This little electric wheel can Tesla-ify your bike or skateboard

The tweakers and tinkerers at Flexbot, who had a half million-dollar Kickstarter smash-hit in 2013 with their drone, are set to launch a very different new gadget. Called the FlexPV, this is what it does:

Basically, it’s a simple add-on contraption that effectively serves as an electric-powered motor for anything that you slap it on – like a bicycle, a skateboard, a wheelchair, or – most fun of all – an office chair. The FlexPV wheel can be controlled by your phone via an app.

Inside the FlexPV is a 150W motor, powered by a small battery pack in a separate module. There’s also a control module that contains a gyroscope as well as the smart input receiver that connects with your phone over wifi. So it’s made up of three sections in all, which makes it a little bulky. The app allows for control over speed, distance, and balance. In theory, it’s good for 15km of travel.

The thing isn’t out yet, so it’s not yet clear if you’re tied to controlling FlexPV with the app, which would be a pain when you’re trying to ride a bike.

The entire FlexPV kit will be open-source, allowing anyone to make electric-power vehicles using it and then sell them.

The China-based team plans to launch the FlexPV on Kickstarter in mid-March, a Flexbot representative tells Tech in Asia. That’s when we’ll get more details about the controls, as well as the price.

PS: We made the GIFs from Flexbot’s Vines.