The Zero-Emissions One-Wheeled Motorcycle

now this is cool. make it go to 150km/hr and I'll buy two!

This thing is really cool! If it passed all the safety tests I would definitely buy one.
-Wolfgang

pretty sweet. it wouldnt need to be that fast for scooting around crowded cities and it would be more impressive than a moped.

And exactly how do you stop this thing without filliping forward?

past say 10 mph you'd do a face plant with any hard stop!

now, what i find hard to understand about this thing is that its probably going to cost a fortune with the electronics inside it, not too mention its going to make it like a bike form of a segway. segways are like, 2000 dollars alone and i dont think they could just go out and buy somthing like that for that much money when a cheaper kind of motorbike will suit them just fine. im not saying i like smog im just saying i dont think this will fix it. in stead though, maybe for a cheaper version, bars that have shocks on them and wheels underneath could maybe stabalize the bike so the electronics wouldnt be so complex that way, they can still lean in a turn and turn tightly without falling or having complex systems to stop it from falling

The design looks fun but dangerous especially if you have to stop fast. The only practical one wheeled motorcycle was developed by Kerry McLean who built a six foot diameter wheel and he and the motor ride inside of the wheel. He turns by leaning and the only problem that he has is with Gerbleing when accelerating and stoping (the inside weight rotates in the opposite direction of the applied force). I think that a gyroscope could help stabilize the ride.

will someone please explain how it does balance itself? I understand a computer is doing it but i dont know how.

It looks like a cool bike, but i think people wont by it until they understand how it works and that its not just for fun, like that huge motorcycle also in that issue.

The only way this vehicle can claim zero emissions is if it is charged from power supplied by solar grid or a nuclear power plant or some other non-emitting power source. This is highly unlikely in the US where electrical power is primarily provided from coal-fired or natural gas power plants both of which produce significant emissions.

So unless you live in France, you are still creating emissions with your electric vehicles!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I can clearly see in the photo the vehicle has two wheels. While the wheels are side-by-side, it is not a one wheel motorcycle.

This seems like a really cool idea.

I would get one as long as it passed the safety test and was a decent price. It look really cool.

I just want to say: Ben Gulak, I can see amazing potential in you man. If i'm not mistaken then the article makes you out to sound like an ingenious inventor in the making. Keep it up. ;) If I might add, A liable breaking system may consist of a mechanical counterweight. It would all just be up to doing the math and lots of computer networks, maybe calculations of the rider's weight and speed... LOTS OF MATH!

--Don't settle with anything but the best--

This idea is great, however if I have to deal with two wheels, I would rather have a motorcycle because not only would it be easier to balance, but sometimes I may need to shuttle two people. This idea may be great for high school students, or the young at heart. Easy storage for the garage. Maybe if the balancing can be significantly improved maybe it might be the future of low cost transportation. Can you imagine it with a sidecar too? The side car would also need a balancing mechanism. Hmm....maybe also future third world taxi for poorer countries.

Where is the video, can't find the link.

this vehicle is much like the B-2 stealth bomber. It will need an advanced computer system in order to perform well.

Bombadier had a concept vehicle along these lines:

http://www.gizmag.com/go/2350/

It never went anywhere. I wonder why not? I think it didn't because of the hydrogen fuel cell thing. A very immature technology. Why do so many people get transfixed by hydrogen? It's like modern alchemy or something.

If an emergency braking situation arises where you need to apply the brake(s) hard, how does it prevent the rider from doing a face plant?

First off, this motorcycle has two wheels. I believe it would handle
better with just one wheel. Why have all the complexities of lifting
one wheel in the turns and the complicated suspension. I believe with the right programing it could go 200 mph+ and stop safely. Riding two up could be a hoot.

Jim Byrd, Aiken, SC

The sleek red body is misleading - the laws of physics will force this bike to Segway performance levels - acceleration and braking will not be anywhere near the racer it looks like. The inventor was right staying below 15 mph.

It may be "Popular Science" to call this a zero emissions vehicle but your team of scientists knows if it charges itself on a North American power grid, chances are better than 90% that it's a carbon-burner. Novel idea and it should still be celebrated as such, but topping out at 15 mph at present, your pedal-powered bike may move faster!

This is a very cool looking machine that uses Segway ideas and borrows the leaning wheel design from the aerodynamic tandem trike from Europe. I congratulate it's designer for his creative thinking and his determination in building it as well as his acceptance to MIT, Both are very great accomplishments.
I pray that he will realize that this design will be very unstable at any speed faster than a Segway irregardless of it's computational prowess and will most likely seriously injure or kill it's rider and will never be marketable. Imagine the results of an emergency braking situation at even 35 mph. No safety equipment on Earth would save you. There are far too many Lives lost on conventional motorcycles and way too many families have permanently crippled members thanks to the lack of protection from impact provided by two wheelers of all designs. I Love riding them but they will never be safe in the environment they operate in!
A replacement for the internal combustion engine is the only thing that will significantly impact the Co2 output of the motoring World.

A couple of years ago popsi had a inovations of the year awards to BOMBARDIER BRP division for it's unicycle that the company said they probaly wouldn't be producing for the public untill about 2020 yr. BRP is most likely intrested in inovative young minds like yours and they could certianaly help you with the high tec electronics gyroscopes ect. ect.

Wow. A sweet looking ride that can go fast, yet still have great handling. Its got my vote!

Need room to go two-up in order to give rides to all the hot chicks.

Biggiesmalls

so is this even safe????

I like this because for once it dose not look stupid, it actually looks stylish. Inventions like this inspire the world to be a greener place. Smart lad!

Talk about a go getter.
Much props to the man.

Oh look another person using EV as the anwser to smog and $4/gallon gas. He gets it and he's only 19! Again, good job and keep on doing.

My only sad note is that this could be the end of the wheelie.

these people must be living in caves.

Yes, batteries need to charged and yes most of that energy comes from coal.
Don't forget it takes oil to make oil.
BUT. no matter what any electric motor is more Efficient than any i.c.e.

Getting the nation away from fossil fuels in large will be a major challenge but EVs are a small step in the right direction.

these people must be living in caves.

Yes, batteries need to charged and yes most of that energy comes from coal.
Don't forget it takes oil to make oil.
BUT. no matter what any electric motor is more Efficient than any i.c.e.

Getting the nation away from fossil fuels in large will be a major challenge but EVs are a small step in the right direction.

Very interesting. For braking, how about having a slide surface on the back that would contact the road surface in an emergency. The rider's vertical position is going to be computer controlled at all times anyway. Lean the whole thing back sharply for parking or when emergency braking. The slide surface could be a high friction substance designed to abrade if necessary. And, if properly designed, the bike itself could take some of the force of the crash and allow the rider's body to decelerate a bit more slowly than a frontal crash. It might be even safer than a motorcycle at equivalent speed.

Also, why do I not see deployable airbags on ultralights, motorcycles, or anything that needs something interposed between the moving person and an object about to be hit? Just curious...

I must admit that this is the perfect transportation for committing suicide!!! When a motorcycle gets rear-ended, the driver is usually hurt pretty bad. On this thing, the rear end is you!!! What do you think your chances of survival would be? My guess would be 0.

This is the kind of thinking we need to resolve energy and traffic issues.

This is the kind of thinking we need to resolve energy and traffic issues.

Interesting concept but it will never go further than Jay Leno's garage and into the general public as fart as practicality and safety is concerned. But still a neat platform for a student to learn about engineering.

There might be a real Tony Starks after all..hehe..great idea! :]

I'd rather have a gas powered scooter, or motorcycle!

It looks cool, but honestly it seems a terrible idea to me. No way to stop fast, will probably cost a fortune, and if something goes wrong with it's computers while riding, you die.

In my PoSci magazine, to which I have subscribed for about 10 or more years now, it said there was video of this cycle in action. Where?
I followed instructions in the mag to get here and really wanted to see for myself. Hello?

In my PopSci magazine to which I have subscribed to some ten years now, there is a reference to to popsci/inventions and promises video of this cycle in action, bouncing off a car, doing its thing....
I'm not too unsavvy about using pc's and the web. Where is the promised footage?

Great idea, and it really looks cool, but why reinvent the wheel so to speak by making it a unicycle? It already has two wheels, so just put one in front of the other and use known and proven engineering along with the electric motor. No gyro required, no learning required to ride a new contraption, MUCH SIMPLER, MUCH SAFER, A WHOLE LOT CHEAPER and much more likely to sell to a larger market and if China doesn't have a large market, no place does. With one wheel ahead of the other, when it goes into production it could become a necessity instead of a curiosity, especially if China were to pass a law banning gas powered scooters and China is great at passing laws requiring whatever it wants. Hope you take some advice from an old biker's two cents worth.

power i wonder what kind Yılan yağı
not only is this just cool but all the amputies coming from war will now(soon) have a normal life. Kargo 1 out of 1 people found this comment helpful Cargo second is Lida power i wonder what kind of battery pack it requires to run one of those

Gulak drew up a plan for an all-electric unicycle that would emit no fumes and, he figured, be easier to weave through crowded streets than a standard two-wheeler, this is really a great feature,I'm thinking can we use some coupons for that?

I can't help thinking that this is a exercise in engineering as apposed to a practical or marketable product. Normal motor cycles and peddle cycles are dangerous enough to weave in and out of city traffic, the prospect of these inherently unstable machines attempting the same beggars belief. I've no doubt the guy will go far, but not sitting aloft of one of these I think. One spin off I can see from large numbers of these on the streets, would be rapid advances in facial reconstruction techniques.

What a brilliant productization!

Kudos for style, simplicity of design and innovation!!!

A previous commenter questioned the cost associated with the electronics. He might be surprised to find that the electronics package is simple and can be inexpensive. The processor, it's peripherals and two axis gyro can be cobbled together for the cost of a meal and in production quantities made very inexpensively. The electronics package, coupled with the motor controllers, could be the size of an iPOD and sealed from the environment. Where the design has few moving parts or complex mechanisms, it should be relatively easy to manufacture, resulting in a low cost.

If these things take off and become main stream, they would be *very* inexpensive to purchase, own and operate.

> luke123abc: now, what i find hard to understand about this thing is that its probably going to cost a fortune with the electronics inside it... in stead though, maybe for a cheaper version, bars that have shocks on them and wheels underneath could maybe stabalize the bike so the electronics wouldnt be so complex that way, they can still lean in a turn and turn tightly without falling or having complex systems to stop it from falling

Hey, luke123abc - check your facts...

Imagine a city with no cars! where the trip from the subway to the office was on one of these things.

Many of you have posted on the obvious issue of hard braking. It seems to me like those of you who have posted this type of question have a) never ridden a motorcycle, or b) any other kind of high-speed sport (like snowboarding, etc). Over-braking on a regular motorcycle will put you on your face without some level of skill. If you want to stop this sucker on a dime, all you would have to do is lean it back until your mass was far enough behind the center of gravity to push your weight directly down on the axle. The same principle applies to snowboarding, ice-skating, etc. You lean hard when you start to brake, and gradually ease out of the lean as you come to a stop. Any skilled rider could probably do this the first time on one of these!
I think your idea ROCKS dude, keep up the awesome work. PS. I would ditch the double wheel thing though... it looks more complicated than it needs to be. Putting one foot down to balance when stopped is pretty standard stuff for anything with less than 3 wheels. People will get it.

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I think your idea ROCKS dude, keep up the awesome work. PS. I would ditch the double wheel thing though... it looks more complicated than it needs to be. Putting one foot down to balance when stopped is pretty standard stuff for anything with less than 3 wheels. People will get it.

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it looks more complicated than it needs to be. Putting one foot down to balance when stopped is pretty standard stuff for anything with less than 3 wheels. People will get it.

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gyroscope and a control system that both keeps the rider balanced over the tires and
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This is so cool. i would totally buy it!!!

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in the article in the magizene it said it couldnt go that fast... not sure i want it anymore.

wow, this is amazing.

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In my PopSci magazine to which I have subscribed to some ten years now, there is a reference to to popsci/inventions and promises video of this cycle in action, bouncing off a car, doing its thing....
I'm not too unsavvy about using pc's and the web. Where is the promised footage?

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this is amazing but i am having troubles by turning on the roads. how about the balance ?

Cam Balkon
www.cambalkonsistemleri.com

Not sure I can see the point of this.

An ordinary motorcycle also has 2 wheels, uses the gyroscopic effect of the wheels to keep balanced and provides the thrill of riding at speed in the open air.

But it does not have to have the extra overhead of another gyroscope to balance the rider, software to keep the balance, mechanisms to keep the two wheels on the road. etc...

It seems you only keep on this uni-bike because of software!

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this is amazing but i am having troubles by turning on the roads. how about the balance
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