Portable Motor

This post is more an idea of a product rather than a research project, but I think it's ok. There are many new and exciting projects that try to produce exo-skeletons, i.e. devices that are mounted on the body and supply power for lifting and moving large things. Their main usage is for handicapped people and military stuff. The product I'm suggesting is along these lines but at a much smaller scale and for everyday use.

The concept is that nowadays electric engines are becoming light and commonplace, as you can see in Segways, electric scooters and bicycles. They all have a small electric engine that mount on top and supply the juice for operating the vehicle. I want to propose a different usage for the same electric motor, namely, helping people move uncomfortable and heavy wheeled things over rough terrain, such as bad walkways and pavements. For example, old people or weak ones have trouble moving the loaded shopping carts from the supermarket or grocery store. Imagine that they have a portable small and light-weight (or even draggable) motor that they can easily attach to the shopping cart and thus help them move it. Mind you, this is not for speed, as the usage for the electric scooters, but simply supplying lacking power in "pushing" the cart.

Another example is a baby trolley for young mothers. Some pavements and gardens require maneuvering for a large trolley, especially for twins. Also, mothers after birth have less strength to carry the trolley (and the associated bags that come with it). Imagine that a simple engine is attached to the trolley and, like Segway, respond to the mother's directions and supply the juice for moving the trolley without any effort or strength.

As for marketing and pricing issues: if such engines can be mounted on kids' bikes, I'm pretty sure they are cheap and easy to operate. Adding some guidance mechanism for them should also not be an issue and since their usage is for short walks, as opposed to an electric car, their size can be small and they can be recharged easily.