Urban Transport

Oars at the ready: the RowRay landcart

Oars at the ready: the RowRay landcart
The designer sees the RowRay being available for hire in city parks, at the beach or in the woods
The designer sees the RowRay being available for hire in city parks, at the beach or in the woods
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Looking at various designs to make rowing fun for children
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Looking at various designs to make rowing fun for children
A closer look at the design process
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A closer look at the design process
Pondering the traditional trike format and even a tandem
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Pondering the traditional trike format and even a tandem
More design variations - a step machine and a ski-board
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More design variations - a step machine and a ski-board
The function of the wire in the RowRay
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The function of the wire in the RowRay
Winther's Swingcart
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Winther's Swingcart
Deciding on the shape of the RowRay
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Deciding on the shape of the RowRay
A small-scale mockup of the RowRay's current design
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A small-scale mockup of the RowRay's current design
A rendering in red of the current design
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A rendering in red of the current design
The RowRay designs and prototype on show
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The RowRay designs and prototype on show
The RowRay designs and prototype on show
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The RowRay designs and prototype on show
The current RowRay design rendering
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The current RowRay design rendering
Operating the RowRay - pulling both handles results in forward momentum and either the left or right handle on its own is used to turn the cart
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Operating the RowRay - pulling both handles results in forward momentum and either the left or right handle on its own is used to turn the cart
The designer sees the RowRay being available for hire in city parks, at the beach or in the woods
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The designer sees the RowRay being available for hire in city parks, at the beach or in the woods
Users would unlock a RowRay via a smartphone app
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Users would unlock a RowRay via a smartphone app
Operating the RowRay - pulling both handles results in forward momentum and either the left or right handle on its own is used to turn the cart
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Operating the RowRay - pulling both handles results in forward momentum and either the left or right handle on its own is used to turn the cart
The current RowRay design rendering
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The current RowRay design rendering
View gallery - 17 images

My first attempt at rowing a boat on a park pond was the source of some considerable embarrassment. As I went round and round in ever decreasing circles, I remember thinking that there must have been something wrong with the steering. Troels Øhman's RowRay, though, may just tempt me back to the oars. Designed to bring a fun element to family exercise, the three-wheeled landcart concept is driven by grabbing hold of the two handles and pulling back for dear life – turning is a matter of pulling on the left or right "oar." The designer sees users being able to take a cart for a spin by using a smartphone to unlock it from a base station at the beach or in the park.

The Danish designer told Gizmag that the idea for RowRay came to him while looking for "known exercise forms where you use your whole body. Legs, arms, back and abs. After a while I tried rowing and totally fell in love with it." Life on the water just didn't seem accessible enough, however, so he toyed with the idea of a land-craft that used the same navigation principle as rowing and was also powered by the arms.

Øhman stumbled on the Swingcart from Winther, "but it was so difficult just to drive straight ahead." Using that design as a springboard, he created a metal-framed prototype with a sliding seat, cog-driven front wheels and a chunky rear wheel. He has since refined the design to the vehicle you see here, where pulling both handles would give forward momentum and using just one of the "oars" would turn the vehicle left or right.

The current RowRay design rendering
The current RowRay design rendering

With regular exercise often being neglected in our busy, increasingly desk- or sofa-bound lives, the designer wanted to offer a physically challenging workout for those who wanted it while also making it a fun, family-focused activity. He sees the vehicle having different settings for adults and children so that no matter the ability or fitness level, the whole family can whiz around together.

With bike sharing and hire schemes growing in popularity, RowRay could similarly be made available in city parks, woodland areas or beach promenades. Øhman says that bike sharing schemes operate throughout his native Denmark but because the service is free, some bikes never get returned. He suggests that technology could well come to the rescue, with a smartphone app being developed to oversee the hire process.

Users would unlock a RowRay via a smartphone app
Users would unlock a RowRay via a smartphone app

Use of the vehicle could be gratis if the vehicle is returned safely but if not, then the user would be billed for the cost of replacement, fined or otherwise made responsible for the – ahem – theft. The smartphone app might also include route maps, useful information and statistics, perhaps even a compass and GPS functionality (depending on the phone).

Personally, I think that this design shows great promise and looks like an enjoyable way to give the whole body a good workout but, having seen someone bobbing along on a Row Bike, I have some reservations about just how difficult Øhman's vehicle would be to propel along. After only a short distance going full-tilt on the Row Bike, the poor rider was absolutely exhausted and simply couldn't go on. Some sort of variable transmission is likely in future versions of the RowRay, which will no doubt help.

Operating the RowRay - pulling both handles results in forward momentum and either the left or right handle on its own is used to turn the cart
Operating the RowRay - pulling both handles results in forward momentum and either the left or right handle on its own is used to turn the cart

Øhman told us that he is currently on the lookout for someone to help him bring the project to the next step – a working prototype based on the revised designs. We'll keep you informed of any progress towards availability.

Via Yanko

View gallery - 17 images
6 comments
6 comments
Adrien
hey lets all drive around backwards and see what we can crash into...
Terotech
Drive around backwards? Don\'t think so.
Rainman
You don\'t go backwards. Did either of you even read the article? It says \"pulling both handles would give forward momentum\"...
Stuart
Love the design but agree on the gearing aspect as that\'s a lot of upper body work, so unless you\'re bright green or addicted to spinach then that\'s gonna be a killer, also couldn\'t really see the legs or lower back muscles being employed which is probably one of the issues.
David Anderson
Could the basic mechanism of this cart be adapted to wheelchairs? Pushing on wheelchair wheels is not very ergonomic, while pulling is much easier...
ckilroy
the action of rowing is about 70% legs 20% back and 10% arms...as these handles are much higher than normal oars i would imagine that ratio to be disturbed a little but the machine still provides a all over workout. Great idea, can see it being adopted by boat clubs all over the world for training.