Parking is a major problem for all who live in or close to large cities. One way to try to get around this is to make cars smaller, though, this compromises their interior space, handling and safety characteristics to a certain degree. Another way, which has been tried before, is to have folding cars that make themselves smaller so as to use as little space as possible when not in use.
Several projects based on that idea have been seen over the years, though none have made it into actual production thus far…Now, we have a new one built purely as a concept, this time coming from the minds of engineers of the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology.
Called the “Armadillo-T,” it’s similar in concept to the Spanish Hiriko folding car (link to their site), and promises all the usual benefits: decent range (62 miles/100km) and top speed (37 mph/60 km/h) and, of course, its party piece, the fact that it can reduce its length from 110 inches down to 65 (2.79 to 1.65 meters) electrically via a smartphone app.
It has been designed as a kind of resort car, if you will, one that you would rent, drive around for however long you have it, then take it back to be charged, before it’s used again by another tourist.
However, an actual production model based on the Armadillo-T would probably ditch the cameras instead of side mirrors trick; simply to avoid legislative niggles in the countries it would eventually be sold in.
By Andrei Nedelea
Story References: Popsci
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