Well, they don’t have rockets… and they are not really skates – more liked motorized shoes, but I guess they did not want to call them “MotorShoes”
www.kickstarter.com/projects/
If you think a Segway made people look like a dork, check out the photos of people in “RocketSkates”.
Watching the video, they do EXACTLY what inline skates do, only you don’t have to exercise and you have to recharge them after an hour. Uhhm, what problem are they trying to solve?
The only thing I wanted to see… is using them to go up a really steep hill, so you can fly down.
RocketSkates! Aaaahh!
To his credit, the inventor clearly appreciates the Segway problem, which is why his video shows scantily clad, super-fit people using his stupid skates in an edgy urban environment. Unfortunately for him, after the first 100 units hit the streets strapped to the feet of 45-year-old neckbeards, his dream will die.
http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2014/10/feet-on-with-rocketskates-which-are-exactly-what-they-sound-like/
Jump to the 3:00 mark to see how “easy” they are to use on a flat, carpeted area. I’d love to see them work with a few cracks and bumps. I’m guessing this would be a great advertising vehicle for surgeons!
Jeez. That’s worse than I expected in every single way. More expensive, shorter range, worse performance, dorkier, more dangerous.
On a related point, have we reached the point yet where “Kickstarter” just means “crappy”?
I may have found their inspiration.
These silly things are now officially for sale at http://shop.actonglobal.com/collections/rocketskates and at Hammacher Schlemmer (of course!).
Prices range from $500 to $700.