Ekruzer: Zip Around Town and "Hunt" Fellow Riders on the First Augmented Reality E-Scooter

Wait a minute, augmented reality gaming? E-scooters? Apparently, yes, that's exactly what Ekruzer is promising, and so much more. Heck, it looks like there's going to be a whole apparel lineup being created for the brand and saga. There's just one massive hiccup or hurdle in trying to shed light on this upcoming project: Ekruzer makes little to no mention whatsoever of what we can expect. Nonetheless, there's enough to keep us busy for the next few minutes or so.

Now, kicking things off about Ekruzer, this Australian-born crew has made it their mission to bring a gaming micromobility. The question is: Why? Apparently, someone over at Ekruzer crunched the numbers one day and realized that micromobility in no way tapers specifically to the gaming community, which, if I may add, is one of the largest industries in the world. Don't believe me? Projections for 2024 see the gaming industry as generating around $455 Billion in revenue! That's a big pocket to be dipping into, and honestly, if Ekruzer's idea never takes off, there's bound to be someone out there who's going to try and do the same.

According to Ekruzer, Founder and CEO, “Our feeling is that e-scooters, micromobility, and the sector don’t yet have a product that addresses our youthful and game-obsessed community. We want to turn this on its head and introduce a sector-busting whole new product range. Our products are Kruzers, which will be interactive, fun, customizable, practical, and versatile.”

However, to make something like this possible, you need two key elements. The first is an actual scooter, and the second is all the accompanying hardware and software to run games on it, no matter the level of intricacy of the respective game.

That said, Ekruzer has currently revealed nothing about what that e-scooter will look like. Well, almost nothing; Ekruzer does allow access to some media assets on its website, and once you've downloaded a kit, you can sneak a peek at some wireframe renderings of what the eventual scooter will look like.

While it may be rather difficult to make out what we see, we can notice that the steering column is curved and leads into a rather flat footboard with a bit of a cap over the rear wheel, most likely for support as you zip around town. The front wheel seems steeped in mystery, but these components are often cradled by a suspension system and will most likely house the motor. Funny enough, some images give us the impression that we may be able to expect hubless wheels, but the motors we are shown can be placed nowhere else but the wheel hubs.

Last but not least, the one and only feature that we do have some clarity on is the dashboard of this upcoming trinket. If you happen to make it to Ekruzer's YouTube channel, you'll be able to witness a little flick that reveals the idea behind Ekruzer and all that it may end up doing.

In the short 20-second flick, we can see a large digital display that showcases information along the lines of the "mission" number, what other players may be online as well, the number of bullets left in your augmented reality tank, and even a large radar scanner that "detecting nearby enemies." I'm guessing the latter are other players zipping around city streets. So, it looks like you'll be hunting other e-scooter riders; that's one way to keep the population under control. I'm just kidding, but that does seem to be the idea conveyed by this video.

Then there's the matter of capabilities, yet another topic the Ekruzer makes little mention of. While they state nothing about how much power this machine will spit out or the top speed we'll be able to reach, Ekruzer does state that they're aiming for a peak range of 124 miles (200 km) on a single charge. Honestly, if they make that happen, it'll be the longest-range e-scooter on the market and a clear reason why we may all be riding Ekruzer scooters in the near future. Obviously, that's going to take one hell of a battery pack, so we'll have to stick around and see how this crew managed battery tech.

Last but not least, I mentioned something about merchandise, and if you've taken a closer look at the images in the gallery, you know what I'm talking about. Why the fashion statement? Well, from a business perspective, a clothing line offers two things: cash flow to kick off the project and a brand voice, setting the tone for what this crew is aiming for. All that's missing is a Kickstarter campaign.

As for when all this magic will be hitting our streets, we have nothing, and neither do countless other sources. Yet, if we consider that Ekruzer is now active on just about every social media platform out there, we should be nearing the launch of these machines in the near future. Would you ride around town and shoot fellow riders with imaginary bullets? Some of us clearly would.