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Honda's Answer To the Segway
lcreech writes with an excerpt from the Daily Mail's description of a new Segway-style one-person vehicle being shown off by Honda: "The vehicle looks like a very modern unicycle and to ride it you simply lean your weight in the direction you want to go, whether that's forward, backwards or even sideways. It maintains its own balance travelling up to 3.7MPH. Not very fast."
Lets be happy that we're probably the last generation that can watch how the beautiful girls walk on street in their red dresses and nice legs and ass. Sooner or later this will be reality, in a bad and a good way. While convenience is nice, it has bad sides too.
That being said, I would so use this. Can I get a comfortable computer chair version too, so I can get a beer easily (and one of those japanese beer serving machines please )
No handlebars. Less speed than a Segway. Lame.
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Until I get this I'm not satisfied.
"Total destruction the only solution" - Bob Marley
Somehow, I am thinking that the people who would use this would not be capable of walking faster.
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Sup dawg, we heard you like unicycling so we put some wheels in your wheel so you can unicycle while you unicycle
If you're intrepid enough to sit on a motorized unicycle, automated stabilizers aside, you're very likely able and willing to walk 4mph. So, it's no surprise they don't plan on bringing it to market.
However, nice proof of concept as a base for robots.
Damn those pesky terrorists
This place: http://focusdesigns.com/ has a working version that you can buy today, apparently. It's also more than twice as fast at 10 MPH.
Actually, a lot of people have done this before. Just google "self balancing unicycle" or "powered unicycle".
Everything I say is a lie. Except that... and that... and that, and that, and that, and that... and that.
that was my first thought... an awesome office chair.
Second thought was that it will work some muscles that aren't normally used.. with all that leaning moving and stuff...
This is just a proof of concept project. Honda encourages engineers to pursue "pet" projects in mobility. The ones with promise are given more resources. Sometimes they even become actual products, like Honda Jet.
"Action without philosophy is a lethal weapon; philosophy without action is worthless."
Where I live there is a disturbing number of scooters for the grossly obese - those people who are so corpulent that even walking is beyond them. Whenever I see one, I get to thinking that the only reason why Segways haven't brought on the chubpocalypse is because they were priced too high for lower income people (who have the highest rate of obesity) to afford.
Scientists point out problems, engineers fix them
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While in general this thing is completely pointless, the way the wheel itself works is really cool. It's composed of cylinders which form the ring for the main wheel but allow sideways movement. Leave it up to the Japanese to dream up the most useless application for advanced technology, but it's cool that they're exploring unconventional concepts.
I commuted to work by unicycle for several years and have done hundreds of miles in total. Modern unicycles have come a long way from the old days of a circus exhibit. There are lot of people who ride very long distances on them. A unicycle won't suit most people for commuting but it actually has more plus points than you'd think ...
* Lighter weight than a bike, relatively easy to pick up and carry, or wheel along.
* Takes less space than a bike to store indoors.
* Cheaper than a bike of equivalent quality.
* Once you're skilled you can "idle" on the spot (or just hop occasionally to shift the thing back under your centre of mass) so you may not have to put a foot down when waiting in traffic or at lights.
* Potentially very mechanically simple.
* Good exercise, including for your core muscles due to the postural component of keeping balanced.
It's also a good attention grabber, if you like that sort of thing. I've observed that a lot of geeks, particularly computer geeks, seem to like unicycling. My guess is that this is because, relative to a bike, it requires a high degree of mental engagement but in a non-intellectual way. So you get to exercise your brain but in a way which distracts you from the pressures of logical thought processes.
There are some commuting unicycles here:
http://www.unicycle.com/shopping/shopdisplayproducts.asp?id=1&subcat=7&cat=Commuter
Note that handlebars are available, which allows experienced riders to take some weight of their "bits". Combined with modern saddles, a unicycle is a lot less punishing to your nether regions than you'd expect, though you obviously still need to take care!
Finally, at the high end of the price range, there are unicycles with the Schlumpf (and Kris Holm-Schlumpf) hub-based gearing system. No exposed gearing but you can get something like a 1.5:1 increase in gear ratio, allowing you go go much faster whilst still having the wheel be small and light. In some ways I'd think this would be the best urban commuting unicycle for experienced riders.
There are clear disadvantages to a unicycle to but I figure some folks here might be interested anyhow. Because an unpowered unicycle has made such a good commuting vehicle for me I wouldn't be surprised if an electrical one is actually more practical than you'd expect.
[if anyone wants to find out more, the rec.sport.unicycling newsground, also available as a forum http://unicyclist.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=3 will be able to answer your questions or you can just reply to me here - it's arguably even on topic!]
Don't worry, I'm sure that when horses were first tamed someone bemoaned the loss of walking. I imagine the same thing happened when the carriage was invented, and the bicycle, and the automobile. Pretty girls will still walk, and when they don't they usually get fat, anyway.
Nothing to worry about in that respect.
Free Martian Whores!
Bicycles are far too hard on the environment. You have to mine the iron and aluminum ore and burn coal to process it. That not even counting the (imported) petroleum in the great grease, vulcanized rubber in the wheels, and poly-something-or-other foam in the seat.
Go for the original in environmentally friendly transportation - horses! And when your old model wears out, you can recycle it into glue and dog food!
Something I can sit on while using my treadmill~
The Kruger Dunning explains most post on
The solution is to give in an AI, and give it the personality of a 2 or 3 year old toddler. Every couple blocks it will suddenly stop and scream "No! I don't want to go anymore! Carry me!". That way you'd get a nice mix of convenience and unplanned physical exercise.
If libertarians are so opposed to effective government, why don't they all move to Somalia?
The girls who need to ride something around instead of walking reasonable distances don't stay beautiful for long.
Now, there's nothing quite like pretty girls in skirts riding bicycles.
"... an awesome office chair."
Except, with the Honda vehicle, if there is a failure in the computer system, you die. But we Slashdot readers know that computer failures hardly ever happen, right?
Segways made me appreciate bicycles. If you hit something large, like a rock, it's possible you will be carried over it. Bicycles have no computer system to fail, and they are inexpensive.
I rode a Segway. It had a RISK OF DEATH (all caps) label.
My experience of that article about Honda is that it says to me, "Buy a Toyota. That company concentrates on doing one thing well." I recently bought a Toyota because Consumer Reports said Hondas had automatic transmission problems.
As a long-term cyclist (specifically bicyclist, for you rice rocket fans out there), I see the design of this product as a great mistake. And before anyone comments: yes, I did watch the video, which due to camera filming angle is simply not revealing enough about the seat design to wean my concern. That said...
Don't laugh -- the chance of pudendal nerve entrapment looks to be incredibly high with this kind of design. Women should be worried about urological complications, and men should be worried about impotency. UTIs are likely to increase with this kind of design too. Yes really.
Any long-term cyclist, or doctor for that matter, can tell you that a decent saddle (seat) absolutely requires the perennial area be cut out/removed completely. The common saddle today has a recessed area (which does not help relieve pressure -- don't let anyone tell you otherwise), and many are still flat. The proper solution is to cut away the entire perennial area of the saddle, resulting in a literal a hole in the saddle. This ensures the arteries and nerves in your no-no spots don't get squashed. Some saddles consist of two cushions where your buttocks go with nothing in between, which works equally as well -- and the design of Honda's product (based on the video) may use this design, but it looks as if one's crotch literally rests on a fulcrum point of some kind.
This may be TMI for some, but I speak from experience. In 2004 I started experiencing signs of perennial damage -- specifically, occasional sharp pains which originated in the perennial or anal area and shot through my body like a knife (commonly a sign of PNE). Urination also became complex (specifically minor overflow incontinence). It got worse over the course of 4-5 months. As a computer geek the first thing I did was replace my home and work seating (where I spent the majority of my time) -- no difference. At the 6 month mark I, despite the embarrassment, saw my doctor who immediately said "Aren't you a cyclist? Replace your saddle immediately. Buy one with the perennial area completely cut out -- not receded". I did as instructed and within a few weeks: no more pain. The incontinence problem resides, indicating there was some permanent damage (probably the detrusor muscle), but only on rare occasion. And thankfully there were no sexual side effects. :P
I realise this device will probably not be used for long rides / rides over long distances, but given its slow rate of movement, rides would be longer than that of, say, a Segway, electric scooter, bicycle or similar device. Consider the implications of someone using one of these devices multiple times a day to get to work -- say, a distance of 2 miles round-trip.
Honda should consider the risks involved with what they've created. Fix the design now to ensure no class-action lawsuits down the road.
Just read the comic B.C.
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