Machine learning AI has a long way to go till you see it completely integrated into your car. You see, cars have a years-long production process which is why today’s Android powered cars, however many there are, still use Android Gingerbread and Android Honeycomb. Cars are by virtue of their industry, outdated technologically. While tech picks up pace, car production takes much too long to catch up. So our only hopes for actual and incredible tech integration in vehicles come from bikes, scooters, skateboards, because their industry works much more differently, and it’s easier for start-ups to create these smaller vehicles. (Not everyone is a Faraday Future, right?)
The Spectra is a rather tech-infused skateboard. Probably the only riding board that has machine-learning, the board learns from the way you ride it, allowing you to control it completely through leg-movements. Like most conventional e-skateboards, the Spectra comes with a motor-powered ride, but unlike others that rely on an external control (like a remote) to accelerate or decelerate, the controls are built right into the board itself. Designed in principle like a Dance Dance Revolution mat with wheels, the board comes with controls that get activated when your foot applies body-weight against it. You can move forward (even uphill), turn, brake, and the skateboard gets it. Just in case you look like you’re about to lose balance, the skateboard will try to bring you back on track. In fact, the skateboard’s AI is built to feel so natural, they say if you can walk, you can ride the Spectra. It doesn’t even begin accelerating until it feels like you’re standing on it in a stable position… and it instantly auto-brakes the minute you jump off.
Built like a board that boasts of superior technological backing, the Spectra is small, state-of-the-art, and robust. Designed to become your every-day commuting board (because using it is so easy), the board comes with visibility lights on the front and back, making it feel less like a recreational device, and more like tomorrow’s transportation solution. It comes constructed in carbon-fiber, making it light-weight and incredibly resilient at the same time. It also is probably the smallest e-skateboard we’ve ever seen. In fact, it measures only 19.4 inches, allowing you to virtually strap it to your backpack and carry it around wherever you go! The guys at Walnutt have in fact, designed an EDC backpack that allows you to even strap the e-skateboard to it in a rather classy manner. The bag as well as the Spectra board itself did go on to win the Red Dot Award this year too. The Spectra board comes powered by a rather capable battery (the same type as Tesla’s electric cars) that uses a mag-safe charger and charges in under 90 minutes. Plus, since they’re 100wh batteries, they can be carried on planes as carry-on luggage. It even comes with a partner-app that allows you to interact with other Spectra users as well as manually take control of the board too (I guess some people like it that way). Is this nifty ride the future of last-mile commuting? Or even full-journey commuting? Portable, powerful, and most importantly, intuitive, the Spectra may have just changed the transport game. Expect bikes and cars to follow suit!
Designer: Henri Yik Hang PANG
BUY NOW: $299 $399
BUY NOW: $299 $399
