Chinese Farmer Turns Suitcases Into Motorized Scooters

A Chinese inventor has built a battery-powered scooter with the help of a suitcase, prompting him to transport himself and his belongings on it, a media report said Thursday.

Referred to as the "multi-functional suitcase," He Liangcai has invented the ultimate rollaboard, Yahoo News reported.

Demonstrating his invention at the Changsha train station, Liangcai, a resident of Central China's Hunan province, rode to his home a few kilometers away on the motorized suitcase, Global Times reported.

"Photographed this week in Changsha, the motorized suitcase is said to weigh about 15-16 lbs. and is able to carry two people (or one well-fed American, maybe)," according to Yahoo News. "With the help of a wheel hub electric motor in the single front wheel, the little three-wheeler can travel 50 to 60 kilometers-or 31 to 37 miles-on a full charge."

The maximum speed is 20 km per hour. According to Indo-Asian News Service, it also comes equipped with GPS navigation and a burglar alarm.

With a brake handle and three wheels fixed in place, the starter is a rotatory switch on the tiny handlebar. Since it is battery operated, it needs to be charged.

Liangcai, originally a farmer from China's Hunan region, said that it took him 10 years to invent the suitcase scooter.

"The vehicle is made from a stripped-down electric scooter which is embedded into a suitcase," IANS reported. "The rider strides the rectangular luggage and grabs handlebars that control the throttle, breaks and lights."

In 1999, he won a prize at a U.S.-based inventors awards ceremony for the invention of an innovative car safety system.

He said that he got the idea of the suitcase scooter when he forgot his luggage on his way to accept the award in the U.S.

The idea of the "world's lightest car" has been patented, he claimed.

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