A Former Future Nomad

We may earn a commission from links on this page.

This is a picture of Steve Roberts, the "high-tech nomad," aboard his Winnebiko II in 1988. It couldn't be a more perfect distillation of his mantra: "art without engineering is dreaming; engineering without art is calculating."

Steve on this beautiful shot:

Thanks to Dan Burden for this image from the Deep Archives, taken during a 1988 photo session with him in Florida. I'm aboard the Winnebiko II, which used a hacked Radio Shack Model 100 in the console, along with a binary handlebar keyboard processed by a 68HC11. It also carried packet radio, operable while riding, a speech synthesizer, 20 watts of solar panels, 2-meter ham radio, and full touring gear. This was my favorite of the three bike versions.

Advertisement

Read the Gonzo Engineering manifesto or find out more at the Nomadic Research Labs. [Make]