Electric scooters. Everybody hates them. Even the people who use them hate them when they're not using them. And what's not to hate? Clueless people whizzing around on the sidewalk going way too fast for their and everyone else's sake.
They were infuriating back when you had to buy one first, but now that more and more companies offer the possibility to ride one simply by flashing your phone at them, the situation is quickly getting out of control. And it's mostly all due to people trying to find the best solution for that last mile of their commute.
The busier the city, the higher the need for alternative personal means of mobility, and since there are very few cities in the world busier than Tokyo it's no surprise that's where the POIMO comes from. The acronym stands for "POrtable and Inflatable MObility" and yes, you read that right: inflatable.
You pluck the POIMO INT032 out of the backpack, you place it on the floor, you pull out a hand pump or other sort of inflating device, push air into the bike's "frame" up to a pressure of 40 to 50 kPa (6 or 7 psi), attach the wheels and the electric motor and you're all set to make a fool out of yourself. Not that you were doing anything else for the past two minutes or so.
It's easy to poke fun at the POIMO, but we grudgingly must admit riding the thing looks like a blast. Who thought inflatable items could be so much fun? Weird, Japanese fun, but fun, nonetheless. IEEE Spectrum doesn't reveal the capacity of the battery or the maximum range, but with a total weight of just 5.5 kilograms (about 12 pounds), we imagine turning it into a pushbike shouldn't be a problem. You know, if you ignore the huge dent in your dignity.
"Boy meets car, boy loves car, boy gets journalism degree and starts job writing and editing at a car magazine" - 5/5. (Vlad Mitrache if he was a movie) Full profile
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