| Author | Message | ||
     Toona |
honda_u3x_unicycle I think even I could ride this one. Only a prototype/experiment (for now), but sure looks promising. | ||
| Ourdee |
I want to ride one. | ||
| Doug_s |
a freaking retarded answer to a question no one ever asked. doug s. | ||
| Two_buells |
Bombardier made one a few years ago to test the computer tech for their three wheel bike. (another reason I'd like BRP to start making Buells, its such a great fit) | ||
| Bikertrash05 |
 | ||
| Firebolt020283 |
looks really cool but like biker trash is pointing out from the wall-e pictrue if everyone started getting one we would all be fat-a$$es even more so than now. | ||
| 46champ |
What does that thing do for a normal person with 2 operating legs can't do on their own feet? | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
Ever worked a trade show? I'd love to have one of those to cover the vast distance you have to walk for one. | ||
| Pwnzor |
I think it's cool because they were able to make it work, and it's a pretty slick little package and all. Honda is always doing things like this... just because they can. HOWEVER... I can't imagine ever needing one, because I just don't think I'll ever be that lazy. Someone who IS that lazy is probably too fat to ride the damn thing. | ||
| Froggy |
I am sure they said the same thing about the car too.
Walk. You never know, perhaps one day your knees aren't as great as they used to be. Sure you might still able to walk around the house and to your car, but once you get to the parking lot at Yankee Stadium you sure as hell would love something like this. Like said in the video, beats a wheelchair in terms of portability and storage. For Honda, it is more about developing this kind of technology as it can become useful down the line for other applications like robotics. Ft_bstrd, get a Segway!  | ||
| Pwnzor |
Valid points there Froggy | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
Yeah, but a Segway isn't as compact and light. This is Segway 2.0. Much more maneuverable and much more portable. I can get this into an overhead compartment. A Segway requires you to still stand. To me, this has significant applications beyond just this simple device. Remember the cars from I Robot. Being able to travel forward, backward and sideways is significant. Imagine a motorcycle that can not only turn around a fixed point but can roll around that fixed point without being limited to the directionality of the contact patch or wheel slippage. Image what could also be accomplished with the "stability assist" function of this device in other applications. You could have a sport bike that had the stability assist turned off during at speed maneuvers but turned on in slow speed operations. You could operate in slow speed and stop and go traffic without ever having to put your feet down. You could also use the stability assist to allow body weight shifts alone to help in steering. Imagine how much more "telepathic" your bike could become if just by shifting your shoulders you could begin the turn in. With stability assist, high sides could be a thing of the past. What pitches you off is when your wheels catch when the bike is perpendicular to the direction of traffic. With multi-access wheel travel you simply couldn't high side. Low siding could also be greatly reduced since the loss of traction of the front wheel could be mitigated. If the system senses that you are loosing traction in the forward axis, it could allow the "wheel" to rotate just lightly laterally. Your exit path would be wider than entry, but you wouldn't have loss traction on the front wheel. As a singular product, this unicycle doesn't have much of a market. As a subsystem test bed, though, this could have HUGE applications moving forward. Imagine this application strapped to the Moto Czysz bike. | ||
| Court |
>>>For Honda, it is more about developing this kind of technology Precisely. Don't get hung up on the thing . . . think about the concept. The only thing currently screwing up my daily commute is being limited to 2 dimensions. Soon we'll add the vertical component to transpiration. Those with the technology will win. | ||
| Mr_grumpy |
What about all those poor bastards who currently look up from a wheel chair? can't get through narrow or revolving doors, can't reach anything in a store, always got their noses at everyone else's crotch level. Strap them to a taller version with more battery capacity & they'll be near as mobile & autonomous as normal folks, & happy as larry about it. I think it's astounding & very far from a pointless solution to an inexistent problem. Well done Honda! | ||
| Doug_s |
sure, this thing is cool technology. but, froggy, i don't see that comparing this to the car is an apt analogy. i think the car appeared to most everyone as practical technology. this is a novelty only, imo. while i certainly appreciate the theory behind this, and "what if" it could be adapted to something like a motorcycle, i don't see it happening. making a wheel that can rotate perpendicular to the direction of travel seems to me limited to almost perfect flat surfaces, at slow speeds. yes, this might be something good for trade shows, where the terrain encountered would be transition strips between carpet & tile; maybe this thing could traverse a door threshold, but much more, and elevation changes more than a couple degrees, would be problematic, imo. re: the difficulty for handicapped in wheel chairs, it would be better solved with simply raising the height of the chair... of course, if everyone really wants to become wall-e lard-asses...  doug s. (Message edited by doug_s. on July 05, 2010) | ||
| Cityxslicker |
If it cant to dirt... well you know I am out. And that speed governer is the first thing that gets 'hacked' I have a golf course by my house... and at nite that would be the PERFECT lap tracker .... | ||
| Big_red_79 |
what if the technology were adapted to more than just a people mover, what if you were to take a couple of them and put them under a platform for moving heavy or awkward things around a factory floor, it would eliminate the need for room for a forklift, i know a the RF shielding place i used to work at, something like that would have been awesome for moving around our MRI doors on second shift with a skeleton crew! | ||
| Etennuly |
Oh I could just see explaining how it operates to my mother, about the time she "gets" it the battery would give out and it would tip over!  I'm sure it would have a warning or ejector seat to compensate for when the charge gets low. Ahhh.....but then.....just more devices to plug into over taxed electrical systems that burn fuels that cause Al Gore to stand up and say "See!". | ||
| 86129squids |
OMG!!!! I can envision a high speed version prototyped and proven on Deal's Gap... How will we humans conquer movement in 3D? I've always wanted a copy of Soichoro Honda's biography, gotta look a little harder.  | ||
| Swordsman |
As a unicycle, not a fan. But... Increase the speed and give it an external, longer-lasting battery pack, Strap one to each leg, throw in some ballistic body armor, mount an automatic rifle to each forearm.... NOW we're getting somewhere!  ~SM | ||
| Ezblast |
This has great potential in so many different areas. Wow! EZ | ||
| Xl1200r |
I don't mean to tear apart your post, but... You could operate in slow speed and stop and go traffic without ever having to put your feet down. You could also use the stability assist to allow body weight shifts alone to help in steering. Imagine how much more "telepathic" your bike could become if just by shifting your shoulders you could begin the turn in. When I get to a light, I WANT to put my feet down. Yeah, you could keep them up, but this doesn't seem like a justifiable reason to have it on a bike. Telepathic steering? I don't see it. I can push on the bar a lot faster than I can shift my weight, and a lot of times I want to shift my weight early to set up for a turn. With stability assist, high sides could be a thing of the past. What pitches you off is when your wheels catch when the bike is perpendicular to the direction of traffic. With multi-access wheel travel you simply couldn't high side. This I'll agree with. Low siding could also be greatly reduced since the loss of traction of the front wheel could be mitigated. If the system senses that you are loosing traction in the forward axis, it could allow the "wheel" to rotate just lightly laterally. Your exit path would be wider than entry, but you wouldn't have loss traction on the front wheel. This I will not. That solution entails changing the direction of travel for the bike, which is not a good idea in my book. Maybe pushing the turn out wider is a good idea to avoid a slide. Maybe you're sliding because you already went in too hot and are already too wide - would you rather slide as you'd expect, or have this system push you off the road surface ahead of time. Maybe there's an empty field and it's no big deal. Maybe there's a tree there that you would have missed had the system not been there. I think this a neat solution for folks with limited mobility for all the reasons mentioned. I'm curious what happens if you lean too far if it's limited to walking speeds, though. And how does it know if you want to rotate to face a different direction? Could it even do that given how the wheel is designed? |
