Sidewinders show their stuff in Star Trek

Two Sidewinder ATX-3000 omnidirectional forklifts make cameo appearances in the science fiction Star Trek movie, and the technology is slated to appear in another film.

Sidewinder manufacturer Airtrax Inc, however, cannot benefit. An investor group halted operations, controls uncompleted units and liquidated the plant and other assets. The stock AITX.PK has a 52-week range of USD0.001-0.02.

In the Paramount Pictures Corp film, forklifts manoeuvre slowly, loading cargo in the shuttle bay for transport to the spaceship USS Enterprise.

The Sidewinders and other vehicles "were chosen for their unusualness combined with their clearly well-designed utilitarianism", says Star Trek production designer Scott Chambliss. Sidewinder filming occurred in a Goodyear blimp hanger in Irvine, California during the spring of 2008.

"The movie has generated a huge amount of buzz," says Nicholas Fenelli. "We know that Sidewinder has a cult following."

While chief of Airtrax operations, Fenelli made trade-out agreements in early 2007 with television program producer Beyond International Ltd of Artarmon, New South Wales, Australia. Producers at the Discovery Channel in Canada, the ProtoType This! series and the Mythbusters series were in the loop, Fenelli says. "Someone at Paramount studios saw a production and was impressed. He proposed the Sidewinder to Star Trek's director, who was also impressed."

For product placement, Fenelli sent two demonstrators through dealership H&E Equipment Services of North Las Vegas, Nevada.

"Things went so well that another arrangement was made to use the Sidewinder in the Paramount production GI Joe: the Rise of the Cobra," scheduled for 7 August release, Fenelli says.

After filming, the Sidewinders went to Lift Works Inc of West Chicago, Illinois, which offers 12 Sidewinders for rent.

Sidewinders "give people more manoeuvrability" and the technology has a future, says Marty Starck, owner and president of Lift Works.

Fenelli is president of Vehicle Technologies Inc of Trenton, New Jersey, which was formed in January 2008, employs four, retains two consultants and specialises in the design and manufacture of electric vehicles utilising omnidirectional-drive and alternating-current motor technologies.

Swedish engineer Bengt Ilon at Mecanum AB designed and patented an omnidirectional wheel technology in 1973, but "the level of control in the early 1970s was way too expensive to make the system work," Fenelli notes.

The US Navy purchased Ilon’s technology through an investment intermediary in the 1980s and advanced it at the naval surface warfare centre in Panama City, Florida. The idea: achieve mobility in tight shipboard quarters. In January 1996, the Navy transferred the technology to a predecessor of Airtrax and other firms for USD2,500 each under co-operative research and development agreements.

Four 21-inch (0.52m) sets of polyurethane-covered 45-degree peripheral steel rollers make contact with the floor and are attached to corresponding wheels.

The platform with tines can move in lateral, diagonal and rotational directions. Instructions from an operator’s joystick feed a microprocessor that coordinates four independent electric motors, each of which controls one wheel.

Airtrax founder and chief executive officer Peter L Amico Sr carried the technology torch but died in August 2006. Temporarily, Fenelli served as acting CEO.

As a development-stage company, Airtrax encountered challenges including operating losses, funding requirements, production development, commercial market acceptance, protection of patent rights and establishment of distribution channels.

Airtrax produced Sidewinders in a Blackwood, New Jersey plant from September 2005 through March 2006 and was anticipating volume output from FiLCO GmbH’s Mulheim, Germany factory, previously a manufacturing site of Clark Material Handling of Europe GmbH. Airtrax agreed in 2004 to acquire FiLCO, but, in 2006, FiLCO filed for insolvency in January and Airtrax terminated the agreement in February.

In June 2007, CEO Robert Watson signed restatements of Airtrax 2005 and 2006 financial reports that were filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (Forkliftaction.com News #315).

"My efforts have resulted in a lot of exposure for the Sidewinder and the omnidirectional technology, but just a little too late for Airtrax," Fenelli notes. "Sadly, the company had halted production of the Sidewinder lift truck (after making about 70 units). All operations finally ceased in March 2008, the employees separated and the facilities closed." Five remaining Sidewinder dealers are located in the US, southern Europe and Israel. Excalibur Design Services Inc of Trenton supports Sidewinders in the field.

At Vehicle Technologies, "we are not in a position to market and develop equipment," Fenelli says. "We will build one-off for someone paying for the development."

Work on the movie ─ the 11th under the Star Trek franchise ─ began in 2005, and filming occurred under secure conditions in late 2007 and early 2008. Spyglass Entertainment and director JJ Abrams’ Bad Robot Productions created the 127-minute USD150-million film under the auspices of Hollywood, California-based Paramount. Gross revenues exceed USD209 million from Star Trek’s 7 May theatrical release through 31 May.

That exposure shares the concept of omnidirectional forklifts with a wider audience.

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