 |
SBU Self Balancing Unicycle Perfected In V2.0
The SBU Self Balancing Unicycle is a gyro-stabilized, accelerometer driven, battery-powered dream machine. And now Focus Designs has announced that SBU Version 2.0 is now available.
Check this beauty out in the video shown below. And just look at these specs:
And, unlike most vehicles you're used to, the SBU Self Balancing Unicycle has unlimited leg room, head room and shoulder room.
(SBU from Focus Designs)
The highly purposeful design of the SBU is evident in its robustness and elegant simplicity. The powerful 1000 Watt BLDC hub motor propels the rider forwards and backwards at up to 10 MPH. This advanced motor is built right into the wheel and is maintenance free. The SBU electronic balance control module is integrated into the wheel itself. The SBU control module performs several critical functions, including motor speed control, motor torque control, and regenerative braking. We’ve increase the number of sensors to seven for the SBU Version 2.0 which gives a smoother ride, a more accurate balance response and improved turning. Of course the most notable thing inside the SBU is the battery itself, our LiFePO4 lithium-ion nano-phosphate battery is powerful, safe, lightweight and able to take you more than 12 miles between charges.
The Self Balancing Unicycle reminds me of the tumblebug, one of Robert Heinlein's better ideas from his 1940 novella The Roads Must Roll:
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. But it is perfectly adapted to patrolling the maze of machinery 'down inside', since it can go through an opening the width of a man's shoulders, is easily controlled and will stand patiently upright, waiting, should its rider dismount.
(Read more about Heinlein's tumblebug
Technovelgy readers know I have a special place in my heart for the tumblebug; here it is from the front cover of Astounding, emblazoned on my Twitter account @technovelgy.
The SBU Self Balancing Unicycle, V2.0 will ship in early November for $1,499.00 with a one year warranty; place your order now at the Focus Designs website. Fans of Mythbusters will enjoy this video of Mythbusters' Adam Savage trying the Self Balancing Unicycle.
Via Focus Designs.
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 10/13/2010)
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 (Back On) ( 0 )
Related News Stories - (" Vehicle ")
BMW Plans Fully Autonomous Cars By 2025
'She woke just before the signal from the car which would have called her... '- Robert Heinlein, 1941.
EU Parliament Requires Electric Cars To Make Noise
'...a sound tape to supply the noise of a soi-disant "[internal combustion]" engine...'- Robert Heinlein, 1985.
Pepper The Parrot's Bird Buggy
'Someone had put them on mobile platforms, the skrodes.'- Vernor Vinge, 1992.
Tesla Model S Declared Car Of The Year By Motor Trend
'They can therefore roam over the roads of the entire hemisphere [combining] the sensations of coasting with the interest of seeing the country well.'- John Jacob Astor IV, 1894.
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.
Current News
German Firm Seeks To Recruit Autistics
Not a deficit, but a strength.
NASA Supports Pizza Printer
Is it extra with printed pepperoni?
Could Ground-Based Lasers De-Orbit Space Junk?
'Then their lasers vaporized the smaller satellites...'
'Hello, Computer!' Google Now Highlighted at IO13
'Hello, computer!'
MIT Robot Cheetah Video Shows Gait Transition
'The legs are long, curled way up to deliver power, like a cheetah's.'
TrackingPoint Smart Rifle
Not your typical 'smart bullet' approach.
Sky City's 220 Stories Are Go
'It rested among green parklands and... stood in total isolation, a glittering block of whites and flashing windows dotted with colors.'
CARMAT Bioprosthetic Total Human Heart Replacement
'George Walt's corporate existence proved the workability of wholly mechanical organs...'
Personal Sniffer Robots
'...The ticking combinations of the olfactory system of the hound.'
Physical Exam? We've Got Apps
See the future of handheld, personal medical devices.
The Interplanetary Internet, Vint Cerf Speaking
'This was the center of Interplanetary Communications.'
Drosophila Robotica, The Mechanical Fly
'... the Scarab [flying robot] buzzed into the great workroom as any intruding insect might...'
Robo-Raven Flapping Wing Robot Bird
'When he had first built them, they had been crude indeed, flying mechanisms with little more than a reflex-response unit.'
Japan's Nursing Home Robot Plan
Let's make the Roujin Z-0001 Robotic Bed!
Samsung Smart TVs With Gesture Control
'He waved his hand and the circuit switched abruptly.'
Swiss HCPVT Giant Photovoltaic 'Flower'
'...leaning against one of the slender stalks of a sunshade-photocell collector.'
