[Wikinews-l] Fwd: [News Release]The Next Consortium Unveils a New Concept Vehicle-ITRI, SYM and MIT Jointly Produce the New-age RoboScooter

[Rico C. Shen]

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From:  <alvinlk at itri.org.tw>
Date: 2008/4/29
Subject: [News Release]The Next Consortium Unveils a New Concept
Vehicle-ITRI, SYM and MIT Jointly Produce the New-age RoboScooter
To: alvinlk at itri.org.tw

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 The Next Consortium Unveils a New Concept Vehicle
 ITRI, SYM and MIT Jointly Produce the New-age RoboScooter


 The Next Consortium on April 29 unveiled a new-age concept vehicle
called RoboScooter. This scooter is the product of joint efforts by
the Creativity Lab, SYM, and the MIT Media Lab. This innovative
vehicle is environmentally friendly, energy saving, light, foldable
and easy to park. It is sure to satisfy the needs of urban dwellers,
helping to conserve energy and reduce carbon emissions.

 ITRI President Dr. Johnsee Lee said that Taiwan industry must turn
away from trying to be competitive from only a perspective of price,
and instead focus on gaining a competitive edge through creating high
value-added products. This is the only way the island's manufacturers
will develop a new "Blue Ocean", he said. The open innovation model
adopted by the Next Consortium has helped to unite the creative
prowess of ITRI and MIT, successfully realizing cooperation between
Taiwan industry, the academic sector, the government, and local and
foreign research institutions. This multicultural and
multidisciplinary team worked together with SYM. The end result has
been that industry was able to overcome traditional models and ways of
thinking, paving the way to create a transportation tool that meets
the needs of society of the future. In addition to fostering
innovative technological applications, this initiative has helped SYM
to open a new page in concept motorcycles and has established a
successful model for industry to follow. Moreover, this marks the
first success in cooperation between the Next Consortium and the MIT
Media Lab.

 SYM President Huang K.W said that participating in the Next
Consortium has provided a new foundation to help SYM engage in
innovative R&D. To fulfill its responsibility as a global citizen,
Huang said that SYM wanted to find a means to address increasingly
clogged roads, difficulty in parking, pollution, high oil prices and
the needs for a high degree of mobility in an urban setting. SYM
worked together with ITRI and the MIT Media Lab, giving birth to a
solution for the urbanite who needs to get around – RoboScooter. This
concept vehicle is both light and can be folded. It can be used in
tandem with other types of transportation systems. The development of
the Robot Wheel has alleviated the need for large numbers of spare
parts. Meanwhile, the environmentally friendly battery can be easily
replaced and charged. The integration of this variety of innovative
applications will significantly make it easier for city dwellers to
move about, making life all the more interesting. SYM plans to bring
the vehicle to the market in stages. It hopes that the first of its
environmentally friendly electric scooters will hit the road in the
second half of next year. This goal will only be able to be achieved,
however, if the government commits itself to providing the basic
infrastructure required and provides production incentives. If so, the
new age scooter could soon become a common sight on city streets.

 ITRI Creativity Lab General Director Hsueh Wen-jean said the Next
Consortium will continue to foster interaction and cooperation in a
variety of disciplines and industries, helping to boost innovation
momentum in companies throughout Taiwan. This will create a new image
for Taiwan products. Rather than being "Made in Taiwan," Taiwan's
products will be best known for being "Created in Taiwan." Hsueh said
that the three years of experience and knowledge accumulated via the
Next Consortium has helped the industrial sector see innovation and
creativity as something that can be tangible, rather than just a
concept. Cross-sector cooperation has helped to foster product
innovation and create new opportunities for industry, enabling
industry to break through present bottlenecks. The Next Consortium is
working on a number of projects that focus on a happy life, urban
energy conservation systems, sub-tropical urban lifestyles, and items
to help the aged. The consortium, hoping to bring together even more
local and foreign creative individuals from a wide range of sectors,
welcomes forward-looking companies to join the initiative. The results
will help spark new economic development on Taiwan and pave the way
for the arrival of an economic era based on creativity. (Please visit
http://NC.itri.org.tw for related information and how to participate.)

 Press Liaison:
 ITRI Department of Marketing Communications Alvin Liang Kuo
03-5916371 0932-237707 alvinlk at itri.org.tw


 Note 1
 Next Consortium: ITRI's Creativity Lab in 2005 launched the Next
Consortium, offering a means for collaboration between the industrial,
government, academic and research sectors. The mission of the
consortium is to help the industrial sector forge breakthroughs in
creativity and innovation, offering an avenue for multidisciplinary
and cross-industrial collaboration. The Next Consortium maintains a
strategic partnership relationship with the MIT Media Lab. This
cooperation helps to foster ideas and share innovation, while reducing
the risks by operating on one's own. The goal is to set a foundation
to build a "Created in Taiwan" vision for the future.

 Note 2
 RoboScooter Introduction

 1. A mode of transportation based on future urban development trends.
 2. The vehicle employs an environmental friendly battery and is
driven by an electric motor. The battery is easily replaced and is
easy to recharge. The body of the vehicle is light, significantly
boosting energy efficiency, while reducing noise and air pollution.
 3. The RoboScooter can be folded, saving on parking space. It is easy
to tote to public mass transit systems or to stow at home.
 4. The unique Robot Wheel design integrates suspension systems and
the wheel, making it a single module. The RoboScooter can be propelled
by one or two wheels. It is also easy to maintain.
 5. The vehicle's frame is based on a stylized design concept, making
it quite attractive. The interesting headlamp, directional lights and
tail light design help to further the "wow factor" of the vehicle.

 Alvin Liang Kuo
 Office of Marketing Communications
 Industrial Technology Research Institute
 Tel:03-5916371，Fax:03-5820494
 Email: alvinlk at itri.org.tw