Japan’s AIST lab recently showed off its version of the Segway–the joystick-controlled AIST Micromobility vehicle. It boasts an obstacle sensor to help riders navigate crowded environments.
Posts Tagged Segway
Segway robots train snipers Down Under
The Australian Department of Defence enlisted the help of Marathon Robotics to set up a course populated by Segways with plastic, 3D, human-size dummies onboard.
In Honda’s Future, We Are All Rolling Meat Puppets [HandsOn]
Hands-on with Honda’s U3-X, the amazing people mover
Step aside, Segway, because this is amazing. This U3-X is a tiny unicycle like people mover designed for folks with debilitating injuries or problems walking. You sit on it, put your feet on a pair of pedals, and move your body to move forward, backwards, and even side to side. It’s amazingly small and lasts one hour on a charge.
Jimin and I tried the U3-X in a ballroom in Times Square and both of us came away impressed. It is completely self righting and to ride it you just move your body in the direction you want to go. The wheels-within-wheels system allows for 360-degree motion.
This is the first mini people mover I’ve actually been excited about. It’s so small that you can actually use it in mixed company and as long as the battery lasts you can ride it in absolute comfort on most smooth surfaces. No specific release date for this thing and it’s apparently quite expensive right now, but I would totally buy one.
New video shows Honda’s U3-X Personal Mobility Robot in its full prototype glory
Remember the U3-X Mobility Robot from Honda we blogged about last year? Well, the auto-unicycle is still a prototype, but Honda has just released a new (and pretty interesting) promo video on its official YouTube channel. The company says the U3-X can run continuously for one hour on a single (lithium-ion) battery charge and can be recharged via a conventional 120-volt power outlet.
The prototype weighs just 22 pounds, can stand by itself and features a foldable seat and retractable footrests. But its main bullet point is the omni-directional driving wheel system, which, according to Honda, is the only one of its kind. It allows U3-X drivers not only to move forward and back but also sideways and diagonally, setting it apart from vaguely similar products like the Segway or Toyota’s Winglet (which is also still just a prototype).
Here’s the promo video (in English, 3:39 min):
Here’s a U3-X video (made by CNN) from last year:
