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"Science fiction writers foresee the inevitable, and although problems and catastrophes may be inevitable, solutions are not."
- Isaac Asimov
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| Pedomotive | ||
| A kind of stilt-like leg extenders; take longer strides, get there faster. Extreme sports gear. |
It sounds like he is talking about drywall stilts, adjustable leg extensions worn by drywall installers. If you can imagine adding some kind of spring-loaded (or power-assisted) addition to this basic device - you've got a pedomotive. I'll bet that somewhere, some guy has tried it (I'm betting he wound up in the E.R.).
| A constable from the Shanghai police, legs strapped into a pedomotive, was coming down the street with the tremendous loping strides afforded by such devices, escorted by a couple of power-skating Ashantis. |
| Technovelgy from The Diamond Age,
by Neal Stephenson. Published by Bantam Books in 1995 Additional resources -
|
Pedomotive is a word meaning driven by the feet; it was used to describe a variety of pedal-driven bicycles in the nineteenth century. It's incredible that the first pedal-driven bicycle in production ( the Michaux boneshaker) cost over $300 in 1870 (about $3000 today); people bought them because they really did increase mobility.
This sort of gear can also be worn for extreme sports enthusiasts - you can even do flips in them. Be sure to take a look at Poweriser Extreme Sports Gear - it's a real-life pedomotive!
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Additional
resources:
More Ideas
and Technology from The Diamond Age
More Ideas
and Technology by Neal Stephenson
Tech news articles related to The Diamond Age
Tech news articles related to works by Neal Stephenson
Pedomotive-related
news articles:
- Poweriser: Extreme Sports Gear from The Diamond Age
- Race Into The Future With Bionic Boots
| Boring Company Drills Asimov's Single Vehicle Tunnels |
| Boring Company Vegas Loop Like Asimov Said |
| SpaceX Rocket Shuttle Point-To-Point On Earth |
| CORLEO Robotic Horse Concept Looks Ready To Ride |
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'...there's a narrow belt where the climate is moderate.'
'He wore spectacles with thick wavy lenses. The spectacles were intended to make him not only half blind, but to give him whanging headaches besides.'
'... with the Master-operator all you have to do is push one! A remarkable achievement!'
'Not like me. A T-1000, advanced prototype. A mimetic poly-alloy. Liquid metal.'
'It was riddled with holes that were the mouths of tunnels.'
'The massive feet working the pedals, arms and hands flashing and glinting...'
