Honda's Answer To the Segway 247
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."
3.7 MPH?! (Score:3, Informative)
That's it? Come on, we can walk faster than that!
Obesity rates? (Score:3, Informative)
Since bone-skinny has become synonym for sexy, healthy and so on, it's become hard to even FIND women with boobs or asses AT ALL.
You must not live in the US because we have female obesity rates above 30% [wikipedia.org].
Re:Good and bad, computer chair version and some b (Score:2, Informative)
Scandinavia. In increasing amounts girls are getting "a little round" because of McDonalds and other US shit, but theres still lots of nice blond girls around. Not obese, not skinny, but just the perfect :) Blond girls with ponytails, ah 3
Not a new thing (Score:3, Informative)
Amazing that Honda with its vast R&D and engineering resources is now able to produce something that one guy as a hobby built designed and built for himself years ago. Gosh, I'm really impressed. I'll have my broker buy me some Honda stock immediately.
Re:Not cool enough (Score:5, Informative)
The real answer is that side to side balance is maintained by precession, (like on a bicycle) combined with some additional balancing by shifting body weight (also critical on a bike). Unlike on a bike, steering based corrections to balance are not present. With sufficiently wide wheel unicycles, wheel geometry becomes the primary side to side stabilzing method.
Steering is completely based on leaning in normal unicycles. Normal bicycles also include an additional steering component (the additional wheel that turns).
Forward and backwards balance is maintained by a combination of of creating a mental feedback loop that causes one to vary cycling speed as necessary to keep the seat roughly upright, along with manually shifting weight forwards and backwards.
For electronic unicycles, steering and side to side balance generally are the same as with manual ones. However the forward and backwards stability does not rely on any weight shifting on the part of the rider, but solely on varying the motor speed as needed to keep the seat upright.
Using a feedback system for keeping the seat upright automatically gives the segway-style speed control on these devices. In order to do more traditional style speed controls requires a more complicated system that varies the angle of the seat that the system tries to maintain as necessary such that the average speed remains as desired. Far more complicated, and not needed, so I've not seen any e-unicycle that does not use segway-style speed control.
There are some tricks that allow steering not based on leaning, and some of the e-unicycle designs I have seen use those, but others use lean based steering which works fine, except for at near stationary speeds, but some of these other systems allow for a smaller turning radius.
Yes, but where is the "RISK OF DEATH" label? (Score:4, Informative)
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 [flickr.com] (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.
Seat design (possible perennial damage) (Score:3, Informative)
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.
Re:Yes, but where is the "RISK OF DEATH" label? (Score:4, Informative)
Re:Yes, but where is the "RISK OF DEATH" label? (Score:3, Informative)