Vehicles - Круут | CROOT Universe

Turboskat

Turboskat is a vehicle for young children, rather like an Earth scooter.

Turboskats can travel over the ground and fly at low altitude, so they are suitable only for short journeys. They are the simplest vehicles in Roborumb and are used by the youngest robots—the Crootiks.

A Turboskat has four wheels. The front wheels steer it both on the ground and in flight. They are wider than the rear wheels, which provide stability. The magnetic wheels glow, a feature the little Crootiks especially love.

A Turboskat has a steering wheel that moves left and right to turn and up and down to control altitude. A large air intake sits at the front, with two small jet-booster nozzles at the rear.

Most importantly, Turboskats have two platforms with foot restraints, so two riders can race together—and that is much more fun than travelling alone.

Skatboard

A Skatboard is a small personal vehicle for short flights around a planet, rather like a flying board.

It consists of two small wings that the rider stands on, with special recesses that hold the feet securely. A compact engine between the wings accelerates the Skatboard. The robot then connects to its control channel—and it is ready for flight.

At first there was only one Skatboard in the Roborumb system. Crootvin invented it for his friend CROOT so that they could race through the air together. Crootvin comes from Aeropolis, where robots have propellers on their heads and use them to travel around the planet. Whenever CROOT visited, he had to fly in a Planeskat while Crootvin flew under his own power, which was not much fun. Crootvin, a future engineer, solved the problem by creating a small folding Skatboard. It is now an officially recognised vehicle throughout Roborumb, and young robots everywhere race them.

Planeskat

At first there was only one Skatboard in the Roborumb system. Crootvin invented it for his friend CROOT so that they could race through the air together. Crootvin comes from Aeropolis, where robots have propellers on their heads and use them to travel around the planet. Whenever CROOT visited, he had to fly in a Planeskat while Crootvin flew under his own power, which was not much fun. Crootvin, a future engineer, solved the problem by creating a small folding Skatboard. It is now an officially recognised vehicle throughout Roborumb, and young robots everywhere race them.

Every robot has a Planeskat—even the little Crootiks. Life in the Roborumb system involves constant flying: to school on Umnarium, to visit a grandmother, to see a friend on a neighbouring planet or to take a museum trip. That is why young Crootiks learn to pilot Planeskats from an early age.

Zvezdokat

A Zvezdokat is a large spacecraft designed for travel between stars. It resembles a huge disc, with several decks inside and a loading hatch underneath—large enough for even a Fluffelephant to walk through.

The cockpit is located at the top and has two large windows. During flight, protective screens cover them to prevent damage from asteroids and smaller rocks. A Zvezdokat is powered by a plasma core, the most powerful source of energy in the Roborumb system.

Zvezdokats are used by scientists from the Worlds Research Centre, or WRC for short. CROOT dreams of building his own Zvezdokat so that he can visit his Earth friends Masha and Kolya more often. A Zvezdokat would also let him set off with his friends in search of new planets.

Galaskat

Galaskat is the largest spacecraft ever built by robots. It is designed for journeys to other galaxies.

A Galaskat contains 1,000 plasma cores, allowing it to remain in flight for an extraordinarily long time. Its power is almost impossible to imagine, and the ship itself is enormous—about the size of a small planet.

Inside are many levels, each serving a different purpose. The middle section contains landing bays for Zvezdokats, Planeskats and many kinds of cargo. At the front is the main loading terminal, so vast that an enormous house could fit inside.

A Galaskat consists of three modules: the bow, which houses the captain’s bridge; the main module, with 1,000 plasma cores beneath it; and the tail module, where the boosters are located. All three sections can rotate independently, giving the ship exceptional manoeuvrability in flight.

There are currently only two Galaskats in the Roborumb system because constructing a ship of this size is difficult even for robots.

Ledoskat

A Ledoskat is a vehicle used by winter robots, similar to an Earth snow slider. An ordinary slider only travels downhill, but a Ledoskat can race uphill at tremendous speed and can even fly, although not very high.

The design is simple: the rider sits on a plastic base fitted with a small energy tank. Two tubes lead from the tank to the control units. A lever on each side and a pair of buttons provide all the controls. Energy flows from the control units through the tubes beneath the vehicle, setting the Ledoskat in motion.

A Ledoskat is easy to operate—simply sit down and go. Anyone can manage it, and the tank holds enough energy for years of riding without a recharge.

Snegokat

The Snegokat was developed by the people of Ledora for their planet, which is permanently covered in snow and ice. When fierce blizzards sweep across Ledora, flying a Planeskat becomes dangerous, so the robots travel by Snegokat instead.

A Snegokat is a fairly large vehicle with room for four robots, who enter through doors on either side.

A huge wheel is mounted at the rear. Under the front is a large ski-wing on which the Snegokat rests when stationary; as the vehicle moves, the ski rises. It can also be used for sudden braking when necessary.

It is difficult to tell whether a Snegokat is driving or flying, but either way the ride is breathtaking. Recently, robots discovered that it can race across sand as well—for example, on the planet Sands of Time. Provided the magicians give permission, of course.

Gruzoskat

A Gruzoskat is Roborumb’s enormous interplanetary cargo ship.

Every Gruzoskat has two containers. Each is large enough to carry a Zvezdokat or several Planeskats.

A folding ramp at the front is used to load cargo, and the ship rests on four large, stable supports.

Two powerful plasma engines are mounted on the sides. They can rotate around their axes, and the pilot steers left or right by adjusting their thrust.

At the stern is an enormous threaded coupling. A giant tow cable can be attached to it for hauling cargo platforms. A Gruzoskat is so powerful that, if necessary, it could even shift a small planet out of orbit.

Aeroskat

An Aeroskat is a cargo platform made of square engine modules and a control cabin. How does it work? The pilot sits inside a glass-cube-like cabin with antennas and sends radio pulses to the square platforms. They fly up and dock with the cabin in mid-air, after which more platforms arrive and connect to the ones already in place.

For very large loads, pilots can combine many aero-platforms into an entire aerial field. Four cabins are then positioned at the corners to control the flight.

Aeroskats are often used as repair platforms for large spacecraft. Robots raise one into the air, position it beneath a Galaskat, walk across it and service the plasma cores. An Aeroskat can even carry the unfinished hull of a spacecraft before its engine has been installed.

It is also perfect for moving home, because an entire house can be transported in one piece. Unfortunately, Aeroskats cannot travel between planets, but a more powerful vehicle can—the Gruzoskat.

Aquaskat

An Aquaskat is a versatile boat that can travel both on and beneath the water. It was invented by robots from Oceanica, a planet whose inhabitants live in underwater cities.

An Aquaskat carries five robots. When it dives, an energy dome closes over the cabin. It may look like glass, but it is actually a magnetic field: ordinary glass would crack under the pressure at great depth.

At the front are two rotating gondolas fitted with powerful headlights. The rear contains a cargo compartment, a large rudder for steering and two vertical stabilisers that control upward and downward movement. Powerful engines are mounted on the sides. Through special grilles, the Aquaskat takes in water for a rapid dive and releases it again to rise quickly to the surface.

Triangulum

Triangulum is an alien spacecraft belonging to the Kai-Kai people from the Triangulum constellation. It is powered by a cosmic core, which resembles a plasma core but is even more powerful.

The Triangulum is shaped like a pyramid, with two small wings on its sides for travelling through a dense atmosphere and a stabiliser on top.

To the robots of Roborumb it seems remarkably small, especially for intergalactic travel, yet it can carry up to seven Kai-Kai.

No one understands exactly how the Triangulum flies—not even CROOT could work it out—but the Kai-Kai are proud of their ship and even plan to fly it all the way to Earth.

Natuka

Natuka is the name CROOT gave his Zvezdokat. In the Kuruturan B35 language, the word means “friendship,” because the young robot built the ship with the help of his family and friends.

CROOT’s Zvezdokat may not match every feature of the industrial ships assembled in enormous factories, but it fulfils its main mission perfectly: travelling between the stars.

It also has an important advantage. Instead of the ordinary plasma core used by other Roborumb ships, Natuka is fitted with an exceptionally powerful cosmic core given to CROOT by the Kai-Kai. There is no doubt that many adventures await this remarkable spacecraft!

A UNIVERSE OF CHILDHOOD WONDER

Vehicles of the Roborumb SystemCROOT UniverseCROOT.Universe