Ben Gulak (born 1989) is a

Ukrainian Canadian Ukrainian Canadians are Canadian citizens of Ukrainian descent or Ukrainian-born people who immigrated to Canada. In the late 19th century, the first Ukrainian immigrants arrived in the east coast of Canada. They were primarily farmers and l ...

inventor and entrepreneur best known for creating the Uno, an

eco-friendly Environment friendly processes, or environmental-friendly processes (also referred to as eco-friendly, nature-friendly, and green), are sustainability and marketing terms referring to goods and services, laws, guidelines and policies that c ...

, electric-powered vehicle that bears a resemblance to a motorized

unicycle A unicycle is a vehicle that touches the ground with only one wheel. The most common variation has a frame with a saddle, and has a pedal-driven direct-drive. A two speed hub is commercially available for faster unicycling. Unicycling is prac ...

. The vehicle had its first public unveiling in 2008, and was awarded a Top-10 prize on ''

Popular Science Popular science (also called pop-science or popsci) is an interpretation of science intended for a general audience. While science journalism focuses on recent scientific developments, popular science is more broad ranging. It may be written ...

's'' list of 2008 Invention Awards. Gulak founded the

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

-based company BPG Motors, which has also developed a design for the DTV (dual-tracked vehicle) Shredder, a portable all-terrain vehicle with the handlebars of a

Segway A Segway is a two-wheeled, self-balancing personal transporter device invented by Dean Kamen. The name is a registered trademark of Segway Inc. It was brought to market in 2001 as the Segway HT, and then subsequently as the Segway PT. ''HT ...

and treads similar to those of a tank. In 2020, he founded NALA, a

data science Data science is an interdisciplinary academic field that uses statistics, scientific computing, scientific methods, processing, scientific visualization, algorithms and systems to extract or extrapolate knowledge from potentially noisy, stru ...

-driven platform for artists.

Early life

Benjamin J. Poss Gulak was born in 1989 in

Milton, Ontario Milton (Canada 2021 Census, 2021 census population 132,979) is a town in Southern Ontario, Canada, and part of the Regional Municipality of Halton, Halton Region in the Greater Toronto Area. Between 2001 and 2011, Milton was the fastest growing m ...

. He is the only child of Ken and Sylvie Gulak. His father is in the food business, and his mother is a

psychotherapist Psychotherapy (also psychological therapy, talk therapy, or talking therapy) is the use of Psychology, psychological methods, particularly when based on regular Conversation, personal interaction, to help a person change behavior, increase hap ...

. Gulak's grandfather was a

design engineer A design engineer is an engineer focused on the engineering design process in any of the various engineering disciplines (including civil, mechanical, electrical, chemical, textiles, aerospace, nuclear, manufacturing, systems, and struct ...

, and at a young age Gulak would help his grandfather tinker in his basement machine shop. He spent much of his childhood making model trains, rockets, and other projects, and was a fan of inventor

Nikola Tesla Nikola Tesla (;"Tesla"
. ''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. ; 10 July 1856 – 7 ...

. His grandfather died in 2003, and Gulak inherited the machine shop. In ninth grade, he entered a school science fair with a "real simple magnetic car that shot around a track using accelerator coils." He ended up being chosen to represent Canada on an International Level on Team Canada, which consists of 18 people competing against 54 other countries. According to Gulak, his classes subsequently suffered as he frequently skipped school to work on further science fair projects. In 2005, he entered in McMaster Engineering's summer L.E.A.P. program, where he was a team leader in the robotics program and helped the team win a robot-building competition.

BPG Motors

The Uno

While a senior in highschool in 2006, Gulak began working on a design for the Uno following a trip to China with his father. After witnessing major

smog Smog, or smoke fog, is a type of intense air pollution. The word "smog" was coined in the early 20th century, and is a portmanteau of the words ''smoke'' and ''fog'' to refer to smoky fog due to its opacity, and odour. The word was then inte ...

pollution Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into the natural environment that cause harm. Pollution can take the form of any substance (solid, liquid, or gas) or energy (such as radioactivity, heat, sound, or light). Pollutants, the component ...

caused by heavy use of small motor vehicles, he decided he wanted to create an eco-friendly alternative to submit to a science fair. According to Gulak, "I wanted it to be something small enough to store indoors: you could bring it up to your apartment to plug in and charge, and then you could ride it around on the road." His first designs were on

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. His initial design efforts consisted of an iron frame with wheelchair motors, batteries and gyroscopes. He described his first test-ride as "absolutely terrifying" and resulting in a crash and a chipped kneecap. Other early problems, including a series of electrical fires, arose. He was then joined by California-based Canadian

robotics Robotics is the interdisciplinary study and practice of the design, construction, operation, and use of robots. Within mechanical engineering, robotics is the design and construction of the physical structures of robots, while in computer s ...

expert

Trevor Blackwell Trevor Blackwell (born 4 November 1969, in Canada) is a Canadian-American computer programmer, engineer, entrepreneur and roboticist based in England. Blackwell is a developer of humanoid robots. Blackwell is the founder and former CEO of Anyb ...

, and together they refined the Uno's gyro control system so the machine would properly balance and move smoothly. Gulak then used the revised plans to develop a

prototype A prototype is an early sample, model, or release of a product built to test a concept or process. It is a term used in a variety of contexts, including semantics, design, electronics, and Software prototyping, software programming. A prototype ...

vehicle with the help of various partners. The Uno is an electric-powered vehicle that bears a resemblance to a motorized

. Described in news reports as either a "one wheeled

motorcycle A motorcycle (motorbike, bike; uni (if one-wheeled); trike (if three-wheeled); quad (if four-wheeled)) is a lightweight private 1-to-2 passenger personal motor vehicle Steering, steered by a Motorcycle handlebar, handlebar from a saddle-style ...

" or "electric unicycle", it is more accurately a

dicycle A dicycle () (also known as a diwheel) is a vehicle with two parallel wheels, side by side, unlike single-track vehicles such as motorcycles and bicycles, which have two wheels inline. Originally used to refer to devices with large wheels and ped ...

, created by placing two closely spaced wheels side by side at the centre-point of the vehicle. He began building the prototype at a motorcycle shop outside Toronto. He entered his first Uno through Team Canada during the 2008 international science fair. The vehicle had its first public unveiling at the

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

Spring Motorcycle Show in 2008, and was awarded a Top-10 prize on ''

's'' list of 2008 Invention Awards In an episode of the

CBC CBC may refer to: Media * Cadena Baja California or Grupo Cadena, a radio and television broadcaster in Mexico * Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Canada's radio and television public broadcaster ** CBC Television ** CBC Radio One ** CBC Music ** ...

series ''

Dragons' Den ''Dragons' Den'' is a reality television program format in which entrepreneurs pitch their business ideas to a panel of venture capitalists in the hope of securing investment finance from them. The program originated in 2001 in Japan, where it ...

'', Gulak obtained $1,250,000 of venture capital for a 20% share in further development of the Uno cycle. At the time, it was the largest deal in the show's history. He also appeared on ''

The Tonight Show ''The Tonight Show'' is an American late-night talk show that has been broadcast on NBC since 1954. The program has been hosted by six comedians: Steve Allen (1954–1957), Jack Paar (1957–1962), Johnny Carson (1962–1992), Jay Leno (1992–2 ...

'' with

Jay Leno James Douglas Muir Leno ( ; born April 28, 1950) is an American television host, comedian, and writer. After doing stand-up comedy for years, he became the host of NBC's ''The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, The Tonight Show'' from 1992 until 200 ...

to talk about the project. He put off attending

MIT The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of modern technology and sc ...

for a year to work on the project, raising funds and moving to

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

to open a small office in Cambridge. He started the company BPG Motors to develop the motorcycle. He enrolled in MIT in fall of 2008.

The Shredder

At age 22 while at MIT, Gulak partnered with Ryan Fairhead to create the DTV Shredder, an all-terrain vehicle. According to Gulak, "In a recession it doesn't make sense to have to buy an expensive

snowmobile A snowmobile, also known as a snowmachine (chiefly Alaskan), motor sled (chiefly Canadian), motor sledge, skimobile, snow scooter, or simply a sled is a motorized vehicle designed for winter travel and recreation on snow. Their engines normally ...

that you can ride for three months of the year and an

all-terrain vehicle An all-terrain vehicle (ATV), also known as a light utility vehicle (LUV), a quad bike or quad (if it has four wheels), as defined by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), is a vehicle that travels on low-pressure tires, has a seat ...

that you can ride for four months of the year. Ryan wanted to make something small enough that you could fit it in the back of any car. And He wanted it to be something you'd be able to ride all year, whether in snow, sand, or mud." The small vehicle has

-like handlebars, wheels similar to tank treads, and can tow up to 400 pounds. The vehicle became popular with

X Games The X Games are a series of action sports events founded by ESPN Inc. and aired on ESPN networks and ABC. In late 2022, ESPN sold the long-running property to MSP Sports Capital, a private equity firm co-founded by Jahm Najafi and Jeff Mo ...

fans. In late 2010, Gulak posted some videos of a prototype online, which by the next day had accumulated 50,000 hits, and a million hits within a week. Some bloggers assumed it was a new military device, while Gulak claims it was also intended as an extreme sports vehicle.

Early life

BPG Motors

The Uno

The Shredder

References

External links

Further reading