Electric unicycle

Self-balancing unicycles at 'Paris sans Voiture' (Paris without cars), September 2015.

An electric unicycle (often initialized as EUC or acronymized yuke) is a self-balancing personal transporter with a single wheel. The rider controls speed by leaning forwards or backwards, and steers by leaning and twisting the unit side to side. The self-balancing mechanism uses gyroscopes and accelerometers. In 2020, suspension models were introduced by three major manufacturers: Begode, Kingsong & Inmotion

Operation[]

Most commercial units are self-balancing in a single axis direction with lateral stability being provided by the rider; more complex fully self-balancing dual-axis devices also need to self-balance from side to side. The control mechanisms of both use control moment gyroscopes, reaction wheels and/or auxiliary pendulums and can be considered to be inverted pendulum.^{[citation needed]}

History[]

Trevor Blackwell demonstrates his prototype

Early experimentation[]

See also Monowheel

A hand-power monowheel was patented in 1869 by Richard C. Hemming^[1] with a pedal-power unit patented in 1885.^[2] Various motorized monowheels were developed and demonstrated during the 1930s without commercial success^[3] and Charles F Taylor was granted a patent for a "vehicle having a single supporting and driving wheel" in 1964 after some 25 years of experimentation.^[4] In 1977 Charles Gabriel presented an electric unicycle that resembles the design of today's devices.^[5]

Commercialisation[]

In 2003, Bombardier announced a conceptual design for such a device used as a sport vehicle, the Embrio.^[6] In September 2004 Trevor Blackwell demonstrated a functional self-balancing unicycle, using the control-mechanism similar to that used by the Segway PT and published the designs as the Eunicycle.^{[citation needed]} In March 2010 Shane Chen of Inventist filed a patent application for a seatless electric unicycle (associated with the "Solowheel" product launched in February 2011).^[7] In Oct 2010 Focus Designs published a video of an electric unicycle with hub motor and a seat.^[8] Late in 2015, the Ford Motor Company patented a "self-propelled unicycle engagable with vehicle", intended for last-mile commuters.^[9]

EUC and motorized scooter riders participating in a group ride in San Francisco. PPE was worn due to higher top speed with newer EUC models. The red-jacket-guy on the left was riding a suspension-model

By the turn of the decade, several Chinese manufacturers dominate the market and continue to release EUC models with higher top speeds (above 75 km/h or 46 mph),^[10] and longer range batteries. Popularity came around the same time as Begode (formerly known as Gotway) released their M super line. This evolved into the MSX & MSP models and eventually into the RS model. Around this time Veteran stepped on to the scene for the first time with their road wheel the Sherman. In 2020, suspension EUCs were revealed by Inmotion, Kingsong and Gotway.

Suspension[]

In chronological order, the following suspension-models were released-

• the Inmotion V11^[11]
• the Kingsong S18^[12]
• the Begode EX^[13]

Popular culture[]

• A self-balancing unicycle was described in 1969 in The Man From R.O.B.O.T., a short story by science fiction author Harry Harrison.^[14]

Gallery[]

• 

  Device in use

• 

  Airwheel with double-wheel

• 

  Front view of a solowheel

• 

  Traffic sign

• Play media

  Video of unit in use

Companies[]

• Begode (previously known as Gotway)^[15]
• Guangzhou Veteran Intelligent Technology ^[16][17]
• InMotion Technologies Co^[18]
• Inventist Inc^[19]
• Kingsong Intell Tech Co^[20]
• Ninebot Limited^[21][22]

See also[]

References[]

Further reading[]

Research papers (in reverse date order)

• Wu, Junfeng; Zhang, Wanying; Wang, Shengda (26 November 2012). "A Two-Wheeled Self-Balancing Robot with the Fuzzy PD Control Method". Mathematical Problems in Engineering. 2012: 1–13. doi:10.1155/2012/469491.
• Tomašić, Tomislav; Demetlika, Andrea; Crneković, Mladen (2012). "Self-balancing mobile robot tilter". 36 (3). Transactions of FAMENA: 23. Archived from the original on 2014-02-09. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
• Ruan, Jian-Wei Zhao; Xiao-Gang (1 September 2011). "Modelling and Control of a Flexible Two-Wheeled Self-Balancing Mobile Robot". International Journal of Systems, Control and Communications. 3 (3): 330–355. doi:10.1504/IJSCC.2011.042438.
• Ben S. Cazzolato, David Keith Caldecott, Andrew John Edwards, Matthew Anthony Haynes, Miroslav Jerbic, Andrew Christopher Kadis and Rhys James J. Madigan Micycle - A Self-Balancing Unicycle, University of Adelaide, 2010
• Johnson, R.C. (2002). "Unicycles and bifurcations" (PDF). American Journal of Physics. 66 (7): 589–92. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.693.5310. doi:10.1119/1.19027.
• Zenkov, DV; Bloch, AM; Marsden, JE (2001). "The Lyapunov-Malkin Theorem and Stabilization of the Unicycle with Rider". Systems and Control Letters. 45 (4): 293–302. doi:10.1016/s0167-6911(01)00187-6.
• Zenkov, DV; Bloch, AM; Leonard, NE; Marsden, JE (2000). "Matching and Stabilization of Low-dimensional Nonholonomic Systems" (PDF). Proc. CDC. 39: 1289–1295. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2003-06-27.
• Ulyanov, S. V.; et al. (1998). "Soft computing for the intelligent robust control of a robotic unicycle with a new physical measure for mechanical controllability". Soft Computing. 2 (2): 73–88. doi:10.1007/s005000050036. S2CID 17955504.
• Sheng, Zaiquan; Yamafuji, Kazuo (1995). Realization of a Human Riding a Unicycle by a Robot. Proceedings of the 1995 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation. 2. pp. 1319–1326. doi:10.1109/ROBOT.1995.526027. ISBN 978-0-7803-1965-3. S2CID 7280130.
• A. Schoonwinkel, Design and test of a computer stabilized unicycle Ph.D. dissertation, Stanford University, California, 1987

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Other

• Flexible two-wheeled self-balancing mobile robot, 9th IFAC Symposium on Robot Control (2009)