It’s tough if you live in places where the roads are far from ideal. In areas where road conditions would make it difficult for vehicles with typical wheels to cross, the Roadless wheel system is a godsend. It’s essentially a shape-shifting wheel that can change in size and shape to fit a bevy of vehicles and to adjust to various road conditions.
Roadless was designed by Ackeem Ngwenya, who is a student in Innovation Design Engineering at the Royal College of Art and Imperial College London. He was supposed to graduate last June but ran out of tuition money, so he took to Indiegogo with his graduation project with the goal of raising money to complete his studies and get the opportunity to develop Road further.
So how does it work? Roadless uses the principle behind the scissor-jack mechanism, where the wheel expands or contracts “to give more contact area or better ground clearance” as the telescoping hub is cranked up and down. Ackeem drew inspiration for his project after witnessing the difficulties that people faced in his hometown, Malawi, due to the lack of vehicles that could traverse the poor road conditions in the area.
The Indiegogo campaign for Roadless has closed with £5,135 in funds raised. That’s about twenty thousand pounds short of Ackeem’s goal, but he’s hoping to team up with others who can help him raise the balance. Check out the project page for Roadless here.
VIA [ InHabitat ]
