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The
students are part of an elect few invited to the Smithsonian Institute’s
Bicycle Exposition to show off their weightless bicycle trailer. The
trailer is called the “Eco-tow.” The innovative bicycle trailer is
designed to make whatever it is carrying feel
weightless.
“I’m very proud of this invention.
It came together really well. It used a lot of team work, a lot of late
hours to get it to work and it came out working and I’m real proud of it,”
said Jerrod Laputz, one of the “Eco-tow”
designers.
Laputz and his four team members
are one of only five university groups across the entire country invited
to the Smithsonian Institute’s May Bicycle Exposition to show off their
senior project.
The concept of the weightless
bike was actually created by students in last year’s engineering class but
they never got it to work. This year’s class used a digital control system
that finally got the project up and running.
“We have a sensor that tells the micro processor at the back how much
force there is and how much to compensate to the motor so it gives the
motor more power and the trailer feels virtual, like there’s no load on
it,” said Alex Kramer, one of the “Eco-tow”
designers.
The students will be heading to the
nation’s capitol May 6th to attend the month long expo celebrating the
history and the future of the bicycle.
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Reno MSNBC Coverage 
