Beam me up, Scotty! What if life was actually like Star Trek, and we actually had a device like the Starship Enterprise’s Transporter that could de-materialize our bodies, beam information about our exact atomic configuration to a distant location, and then instantly reassemble us there?
This concept is a little, ah…tricky to explain, so bear with me.
You know that comfy La-Z-Boy you have in your living room? Imagine if it had three wheels, joysticks in both armrests that allowed you to steer right or left, a plug-in electric motor that would propel you on the sidewalks at walking-jogging speed and then gear up to speeds of up to 20 miles per hour on the streets, perimeter monitoring sensors that would alert you to other vehicles or pedestrians who might stray into your path, a wireless Internet connection, and an LED screen on the back of the chair that can both serve as a set of turn signals/brake lights and display the message of your choice to the rest of the world.
What I’m describing is a Toyota i-REAL, a concept that the automaker describes as a “personal mobility vehicle,” a single-person conveyance designed for trips that are just a little too far for walking, but close enough that driving there in your conventional car seems excessive.
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