Roller racer

A Roller Racer, or Flying Turtle as it was originally named by the inventor, is a toy human-powered vehicle for children. It was invented in the 1970s by a retired Boeing engineer as a gift for his grandson, using a tractor seat for the prototype toy. [1] The vehicle consists of an injection-molded, polyethylene seat with rear wheels, attached to a T-style handlebar by a pin joint. The handlebars also have wheels, attached to what would be the vertical portion of the "T". In the 1980s the Roller Racer was sold under the WHAM-O brand name Dragonfire,[2] but has been manufactured by Mason Corporation of Brentwood, Tennessee since January 1987 .[3]

The method of propulsion is unique to this scooter. The user moves forward by oscillating the handlebars from side to side. Published studies in Experimental Non-Linear Physics have been conducted worldwide on this product. It is used in amusement parks, schools, day care centers, family fun centers and homes.[4]

Here is a link to the original patent: https://www.google.com.au/patents/US3663038

References
  1. "The Physics of the Roller Racer and the Plasma Car". The Experimental Nonlinear Physics Group, Dept of Physics, University of Toronto. 2008. Retrieved September 2008. Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  2. "History of Wham-O". www.wham-o.com. 2008. Archived from the original on 2008-10-28. Retrieved September 2008. Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  3. "The Original Roller Racer". Mason Corporation. 2008. Archived from the original on 2008-09-17. Retrieved September 2008. Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  4. "Oscillations, SE(2)-snakes and motion control: a study of the Roller Racer"http://www.isr.umd.edu/~krishna/images/DynSyst_RR.pdf

Further reading

Krishnaprasad, P.S.; Tsakiris, Dimitris (December 2001). "Oscillations, SE(2)-snakes and motion control: a study of the Roller Racer". Dynamical Systems. 16 (4): 347–397. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.110.2314. doi:10.1080/14689360110090424.

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