05.12.2010

Electric Transit Backpack Lets You Fly Through City Streets

by Bridgette Meinhold, 05/11/10

kolelinia, kolelinio, urban transport, public transport, urban transportation, alternative transportation, urban design, personal urban transport, green design, eco design, sustainable transportation

Remember Kolelinia, the crazy urban tight rope system for biking? Martin Angelov, the Bulgarian architect who created Kolelinia, has come up with yet another crazy form of urban transportation– this time it’s a backpack harness system with a network of wires strung all over the city. All you have to do is strap on the battery-powered harness, hop onto a wire and start flying around the city. It may be science fiction now, but someday this could be a reality.

kolelinia, kolelinio, urban transport, public transport, urban transportation, alternative transportation, urban design, personal urban transport, green design, eco design, sustainable transportation

Recently presented at TEDx conference in Thessaloniki, and based on Kolelinia, the flying bicycle lanes constructed from taut steel wires, Kolelinio goes a step further, making the efficient urban transport system accessible to anyone, even those with disabilities. Each person has their own backpack composed of a harness, a battery bag, and a light engine that runs on the Kolelinia wire mechanism.

Taut steel wires would be strung throughout the urban core of a city, and would end at intersections, allowing “riders” to change directions as easily as if they were crossing the street. Wire trunk lines would shoot out to the outskirts and suburbs of the city where people can hop on anywhere, minimizing the need for cars, heavy roads and infrastructure and significantly reducing pollution. It’s certainly crazy, but definitely cool and imagine what kinds of chase scenes could be accomplished with this technology!
Read more: The Designers of the Flying Bike Lanes Create Personal Urban Transport System | Inhabitat – Green Design Will Save the World