R4D is working together with the Kawahara and Niiyama labs from the University of Tokyo to develop Poimo, a personal mobility device that can be inflated with air.
The name Poimo stands for Portable and Inflatable Mobility. As its name suggests, it is inflatable and light enough for anyone to carry, with a soft body to ensure a high degree of safety. Poimo redefines electric personal mobility by combining it with soft robotics, and we believe that its portability is key to providing a first- and last-mile mobility solution to seamlessly connect public transport with people’s final destinations.
This project started in January 2019 as a joint research between Mercari R4D and the University of Tokyo. Yamamura, from Mercari R4D, participated as a researcher, conducting experiments and making improvements to Poimo every day.
Gaining media attention worldwide
Recently, Poimo was featured on IEEE Spectrum, a website run by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).
After the IEEE Spectrum article, the UK’s BBC also published an article explaining Poimo’s features and the situation of electric scooters in the UK.
We were also featured on other sites such as the architecture and design magazine Dezeen, US Gizmodo, and the British tabloid Daily Mail.
- Poimo is an inflatable electric scooter that can be transported inside a backpack | Dezeen
- Inflatable Electric Bike Fits in a Backpack | US Gizmodo
- Japanese researchers unveil INFLATABLE e-bike that weighs 12 pounds
Poimo’s future
Now, after one year of conducting research on Poimo, we will focus on the following areas:
- Improving driveability, ease of use, and other technical issues
- Market research and concept testing
- Tests using automated or assisted driving for last-mile logistics in response to the growing demand for contactless delivery systems due to COVID-19
With the world’s eyes set on Poimo, we will continue researching, developing, and testing to make it an important part of cities everywhere.
Contact
If you have any questions regarding this project, please contact us at:
r4d(at)mercari.com
