The

Honda commonly known as just Honda, is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate automotive manufacturer headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Founded in October 1946 by Soichiro Honda, Honda has bee ...

U3-X is an experimental self-balancing one-wheeled

personal transporter A personal transporter (also powered transporter, electric rideable, personal light electric vehicle, personal mobility device, etc.) is any of a class of compact, mostly recent (21st century), motorised micromobility vehicle for transporting an ...

shown in 2009.

History

Honda U3-X in motion Honda Collection Hall

It was unveiled by Honda's CEO on September 24, 2009, and it was announced that it would be shown at the 2009

Tokyo Motor Show The , called (TMS) until 2023, is a biennial auto show held in October–November at the Tokyo Big Sight, Tokyo, Japan for cars, motorcycles and commercial vehicles. Hosted by the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association (JAMA), it is a recog ...

. ''

Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

'' magazine called it one of the 50 best inventions of 2009. In April 2010, Honda engineers did a short demonstration of two of the devices in

Times Square Times Square is a major commercial intersection, tourist destination, entertainment hub, and Neighborhoods in New York City, neighborhood in the Midtown Manhattan section of New York City. It is formed by the junction of Broadway (Manhattan), ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. In May 2010, Honda representatives demonstrated the U3-X at the

Honda Collection Hall The Honda Collection Hall is a transport museum housing a collection of Honda consumer- and racing-oriented artifacts. It is on the grounds of the Twin Ring Motegi race track located at Motegi, Tochigi, Japan. It opened in 1998. It is operated by ...

in Motegi, Tochigi,

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

Honda presented the

Honda UNI-CUB The Honda UNI-CUB is a concept 2-axis self-balancing personal transporter for use in barrier-free indoor environments, and shown at the Osaka Motor Show 2013. History As a successor to the 2009 Honda U3-X, it was demonstrated at the Osaka Moto ...

, a successor to this device at Osaka Motor Show 2013.

Design and operation

Honda developed the U3-X with technology originally developed for

ASIMO ASIMO (Advanced Step in Innovative Mobility) is a humanoid robot created by Honda in 2000. In 2002, there were 20 units of the first ASIMO model produced; three different ASIMO models subsequently followed. As of February 2009, there were over ...

the bipedal human robot project. Honda states that the "U" stands for unicycle and for universal. It weighs and travels at , a similar speed to the Toyota Winglet. Honda U3-X is a compact experimental device that fits comfortably between the rider's legs, to provide free movement in all directions just as in human walking - forward, backward, side-to-side, and diagonally. It uses Honda Omni-Traction (HOT) drive system to permit it to move in any lateral direction. The system uses multiple small diameter motorised wheels connected inline to form one large diameter wheel. Rotating the large diameter wheel moves the U3-X forward and backward, while rotating the small diameter wheels moves it side-to-side. Combining these movements causes the U3-X to move diagonally. It has not been announced yet whether the vehicle will be offered for public sale. The price is not announced yet.

Specifications

Honda stated the U3-X key specifications as follows: * Length * Width (stowed) * Height (stowed) * Weight < * Top speed * Drive system: Omni Traction Drive System * Battery type:

Lithium-ion battery A lithium-ion or Li-ion battery is a type of rechargeable battery that uses the reversible intercalation of Li+ ions into electronically conducting solids to store energy. Li-ion batteries are characterized by higher specific energy, energ ...

* Operation time: ≈ 1 hour

References

External links

Honda U3-X Personal Mobility Device in NY
indoor and outdoor demonstrations, April 2010. U3-X Electric concept cars Robotics at Honda One-wheeled balancing robots Personal transporters {{vehicle-stub

History

Design and operation

Specifications

See also

References

Further reading

External links