Check out (and support) this great Kickstarter project:

Imagine a Solar-Powered, electric Six-Wheel-Drive, All-Terrain-Vehicle for transporting you and your manual or power wheelchair or medical scooter around Burning Man 2012.

I would like to bring two of these Transporters to Burning Man 2012 for use by mobility-impared Burners. The Playa should be fun for everyone.

This is an open-source hardware project, first demonstrated at Maker Faire

New York 2011. All construction information will published online, along with alternatives and improvements.

According to Bestmotorizedwheelchair.com, the wheelchair Transporter can carry any wheelchair or medical scooter up to 27 inches wide and 42 inches long. It uses its own electronic joystick for speed and directional control.

Transporter #1 is already built, but needs upgrades including better batteries, motor controller & joystick, and solar charging system. I have all the drive parts for Transporter #2, it just needs cutting, welding, and electronics installation.

Solar panels on the roof give almost unlimited range during the day, and minimum six hours continuous mobility at night with full navigation lighting. Each Transporter will sport a built-in GPS navigation system, thump’in sound system with 5 Volt USB charging ports, 12 Volt Automotive charging ports, and 120V AC inverter for charging your wheelchair/scooter. The drive system is field-replaceable with six independent drive motors, each with flat-proof tires.

The Transporter will be fully BM-DMV (Burning Man Department of Mutant Vehicles) compliant with full navigation and driving lights, reflective markers, etc. 

Access to the two Transporters at Burning Man 2012 is being coordinated with BM-DMV, Mobility Camp, HotWheelz, and Wheels on the Playa.

Your donation to this project will cover the necessary parts and upgrades to complete construction of the two Transporters, their transportation to and from Nevada, along with monitoring and maintenance at Burning Man 2012. The Transporters’ blog will include pictures from Burning Man, GPs maps of their movement, development details, etc.

This project is dedicated to my sister Nancy Nagelkerke, 1960-2010.

via Playa Wheelchair Transporters for Burning Man 2012 by Paul Nagelkerke — Kickstarter.