It's full name is EO Smart Connecting Car 2, but all its friends call it EOscc2. This tiny electric car can do sensational things – it's a proper shapeshifter that drives sideways, diagonally or 'normally', shrinks itself (by a whole meter in length!) to fit in even ridiculously small spaces and is able to make a turn on the spot.
The EOscc2 was created in the German research center for artificial intelligence as a test platform for the development of complex autonomous functions, but its modular design promises to do a lot of good for public and private transportation, logistics and more.
The research center adressed the topical issue of larger cities' traffic challenges – namely, the lack of parking spaces and heavily congested traffic, with many vehicles carrying only the driver. So, they created something small that is still large enough to provide comfort, something safe and something reflecting our greener future.
The EOscc2 weighs 750 kilograms and gets its power from a 54 V LiFePo4 battery. It operates with four 4 kW wheelhub motors, ten longstrokeLineardrives with 5000 N and two Folding Servos. It's top speed is 65 km/h with an all-electric range of between 50 and 70 kilometers. It has four independent wheels that can turn 90 degrees and allow the vehicle to move sideways (parallel parking, no more!).
You think this is it? No, here's the best part! All the cars from this range can be literally linked together, similar to a train. A software app Platoon allows individual vehicles (smart connection train cars) to join the centipede-like-strain, travelling in the same direction. From what we can see (in the video posted below) the 'master' (presumably the first car) takes over control of the entire platoon, while the other 'drivers' are able to relax to such an extent they are even able to read newspapers and chat or text with others during the drive!
Another cool thing about travelling in the platoon happens when your battery power levels get low, because as soon as the system detects the issue, energy is re-distributed so that all the cars have the same amount of energy available!