Jean-Yves Blondeau

Jean-Yves Blondeau (Aix les Bains, 1970 - ), also known as "Rollerman", is a French designer who is best known for creating the 31-wheel roller suit (Buggy Rollin'). This suit places a number of rollers (similar to those found on rollerblades) on most of the major joints, the torso, and the back. The wearer can ride in a variety of positions (rollerblade, on back, on torso, on all fours, etc.) at speeds of up to 60 mph (96 km/h). He has been featured on television shows in several countries.

He carried out the roller suit as part of his graduation project at the famous industrial design school Olivier de Serres in Paris. The study theme was: "systems that underline the sensations caused by the displacement of the human center of gravity in relation to support points in order to move into space". The research phase lasted for 6 months, followed by 1 month of synthesizing and 2 months of producing the prototype. Then it followed a one year of secret patent writing, finally published in June 1995.Since then, six generations of buggy-rollins have been elaborated. They include different creations from the extreme basic kneepad with rollers to the most sophisticated one called "super rollin bionic woman" (SURBO). The prototypes have evolved into safer, more comfortable and easier machines that can be adapted to all different morphologies. The SURBO is also a great aesthetic success.

He plans to sell the first commercial buggy-rollin' equipment at the end of the year 2008, for a price of around 1500 euros.

References

* [http://www.buggy-rollin.com/ Official website]
* [http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=buggyrollin Jean-Yves Blondeau] at YouTube
*Article and discussion on Gizmodo.com - Buggy Rollin': Brain Damage on the Go! [http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/gadgets/buggy-rollin-brain-damage-on-the-go-160327.php]
*VIDEO: Buggy Rollin Suit vs. 600cc Motorcycle - Close Race on Techeblog.com: [http://www.techeblog.com/index.php/tech-gadget/video-buggy-rollin-suit-vs-600cc-motorcycle-close-race]