If you have ever dreamed about floating around in your own cloud, your dream just got one step closer to reality thanks to Humanix’s iSAVE-SC1. The iSAVE is essentially a mobile cushion that protects both the driver and pedestrians in case of a collision. The electric vehicle is the brainchild of students at Hiroshima University who wanted to create a vehicle that is “friendly to the humans.”
The iSAVE is a small electric vehicle that is completely covered in air-filled cushions which are meant to soften the blow between the vehicle and anything it comes into contact with. Because the iSAVE has a top speed of just over 30 mph and a range of 18 miles, the vehicle probably isn’t intended for driving on public streets, but the three-wheeled style and three-passenger capacity lends itself nicely to campuses, airports or any other area where slow-moving vehicles interact with pedestrians.
The iSAVE could hit the states as soon as next year and is going into production in Japan this year with a price tag of just under $10,000. The final model may include interchangeable parts like the roof and bumpers.
+ Humanix
via Gizmag
I remember something very much like this; a car covered in molded foam panels on BBC ‘Tomorrow’s World’ circa 1980. This seems a good application for the idea but there’s the danger softer collisions may encourage reckless driving.