Shift Robotics began as a Carnegie Mellon spin-off, its first product was funded by Kickstarter so do not dismiss them as just another set of strap-on electric roller skates.
The Moonwalkers scored a spot in Time magazine’s Top Inventions of 2023, and the company’s aim is to enable everyone to walk at running speed.
You walk normally when wearing Moonwalkers, just as you do on an escalator at the airport, just a lot faster. It’s not just about the speed either. In using the Moonwalkers to their maximum, you’ll be exerting no more energy than you would be walking, so you’re not going to arrive anywhere sweaty and out of breath.
The Moonwalkers use an adaptive AI powertrain that includes a 300-W brushless motor in each boot that powers nine polyurethane wheels. So if you need a real world reference, the Moonwalkers have a 600-W 18-wheel-drive intelligent powertrain.
The Moonwalkers only come in one size, but they can be worn with almost any set of shoes , fitting US Men's sizes 7.5 to 13 and US Women's sizes 9 to 13.5.
Now the fine print says that Moonwalkers can support a maximum user weight of 220 lb (100 kg), and that if you weigh more than that, you can still use Moonwalkers but will experienced slightly reduced performance in certain edge cases.
The Moonwalkers continuously communicate with one another, enabling them to monitor the user's gait and speed, and sense whether you want to go faster or slower or stop very quickly – there’s even anti-lock braking.
This appears to be a legitimate, viable, cost-effective and new form of transport that needs no learning curve . We hope to bring you a test walk soon.
Source: Shift Robotics
