We can look at the Omni-Ball as an improved version of the swivel caster (the wheels that are usually attached to the bottom of shopping carts and office chairs). Compared to casters, which have multiple parts, the Omni-Ball is much simpler. It’s made up of two matching hemispheres attached to either side of an axle. The hemispheres can move independently or together as a sphere. Attach the Omni-Ball to a vehicle and you get the Omni-Crawler. Attach it to a gripper and you get the Omni-Gripper. Dip it in gel and… nah I don’t think that’ll work. Watch the video to learn more about the Omni-thingies:

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It reminds me of the treads on this LEGO tank, but the Omni-Ball will probably make for a much smoother ride. As YouTuber TheExWarrior commented, it would be awesome if all cars had Omni-Balls instead of wheels because it’ll make parking much easier. It’ll also make driving – crawling? – a lot more fun.

[via DigInfo.TV]

To ride in a pair of Chariot Skates, you place your foot in the stirrup and then strap your leg into the top half. Pushing your legs from side to side propels the oversize carbon fiber bicycle wheels, and a small wheel in the back provides added stability. While they’re not intended to go as fast as speed skates, they’re designed for cruising, and gain and maintain speed more quickly than rollerblades, and can also be maneuvered over rough terrain. You can even walk up and down stairs while in motion. Did you notice I said you, not I? The video clip below will give you a better idea of how they work.

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At this point, the makers of the Chariot Skates are still testing them out and making sure that you won’t kill yourself when you get a pair. Heck, they haven’t quite figured out a way to add mechanical brakes yet, so you’ll have to go with one of these more primitive stopping methods…

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Expect the Chariot Skates to be released sometime in the first half of 2010 if all goes well. Pricing is still TBD, but I can pretty much guarantee you that the requisite helmet and knee-pads not included.

[via Likecool]

Auto-modder Edd China of Cummfy Banana has fabricated these ridiculous motor vehicles, fashioned to look like ordinary furniture. In addition to the speedy bed pictured above, he’s also built an oversize office desk on wheels, complete with multiple swivel chairs.

But his pride and joy is the “Casual Lofa,” which was once listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the “world’s fastest furniture”. The Lofa is a motorized sofa that tops out a speed of 87 MPH. (Edd beat his own record sofa speed in 2007, by getting a sofa to drive 92 MPH – go figure).

If you happen to live in the UK, you can get a chance to take a ride on all of these vehicular monstrosities thanks to a special “day at the races” tour package that lets you experience them all.

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The guys over at IWantOneOfThose are now offering the World’s Wackiest Racers package, which includes rides on all three of these oddball pieces of furniture, as well as a funky double-decker car. The 3 hour experience is conducted with a group of up to 6 participants, and will set you back £99 (appx.$163 USD).

It’s a freakin’ huge man-dresser, is what it is. Measuring 39″ x 29″ x 76″, this handmade trunk has a solid wood frame that’s enveloped by the finest distressed vintage cigar leather that’s been marinated in 5,000 year old Scotch. Okay that Scotch bit isn’t true, but it might as well be, because even the inside of the trunk is made to look antique, proto-steampunk, steamclassical if you will, filled with leather, oak slats and hand-hammered brass nailheads. As you can see, the trunk folds up and has wheels so it’s portable. Portable like an elephant is mobile, but still. Your butler can take care of it.

What’s important is that with this trunk, you’re always assured of a first-class workplace wherever you go. With this trunk, you can literally lug your entire office with you; just slam the thing shut and you’re done packing. With this trunk, you will never ever want to do anything else but work, leaning on the pull-down desktop, opening and closing its multitude of drawers and cubbies, lining its shelves with your masterfully scribed tomes. And since each trunk is handmade – no doubt by a level 85 Tauren druid with the leatherworking skill – you can be assured that the trunk that you get is one of a kind. This splendid waste of money epitome of craftsmanship is sold by the elegant folks of Restoration Hardware for $4,000 (USD). Chump change right?

[via Cool Material]

The tiny noodle cart runs on 4 AA batteries, and can cruise along at up to 5 kilometers per hour. Luckily, it’s not really a runaway cart, and can be stopped, started and steered with the included RF remote control. Now if you scroll down, get ready for the world’s most annoying, seizure-inducing animated GIF image…

You were warned. Why they couldn’t actually shoot a video of this thing in motion and upload that to YouTube, nobody knows.

Priced at ¥1380 (appx. $15 USD), the runaway noodle cart is currently available only in Japan over on Rakuten. I’m hoping the guys over at Strapya-World decide to export these to other countries like they have with other such goodies.

LEGO artist extraordinaire Nathan Sawaya’s recent project is this super sweet LEGO skateboard. It’s actual size, and based on the close-up picture of the wheels I’m going to go out on a limb and say it’s not actually ride-able.

According to the artist, his inspiration came about thusly: “My friend recently bought a new deck and it only took me a few seconds of staring at it before I realized what my next project would be. I didn’t want to imitate any particular design, so I came up with my own. I call it my NATEboard. Because my name is Nate. And it sounds like skateboard. And I’m lonely.”

It seems hard to believe that a guy with such insane LEGO talents could ever be lonely. Seriously, there must be tons of girls who would love to meet a bricksmith of this caliber, right?

You can see more of Nate’s Lego projects at The Art of the Brick.

[via ChipChick]

A.M.P. stands for “Automated Musical Personality”. That’s because the wheeled robot can follow you around and play your tunes wherever you go. When set to tracking mode, the robot will even keep tabs on your location and keep the speakers facing you at all times. The self-balancing 29-inch tall robot rolls along courtesy of a piezoelectronic gyroscope which keeps it from tipping over on its narrow 2-wheel base. There’s also an obstacle avoidance system to keep A.M.P. from bumping into walls or tumbling down the stairs.

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As the ‘bot moves around the room, it’ll “dance” (more like wobble) to the tunes on your connected MP3 player, keeping with the beat – with a bunch of synchronized LEDs blinking all the while. A built in 12-watt amp and a set of three speakers pump out the music. You’ll be able to control the audio mix and a variety of sound effects by interacting with A.M.P.bot’s touch-sensitive mixing pad “hands”.

The A.M.P.Bot will be coming to the States courtesy of Hasbro’s Tiger Electronics this October (it’s available from SegaToys in Japan). Expect it to retail for about $500.

[A.M.P.Bot via SlashGear and Toyology]

California’s Segway Junkyard takes the personal transportation devices and gives them new life with custom paint, metal trim and shiny chrome wheels. They’ve even made a version with a custom diamond plate trailer so you can haul your junk while you tool around town.

I’ve recently moved to a new office, and was debating how I’d get to work each day. I think have my answer now.

[The Red Ferret Journal via Engadget]