Vancouver startup Veelo Mobility Technologies has officially launched a Kickstarter campaign today to commercialize its unique eMobility platform designed for inline skates, longboards, quad skates, skateboards, skis, and snowboards.
Born out of the pandemic lockdown, Veelo is the brainchild of Dr. Brice Jamieson.
Jamieson and his 9 year-old daughter had been spending their social distancing time inline skating around their neighbourhood. She wanted to come along on longer and more challenging skates but would eventually get tired and needed help to keep up.
To help her out Jamieson added a motor to a customized frame to create a system that she could use to augment her speed and endurance, especially on uphill segments. He also added brakes for safety.
Realizing that this could be used by riders of all experience levels, a more powerful motor and battery pack were added to create a system that could enhance the experience of any rider, whether they are a beginner or advanced.
The Veelo eMobility system differs from the typical application of electric mobility in that Veelo is an add-on to a user’s existing choice of motion; it is a hand-held drive unit that powers a user regardless of how they choose to ride or what they choose to have under their feet, whether they ride with skates or boards. There is no need to replace your existing equipment and the Veelo can be shared between multiple riders.
The Veelo design is based around a modular, flexible design that can be adapted for a variety of activities and sports, including upcoming eMobility assistance devices for disabled users and wheelchairs. Cargo and equipment attach points are also planned for future options. Snow tests are planned for the 2020-2021 ski season to demonstrate how Veelo can even enhance snowsports.
The Veelo Kickstarter campaign runs until November 19th.