Mercury Skate turns in-line skating into smooth cruising using springs and airbags

Mercury Skate turns in-line skating into smooth cruising using springs and airbags

The first day of Spring's only a day away and it's time to start thinking about ... in-line roller skating! But we're weary of all that vibration, enough to rattle our fillings loose on all these pothole-pocked roadways here on the frozen tundra. So maybe designer Pouyan Mokhtarani is onto something here with Mercury, the in-line skates of the future.

In this handsome rendering of a design concept, Mokhtarani shows us how the judicious application of colorful red springs and airbags in the shoes could make in-line skating feel as smooth as gliding across a pristine frozen lake. He's also designed ankle support attachments for those of us with wobbly joints.

Unlike some radical skating designs, this one looks downright civilized, capable of some pleasingly smooth cruising. The skate boot part of the design looks so swank, maybe the wheels could be removable so we could wear those snazzy airbag-equipped shoes on the street.

(Via DVICE.)