We love a glimpse into the future. The ‘concept car’ has long provided that opportunity- sometimes, we’re fascinated by what we see (as with Honda’s hybrid sports car from a couple of years ago), and sometimes…well, sometimes we wonder if we want to live in a future that has cars like that (remember Honda’s Fuya Jo, a cross between a zamboni and a party bus?).

A ‘concept scooter’ might not be as sexy, but the folks at NASA Tech Briefs were sufficiently impressed that the Movito nabbed top honors in their recent Create The Future Design Contest.

Designed by Tai Chiem, the Movito is the scooter for a greener, hipper future. Designed for the “young and elegant” in a “dense urban landscape,”  the scooter is for those who want to go “green without compromise on style.”  Among the cooler innovations: an in-wheel motor developed by Australia’s CSIRO and currently utilized in solar powered racing cars, reducing harmful emissions and boasting a 98% efficiency, higher than any other in-wheel motor; it is light weight with direct drive that eliminates drive train loss and has a component weight of 6kgs; the modular base system allows for multiple ‘bodies’ to be attached to a common base. Alternate ‘bodies’ can be attached to a single base, or, two bases can be placed parallel with a larger body positioned on top turning the scooter into a comfy two seater mini-car. (see photos below)

Previous grand prize winning ideas have included a low-friction gear set for electric vehicles; a portable, noninvasive bone and joint damage detection device; an improved fastening system for orthopedic splints and casts; a low-cost in-vehicle emergency warning device; an integrated motor/fluid pump that reduces size and weight while increasing performance; and a new long-lasting light source material for safety applications.

My scooter is out of storage (along with baseball spring training, one of the best signs that winter is behind us), and I’m glad to be back to 85(ish) miles-per-gallon, but, let’s be honest, my “hip, young and elegant” quotient could use a little Movito.

The Create the Future Design Contest was launched in 2002 by the publishers of NASA Tech Briefs magazine to help stimulate and reward engineering innovation. The annual event has attracted more than 5,000 product design ideas from engineers, entrepreneurs, and students worldwide. Sponsors include COMSOL, Hewlett-Packard, and National Instruments.