Cuboard: A portable and personal crawler-track vehicle capable of running on snow

What it does

Cuboard is a kit that transforms normal skateboards into an electrical crawler track vehicle capable of running through bad roads, such as sand and snow. Our aim is to achieve a personal, light and easy to carry vehicle capable of running on snowy regions

Your inspiration

When we first started living in Niigata which is known as the snowy region in Japan, we only had bikes or motorcycles to move around. However, whenever winter came, it became impossible for us to move around any other way than walking, and even going to the convenience store was a hassle. Even moving around on car was difficult due to traffic and roadblocks. We felt we had to do something about this. In order to solve this issue, we developed a kit that transforms skateboards into personal vehicles capable of easily running on snowy roads. Cuboard makes it possible to move on roads covered by snow the same way one would do it on a bicycle on a clear and dry path.

How it works

Installing our electric crawler track unit on a normal skateboard makes it able to run, without any human effort, on bad roads such as sand and snow. This crawler track unit implements the technology developed and patented by our company (Patent 2016-022912), in which the tracks are shaped the same way as the rolling covers used in Japanese bath tubs. Our unit also includes a 2-step clutch that protects the mechanical components and keeps power transmission from being affected by any external loads, and allows the vehicle to keep moving after the motor is stopped by using the remaining inertia, just as a bicycle. Cuboard acceleration is controlled by a small remote control designed to be held in the user's hands, while turns are executed by leaning, just as in a normal skateboard.

Design process

As explained before, there are a lot of issues that make it difficult to move around on snowy roads. In order to solve this problem, we developed Cuboard as a personal vehicle capable of running on diverse environments, including snow. We used crawler track units before on the development of rescue robots, and we started thinking that maybe this technology could be applied on something else. While living in a snowy region, we personally experienced the problem of moving around in snow, and started Cuboard two years ago with the idea in mind of developing a potential personal vehicle that could move on such environment. However, the initial stages of development came together with many failures. One of the main reasons for this was that rescue robots didn't require any extensive consideration of mechanical load, while Cuboard did. While the first prototype could advance forward with a person riding it, it could not turn around, and it also lacked any stability. In order to solve this, we implemented a skateboard-like design, which resulted in a stable 20 Km/h (max speed) ride that could turn just by leaning. We later developed a waterproof case that allowed Cuboard to move over snow and water puddles. As for now, we're developing a test platform to obtain its mechanical parameters.

How it is different

The structure of Cuboard is comprised by a skateboard deck with a crawler track unit placed below. This makes Cuboard a lighter and easier-to-carry-around option than many other vehicles. While normal electric skateboards cannot run on snow, Cuboard has the advantage of offering an excellent performance running on bad roads, such as snow, sand, gravel, shallows, as well as normal, paved roads, making it a portable transportation option that adapts to almost any environment.

Future plans

We plan to start selling Cuboard on next year's June, so we're now offering exhibitions and test rides around all Japan to promote our product, attract potential clients and receive useful opinions that could prove useful for its development. We're also considering the applicability of the technology of Cuboard on the agriculture industry and for other transportation means capable of moving around rough roads such as sand and snow. As for our future objectives, we aim to become, on the next 20 years, the leading edge on the development of transportation and carriage systems on Mars and any other planets not yet explored by mankind.

Awards

Taikou Business Plan Grand Prix 2016 - Finalist