged up again,” Lam said.
Lam, who is finishing his PhD in industrial engineering, said the project was partly inspired by his experience as a cyclist in Toronto and also the city’s overall transit woes.
“For the first six months I think I almost got killed like a dozen times,” Lam said.
“Particularly in Toronto, everyone is suffering. There is no good way to get around.”
Lung and Lam said their prototype is great for people’s health, safety, and wallets.
Drivers can burn calories by choosing to pedal harder, while the frame shields the drivers from being directly hit, an improvement for those switching from cycling.
The cost of buying their invention “would be well under the annual cost of a car,” said Lung, who is completing his PhD in computer science.
“Since we’re legally an e-bike you won’t have to have monthly insurance on it,” he said.
The duo said plans for a second prototype are in the works.
Drivers will be able to check the vehicle’s battery level and unlock the vehicle via smartphone, they said.
Last May, Lung took the prototype for a spin through downtown Toronto during rush hour. He said he was received warmly by onlookers.
“We got cop car approval. They honked at us and waved. Somebody offered to buy it,” Lam said.
Though he said he is unsure where the project will end up, Lam said the “sky’s the limit.”
