Transportation is one of the main differences between present day and the day of tomorrow in pop culture: People with jetpacks, flying cars, and zooming vehicles will whiz around with no environmental impact, super speed, and total safety. That future hasn’t arrived as quickly as we hoped, but it is on the way. Here are some examples of how personal transport could look just around the corner:
Self-Balancing
(Images via slipperybrick, designlaunches, cultofmac)
The Segway was supposed to change the world, and it definitely didn’t. It did add advanced gyroscopic balancing technology, however, which allows people to cruise around on two wheels in a way we never could before. These vehicles could easily be battery powered, and maybe one day charged via solar.
Unicycles
(Images via techfreak, slipperybrick, telegraph, pcworld)
The unicycle is fast becoming less of a novelty item and more of a fun way to transport around town, but I don’t think any novice would complain about a little help balancing. The new Honda U3-X takes this a step further, giving a crazy looking way to roam around your office without fear of falling.
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Lightweight Autos
(Images via igreenspot, igreenspot, psipunk, tuvie, xconomy)
As gasoline becomes more difficult to obtain, and electric power becomes more common, we’ll need lightweight vehicles that can zoom through town without lugging around too much weight. Here are some visions of what these cars might look like.
Flying Vehicles
(Images via combatreform, gizmag, creative hobbies, coolnessroundup, cnet, brysonmeunier)
Roads are a pain. Traffic, road maintenance, deer… these are all things that make driving difficult, dangerous, and expensive for the consumer and the government. My favorite solution? Teleportation, but I’ll take flying as a close second. The world fell in love with the personal jetpack when 007 used it in the film Thunderball, and the technology has gotten better ever since.
Airboards
(Images via uncrate, thecoolgadgets, gizmodo)
We were promised hover cars by the year 2000, and this is about as far as we’ve gotten. The Arbortech AirBoard, a $14,000 transportation device looks pretty darn cool, almost like you’re riding a jet engine, but at a much slower pace (around 15 mph).



