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. 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 part of the "T". In the 1980s the Roller Racer was sold under the WHAM-O brand name Dragonfire, but has been manufactured by Mason Corporation of Brentwood, Tennessee, US, since January 1987 .
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.
References
- "The Physics of the Roller Racer and the Plasma Car". The Experimental Nonlinear Physics Group, Dept of Physics, University of Toronto. 2008. Retrieved September 20, 2008.
- "History of Wham-O". www.wham-o.com. 2008. Archived from the original on 2008-10-28. Retrieved September 20, 2008.
- "The Original Roller Racer". Mason Corporation. 2008. Archived from the original on 2008-09-17. Retrieved September 20, 2008.
- "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.