Science Fiction
Dictionary
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
 |
RYNO To Heinlein - Your Tumblebug Is Ready!
The RYNO is a fully electric monocycle, a one-wheeled scooter you can buy today.
(RYNO video)
...the RYNO balances itself front-to-back when standing still. With both feet on the ground, it nudged around to keep my center of gravity poised directly over the axle. With only one wheel, side-to-side balance is up to you. It's a big wheel, though, wearing a 240-millimeter-wide motorcycle tire usually found on big ol' Harley-Davidsons. There's a brake lever on the right, though it doesn't work the way you'd expect it to (more on that in a minute). Turning the handlebars swivels the seat on a pivot somewhere behind your tailbone, which feels completely foreign when standing still. And that's it for controls—your body position does the rest.After about 5 minutes, the whole process began to feel natural. Icy, frigid conditions prevented me from taking an extended ride, but Chris says most folks get the basics after about 15 minutes, with master maneuvering taking just a few days.
Once your brain adapts, the RYNO is astoundingly surefooted (and man, I never expected to say that about a unicycle). Credit the construction, which mounts the dual motors and controllers, three gyroscopes, two removable batteries, and all the accompanying computer brains inside the hub of the 18-inch wheel. With a center of mass somewhere between your shins and software that reacts instantaneously to your every lean, the RYNO feels nearly un-toppleable.
Fans of Robert Heinein's 1940 classic The Roads Must Roll recall the tumblebug:
Gaines and Harvey mounted tumblebugs, and kept abreast of the Cadet Captain, some twenty-five yards behind the leading wave. It had been a long time since the Chief Engineer had ridden one of these silly-looking little vehicles, and he felt awkward. A tumblebug does not give a man dignity, since it is about the size and shape of a kitchen stool, gyro-stabilized on a single wheel.
(Read more about Robert Heinlein's Tumblebug.)
Here's the artist's view of what a tumblebug looked like, from the cover of Astounding Science Fiction:
(Heinlein tumblebug from Astounding SF June 1940)
The RYNO ships in April for just $5,300 at RYNOMotors (via Gizmodo).
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 2/11/2014)
Follow this kind of news @Technovelgy.| Email | RSS | Blog It | Stumble | del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit |
Would
you like to contribute a story tip?
It's easy:
Get the URL of the story, and the related sf author, and add
it here.
Comment/Join discussion ( 0 )
Related News Stories - (" Vehicle ")
'Robovan' Name Already Taken - Elon, Try These
There are alternative names that are probably in the public domain by now.
Tele-Driving Offers Jobs For Tele-Drivers, Not AIs
''...some bored drone pusher in a remote driving centre...' - Charles Stross, 2007.
GM Scraps Cruise Origin Robotaxi With No Steering Wheel
'Ames tinkered around with something on the instrument board when he got in; and in a few moments we were off.' - Miles Breuer, 1930.
GoSun EV Solar Charger Drapes Onto Your Car
'...six square yards of sunpower screens.' - Robert Heinlein, 1940
Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Invention Timeline, or see what's New.
Science Fiction
Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's 1950's
1960's 1970's
1980's 1990's
2000's 2010's
Current News
Miss Alabama Beauty Contest Offers Different Standards
'...they moved with the ease of dandelion puffs.'
Has Musk Given Up On Full Self Driving (FSD)?
'...some bored drone pusher in a remote driving centre...'
Prufrock-3 'The Monster' Ready To Launch
Just go for it.
Drones In Vast Airborne Grids
'These pods were programmed to hang in space in a hexagonal grid pattern...'
Starship Special Edition For Lunar Shuttle
Love those special edition spaceships.
Capturing Asteroids With Nets
'...the meteor caught and halted just as a small boy catches a swift ball in his cap.'
Project Hyperion - Generation Ship Designers Needed!
'We have decided that it shall be but one ship... it must contain everything needed to take us through the generations.'
AI Welfare Position At Anthropic Filled By Human
'You’re the robopsychologist of the plant, so you’re to study the robot itself...'
Marslink Proposed By SpaceX
'It was the heart of the Solar System's communication line...'
Simple Way To Defeat AI Face Recognition
'... designed to foil facial recognition systems.'
Wood-Panelled LignoSat Launched
'The Consul remembered his first glimpse of the kilometer-long treeship...'
Laser-Beam Welding In Orbital Factories
'His contract with Space Industries required him to work summers in their orbital factory.'
'Iceberg House' Of Travis Kelce Reflects Science Fiction Of Past Century
'The basement was huge... carved deep into the rock that folded up to underlie the ridge...'
Mechazilla Arms Catch A Falling Starship, But Check Out SF Landing-ARMS
'...the rocket’s landing-arms automatically unfolded.'
A System To Defeat AI Face Recognition
'...points and patches of light... sliding all over their faces in a programmed manner that had been designed to foil facial recognition systems.'
Robot Hand Separate From Robot
'The crawling, exploring object was V-Stephen's surgeon-hand...'
