Human-powered transport

Human Powered Transport

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Human-powered transport

Human-powered transport is the transport

Transport

Transport or transportation is the movement of passenger and cargo from one location to another. Transport is performed by various modes of transport, such as aviation, rail transport, road transport, ship transport, cable transport, pipeline transport and space transport....
of person(s) and/or goods using human

Human

A human being, also human or man, is a member of a species of bipedalism primates in the family Hominidae . Mitochondrial DNA evidence indicates that modern humans originated in east Africa about 200,000 years ago....
muscle

MUSCLE

MUSCLE is public domain, multiple sequence alignment software for protein and nucleotide sequences.MUSCLE is integrated into UGENE bioinformatics tool as a plugin....
power. Like animal-powered transport, human-powered transport has existed since time immemorial

Time immemorial

Time immemorial is a phrase meaning time extending beyond the reach of memory, record, or tradition. The implication is that the subject referred to is, or can be regarded as, indefinitely ancient....
in the form of walking

Walking

Walking is the main form of animal locomotion on Earth, distinguished from running and crawling . When carried out in shallow waters, it is usually described as wading and when performed over a steeply rising object or an obstacle it becomes scrambling or climbing....
, running

Running

Running is a means for an Terrestrial locomotion in animals on foot. It is defined in sporting terms as a gait in which at some point all feet are off the ground at the same time....
and swimming

Swimming

Swimming is the movement by humans or animals through water, usually without artificial assistance. Swimming is an activity that can be both useful and recreational....
. Modern technology

Technology

Technology is a broad concept that deals with an animal species' usage and knowledge of tools and crafts, and how it affects an animal species' ability to control and adapt to its Natural environment....
has allowed machine

Machine

A machine is any device that uses energy to perform some activity. In common usage, the meaning is that of a device having parts that perform or assist in performing any type of work....
s to enhance human-power.

Although motorization

Automobile

An automobile or motor car is a wheeled motor vehicle for transportation passengers, which also carries its own car engine or motor. Most definitions of the term specify that automobiles are designed to run primarily on roads, to have seating for one to eight people, to typically have four wheels, and to be constructed principally f...
has increased speed and load capacity, many forms of human-powered transport remain popular for reasons of lower cost, leisure

Leisure

Leisure or free time, is a period of time spent out of employment and essential domestic activity. It is also the period of recreational and discretionary time before or after compulsory activities such as eating and sleeping, employment or running a business, education and doing homework, household chores, and day-to-day Stress ....
, physical exercise

Physical exercise

Physical exercise is any bodily activity that raises the heart rate above its resting level and enhances or maintains physical fitness and overall health....
and environmentalism

Environmentalism

Environmentalism is a broad philosophy and social movement centered on a concern for the Conservation movement and improvement of the environment ....
.

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Encyclopedia

Human-powered transport is the transport

Transport

Human

MUSCLE

Time immemorial

Walking

Running

Running is a means for an Terrestrial locomotion in animals on foot. It is defined in sporting terms as a gait in which at some point all feet are off the ground at the same time....
and swimming

Swimming

Swimming is the movement by humans or animals through water, usually without artificial assistance. Swimming is an activity that can be both useful and recreational....
. Modern technology

Technology

Machine

Automobile

Leisure

Physical exercise

Physical exercise is any bodily activity that raises the heart rate above its resting level and enhances or maintains physical fitness and overall health....
and environmentalism

Environmentalism

Environmentalism is a broad philosophy and social movement centered on a concern for the Conservation movement and improvement of the environment ....
. Human-powered transport is sometimes the only type available (especially in underdeveloped or inaccessible regions), and is considered an ideal form of sustainable transportation.

Available muscle power

The average "in-shape" cyclist can produce about 3 watts/kg for more than an hour (e.g., around 200 watts for a 70 kg rider), with top amateurs producing 5 watts/kg and elite athletes achieving 6 watts/kg for similar lengths of time. Elite track sprint cyclists are able to attain an instantaneous maximum output of around 2,000 watts, or in excess of 25 watts/kg; elite road cyclists may produce 1,600 to 1,700 watts as an instantaneous maximum in their burst to the finish line at the end of a five-hour long road race.

Modes

Non-vehicular

Crawling
Crawling

Crawling is a form of animal locomotion generally involving slow movement along the ground, such as that seen in snakes, snails and earthworms....
Walking
Walking

Walking is the main form of animal locomotion on Earth, distinguished from running and crawling . When carried out in shallow waters, it is usually described as wading and when performed over a steeply rising object or an obstacle it becomes scrambling or climbing....
(240 watts
Watts

Watts may refer to:...
)
Running
Running

Running is a means for an Terrestrial locomotion in animals on foot. It is defined in sporting terms as a gait in which at some point all feet are off the ground at the same time....
(1000 watts
Watts

Watts may refer to:...
)
Sprinting at 25km/h (1700 watts
Watts

Watts may refer to:...
)
Swimming
Swimming

Swimming is the movement by humans or animals through water, usually without artificial assistance. Swimming is an activity that can be both useful and recreational....
and diving
Diving

Diving refers to the sport of performing acrobatics while jumping or falling into water from a platform or springboard of a certain height. Diving is an internationally-recognized sport that is part of the Olympic Games....
Climbing
Climbing

Climbing is the activity of using one's hands and feet to ascend a steep object. It is done both for recreation and professionally, as part of activities such as maintenance of a structure, or military operations....
as in mountaineering
Mountaineering

Mountaineering is the sport, hobby or profession of walking, hiking, trekking and climbing up mountains. It is also sometimes known as alpinism, particularly in Europe....
and abseiling
Abseiling

Abseiling , rappelling in American English, is the controlled descent down a rope in rock climbing, mountaineering, caving, and canyoneering; the technique is used when a cliff or slope is too steep and/or dangerous to descend without protection....

Human-powered vehicles (HPV)

* Canoeing

Canoeing

Canoeing is the activity of Watercraft paddling a canoe for the purpose of recreation , sport, or Human-powered transport. It usually refers exclusively to using a paddle to propel a canoe with only human muscle power....
and kayaking

Kayaking

Kayaking is the use of a kayak for moving across water. Kayaking is generally differentiated from canoeing by the sitting position of the paddler and the number of blades on the paddle....

Cross-country skiing
Cross-country skiing

Cross-country skiing is a winter sport in which participants propel themselves across snow-covered terrain using skis and poles. It is popular in many countries with large snowfields, primarily Northern Europe, Canada, Alaska and the Upper Midwest....
Cycling
Cycling

Cycling is the use of bicycles, or - less commonly - unicycles, tricycles, Quadracycle s and other similar wheeled human powered vehicles as a means of transport, a form of recreation or a sport....
using a bicycle
Bicycle

The bicycle, bike, or cycle is a pedal-driven, human-powered transport with two bicycle wheel attached to a bicycle frame, one behind the other....
, unicycle
Unicycle

A unicycle is a one-wheeled human-powered vehicle. Unicycles are similar to, but less complex than, bicycles....
, tricycle
Tricycle

A tricycle is a three-wheeled vehicle. The term may or may not include Three_wheeled_vehicle, depending on the law or local preference....
, quadricycle
Quadracycle (Human powered)

A Quadracycle is a four-wheeled Human-powered transport. It is also referred to as a quadricycle, quadcycle, quadrocycle or as a four-wheel bicycle....
, velomobile
Velomobile

A velomobile or bicycle car is a human-powered vehicle, enclosed for aerodynamic advantage and protection from weather and collisions. They are virtually always single-passenger vehicles....
or similar wheeled vehicle, including collective variations such as tandem bicycle
Tandem bicycle

The tandem bicycle or twin is a form of bicycle designed to be ridden by more than one person. The term tandem refers to the seating arrangement instead of the number of riders....
and side-car
Draisine
Draisine

A draisine primarily refers to a light auxiliary train or tram.The eponymous term is derived from Germany Freiherr Karl Drais, who invented his Laufmaschine in 1817, that was called Draisine or draisienne by the press....
Handcycles
Handcycles

A handcycle is a type of Human-powered transport powered by the arms rather than the Human leg, as on a bicycle. Most handcycles are tricycle in form, with two coasting rear Bicycle wheel and one steerable powered front wheel....
Human-powered hydrofoil
Human-powered hydrofoil

A human-powered hydrofoil is a small hydrofoil boat propelled entirely by the muscle power of its operator. A typical design for human powered hydrofoils consists of a large hydrofoil at the stern end that is used both for propulsion and keeping the vehicle above the water, connected to a smaller foil at the Bow used for steering....
Ice skating
Ice skating

Ice skating is moving on ice by use of ice skates. It can be done for a variety of reasons, including leisure, traveling, and various sports. Ice skating occurs both on specially prepared Ice rink and outdoor tracks, as well as on naturally occurring bodies of frozen water such as lakes and rivers....
Kick scooter
Kick scooter

A kick scooter or push scooter is a small platform with two or more wheels that is propelled by a rider pushing off the ground. The most common scooters have two hard small wheels, are made primarily of aluminium and for children, and fold for convenience....
Kicksled
Kicksled

The kicksled or a spark is a small sled consisting of a chair mounted on a pair of flexible metal runners which extend backward to about twice the chair's length....
Man-powered aircraft
Roller skating
Roller skating

Roller skating is the traveling on smooth terrain with roller skates. It is a form of recreation as well as a sport, and can also be a form of transportation....
Rowbike
Rowbike

A rowbike is an example of a rowed vehicles, hybrid fitness/transport machine that combines a bicycle, generally considered a recumbent bicycle, and a Indoor rower....
Rowing
Watercraft rowing

Watercraft rowing is the act of propelling a boat using the motion of oars in the water. The difference between watercraft paddling and rowing is that with rowing the oars have a mechanical connection with the boat whereas with paddling the paddles are hand-held with no mechanical connection....
Skateboarding
Skateboarding

Skateboarding is the act of riding and performing tricks using a skateboard. A person who skateboards is most often referred to a skateboarder, skater or skate rat....
Trikke
Trikke

The Trikke is a human powered, three-wheeled Carve turn vehicle that utilizes conservation of angular momentum to allow a rider to propel forward....

Vehicles for transporting others

Stretcher
Stretcher

A stretcher is a medical device used to carry casualties or an incapacitated person from one place to another. It is a simple type of litter , and still called by that name in some cases....
Travois
Travois

A travois is a frame used by Indigenous peoples of the Americas, notably the Plains Indians of North America, to drag loads over land. The basic construction consists of a platform or netting mounted on two long poles, lashing in the shape of an elongated isosceles triangle; the frame was dragged with the sharply pointed end forward....
Litters, e.g. Sedan chair
Litter (vehicle)

The litter is a class of wheelless vehicles, a type of human-powered transport, for the transport of persons. Examples of litter vehicles include jiao , sedan chairs , palanquin , and gama ....
Rickshaw
Rickshaw

Rickshaws are a mode of human-powered transport: a runner draws a two-wheeled cart which seats one or two persons. The word rickshaw came from Asia where they were mainly used as means of transportation for the social elite....
Cycle rickshaw
Cycle rickshaw

The cycle rickshaw, being a small-scale local means of transport, is also known by a variety of other names such as rickshaw, pedicab, bugbug, cyclo, or trishaw....
Handcar
Handcar

A handcar is a railroad car powered by its passengers, or by people pushing the car from behind. It is mostly used as a maintenance of way or mining car, but it was also used for passenger service in some cases....
Bicycle
Bicycle

The bicycle, bike, or cycle is a pedal-driven, human-powered transport with two bicycle wheel attached to a bicycle frame, one behind the other....
Gondola
Gondola

The gondola is a traditional Venice watercraft rowing boat. Gondolas were for centuries the chief means of transportation within Venice and still have a role in public transport, serving as traghetti over the Grand Canal....
Galley

Some of the vehicles also transport cargo and/or passengers.

Human-powered land vehicles

Human-powered land vehicles, such as the handcar

Handcar

A handcar is a railroad car powered by its passengers, or by people pushing the car from behind. It is mostly used as a maintenance of way or mining car, but it was also used for passenger service in some cases....
(a human-powered railroad car), normally travel at ground level but can also travel above (for example, on a trestle

Trestle

A trestle is a rigid frame used as a support, or especially it is used also to refer to a path supported by a number of such braced frames, a number of short spans supported by splayed vertical elements usually for railroad use....
) and below ground (such as when used in mining

Mining

Mining is the extraction of value minerals or other geology materials from the earth, usually from an ore body, vein or seam. Materials recovered by mining include base metals, precious metals, iron, uranium, coal, diamonds, limestone, oil shale, Sodium chloride and potash....
).

Skateboards have the advantage of being so small and light that users can easily carry them when not skating.

The most efficient human-powered land vehicle is the bicycle

Bicycle

The bicycle, bike, or cycle is a pedal-driven, human-powered transport with two bicycle wheel attached to a bicycle frame, one behind the other....
. Compared to the much more common upright bicycle

Upright bicycle

An upright bicycle is a bicycle on which the rider sits astride the Bicycle saddle and stands on the Bicycle pedals; this is the most common type of bicycle....
, the recumbent bicycle

Recumbent bicycle

A recumbent bicycle places the rider in a reclined position. For most enthusiasts the advantage is ergonomic; the rider?s weight is comfortably distributed over several square feet of the back and buttocks....
may be faster on level ground or down hills due to better aerodynamics

Aerodynamics

Aerodynamics is a branch of Dynamics concerned with studying the motion of air, particularly when it interacts with a moving object. Aerodynamics is a subfield of fluid dynamics and gas dynamics, with much theory shared between them....
while having similar power transfer efficiency. In 2002, Sam Whittingham

Sam Whittingham

Sam Whittingham is a Canada cyclist who has held several world records on recumbent bicycles., he holds the following records under the sanction of the International Human Powered Vehicle Association:...
pedaled a streamliner

Streamliner

A streamliner is any vehicle that incorporates streamline to produce a shape that provides less air resistance. The term is most often applied to certain high-speed railway trainsets of the 1930s to 1950s, and to their successor "high-speed trains"....
(a fully-faired recumbent) for 200 m at 130.36 km/h (81.00 mph) in the Varna Diablo II.

Velomobiles

Velomobile

A velomobile or bicycle car is a human-powered vehicle, enclosed for aerodynamic advantage and protection from weather and collisions. They are virtually always single-passenger vehicles....
and cabin cycles

Cabin cycle

Sorry, no overview for this topic
are increasingly popular in colder and/or wetter countries due to the protection they offer against the environment. Freight bicycle

Freight bicycle

Freight bicycles, carrier cycles, freight tricycles, cargo bikes or work bikes are human powered vehicles designed and constructed specifically for transporting large loads....
s are used as low-cost, zero-emission vehicles to haul cargo

Cargo

Cargo refers to goods or produce transported, generally for Commerce gain, by Cargo ship, Cargo airline, Train#Freight trains, van or truck. In modern times, containers are used in most intermodal freight transport long-haul cargo transport....
. Cycle rickshaw

Cycle rickshaw

The cycle rickshaw, being a small-scale local means of transport, is also known by a variety of other names such as rickshaw, pedicab, bugbug, cyclo, or trishaw....
s can be used as taxicab

Taxicab

A taxicab, also taxi or cab, is a type of public transport for a single passenger, or small group of passengers, typically for a non-shared ride....
s.

Olympic Cyclist and IRONMAN triathlon winner, John Howard

John Howard (cyclist)

John Kennedy Howard is an Olympic Games cyclist from the United States, who set a land speed record of 152.2 miles per hour while motor-pacing on a pedal bicycle on July 20, 1985 on Utah's Bonneville Salt Flats....
set a 244.9 km/h (152.2 mph) speed record at the Bonneville Salt Flats near Wendover, Utah on July 20, 1985 while cycling in the wake of a motorized Vesco Streamliner pace-car. The wake of pace-car reduced the aerodynamic drag against which Howard pedalled to almost zero.

Greg Kolodziejzyk set two world records recognized by both the International Human Powered Vehicle Association and Guinness (TM) World Records on July 17, 2006 on a race track in Eureka, California

Eureka, California

Eureka is the county seat and principal city in Humboldt County, California, California, United States. Located adjacent to Humboldt Bay , the city is situated near extensive preserves of the world's tallest trees - the Sequoia....
. The first record is for the most distance traveled in 24 hours by human power (647 miles, 1041 km), and the second for the worlds fastest 1000 km time trial (23 hours, 2 minutes).

In 1969, artists in a small Northern California town began the Kinetic sculpture race

Kinetic sculpture race

A Kinetic sculpture race is an organized contest of human-powered amphibious all-terrain works of art. The original event, the Kinetic Grand Championship in Humboldt County, California, is also called the "Triathlon of the Art World" because art and engineering are combined with physical endurance during a three day cross country race tha...
which has grown to a 42 mile (67.2 km), three-day all terrain, human-powered sculpture race and county wide event. It is held every year on the last weekend in May.

Human-powered aircraft

Fixed-wing aircraft

The Pedaliante
Enea Bossi, Sr.

Enea Bossi, Sr. was an Italian American aerospace engineer and aviation pioneer. He is best-known for designing the Budd Company Budd BB-1 Pioneer, the first stainless steel aircraft; and also the Pedaliante airplane, disputably credited with the first fully Human-powered aircraft....
flew short distances fully under human power in 1936, but the distances were not significant enough to win the prize of the Italian competition for which it was built. Furthermore, the fully human-powered flights were deemed to be a result of the pilot's significant strength and endurance; and ultimately not attainable by a typical human. Additional attempts were made in 1937 and 1938 using a catapult system, launching the plane to a height of 9 metres (30 ft). With the catapult launch, the plane successfully traveled the 1 km (0.62 mi) distance outlined by the competition, but was declined the prize due to the takeoff method.

The first officially authenticated regularly-feasible take-off and landing of a human-powered aircraft (one capable of powered takeoffs, unlike a glider

Glider aircraft

Glider aircraft are heavier-than-air craft that are supported in flight by the dynamic reaction of the air against their lifting surfaces, and whose free flight does not depend on an engine....
) was made on 9 November 1961 by Derek Piggott

Derek Piggott

Alan Derek Piggott Order of the British Empire is one of UK best known gliding pilots and instructors. His flying career has been long and varied....
in Southampton University's Man Powered Aircraft (SUMPA).

Perhaps the best-known human-powered plane is the Gossamer Albatross

Gossamer Albatross

The Gossamer Albatross was a human-powered aircraft built by United States aeronautical engineer Dr. Paul B. MacCready's AeroVironment. On June 12, 1979 it completed a successful crossing of the English Channel to win the second Kremer prize....
, which flew across the English Channel

English Channel

The English Channel is an Arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest, to only in the Strait of Dover....
in 1979.

The current distance and duration record recognised by the FAI was achieved on 23 April 1988 from Iraklion on Crete to Santorini in a MIT Daedalus

MIT Daedalus

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology Aeronautics and Astronautics Department's Daedalus was a human-powered aircraft which, on 23 April 1988 flew 74 mi from Iraklion Air Force Base on Crete, Greece, crashing in the sea just short of the island of Santorini in 3 hours, 54 minutes....
88 piloted by Kanellos Kanellopoulos: a straight distance of 115.11 km (74 miles) in 3 hours, 54 minutes.

The current speed record is held by the Monarch B, built by a team at MIT in 1983, which won a Kremer Prize of £20,000 for sustaining a speed of over 30 km/h over a 1.5 km triangular course.

Helicopters

The first officially observed human-powered helicopter to have left the ground was the Da Vinci III in 1989. It was designed and built by students at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in California, USA. It flew for 7.1 seconds and reached a height of 8 inches (20 cm). The second was the Yuri I in 1994, designed and built by students at Nihon University in Japan. It flew for 19.46 seconds and reached an altitude of 20 cm. Both were attempts to win the Sikorsky Prize

Sikorsky Prize

The Sikorsky Prize is a $20,000 reward established in 1980 by the American Helicopter Society to the first controlled flight of a human powered helicopter....
.

Airships and balloons

French

France

France , officially the French Republic , is a country whose Metropolitan France is located in Western Europe and that also comprises various Overseas departments and territories of France....
inventors have built man-powered airship

Airship

An airship or dirigible is a aerostat that can be steered and propelled through the air using rudders and propellers or other thrust. Unlike other aerodynamics aircraft such as fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters, which produce lift by moving a wing, or airfoil, through the air, aerostatic aircraft, such as airships and Balloon , stay...
s and balloons. Solar hot air balloons and solar hot air airships are new types of balloons and airships. Because lift is supplied through buoyancy, human power can be devoted to thrust.

Human-powered watercraft

Human-powered watercraft include prehistoric and well-known traditional and sporting craft such as canoes, rowing boats and galleys. The term human-powered boat is often used for more modern craft using propellers and water wheels for propulsion. These can be more efficient than paddles or oars and especially allow the use of the leg muscles which are generally strong also with non-athletes. In addition, there is little skill required for forward propulsion while looking forwards and such craft are popular at resorts as pedalo

Pedalo

A pedalo is a form of waterborne transport, primarily for recreational use, powered through the use of wiktionary:Pedal.Pedalos work by utilizing the pedaling motion to rotate a paddle wheel similar to the form of marine propulsion used in the earlier Paddle Steamers....
s.

Hydrofoil

Hydrofoils have less water resistance at the highest speeds just obtainable by humans and are thus usually faster than displacement boats on short courses. The world speed record on water was set 27 October 1991 by MIT Professor Mark Drela who pedalled a human-powered hydrofoil

Human-powered hydrofoil

A human-powered hydrofoil is a small hydrofoil boat propelled entirely by the muscle power of its operator. A typical design for human powered hydrofoils consists of a large hydrofoil at the stern end that is used both for propulsion and keeping the vehicle above the water, connected to a smaller foil at the Bow used for steering....
, "Decavitator

Decavitator

The Decavitator was a human-powered hydrofoil that was built by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. It holds the Human powered vehicle speed record on water....
", to 18.5 knots (21.3 mph)(9.53 meters/second) over a 100 meter race course in Boston, Massachusetts.

Submarines

In 1989, the first human-powered International Submarine Race (ISR) was held in Florida with 17 craft. Since then nine more races have been held. The races themselves have been moved from the waters of Florida to the United States Naval Surface Warfare Center's Carderock Division David Taylor Model Basin in Bethesda, Maryland, and are held biennially. At the 9th ISR in 2007 (in which 23 submarines participated) several new records where set: A single-person craft, Omer5 achieved a record speed of 8.035 knots breaking the Omer team's previous record of 7.19 knots set by Omer 4 in 2004. Also Omer 6 snatched up a record for non -propeller driven craft with a speed of 4.642 knots.

External links

- American Society Of Mechanical Engineers

Air

- Virginia Tech
- History, technology, people

Water

- Events, photos, links
from 1953 to 2005
- videos, documentation
Green Transport in NYC

Human-powered transport

Available muscle power

Modes

Non-vehicular

Human-powered vehicles (HPV)

Vehicles for transporting others

Human-powered land vehicles

Human-powered aircraft

Fixed-wing aircraft

Helicopters

Airships and balloons

Human-powered watercraft

Hydrofoil

Submarines

See also

External links

Air

Water

Land