The UNO Single Seat Urban Transporter

With our inner cities becoming evermore gridlocked, and the issue of traffic congestion becoming increasingly politicised, it’s never made more sense to opt for small, highly agile modes of transport with which you can not only weave through the traffic but which you can park in the tightest of places. We just have to look at the popularity of vehicles such as the Smart Car, to name but one example, to see that many have adopted the idea of owning a secondary vehicle as a means of gaining greater and more convenient urban mobility.

Concepts, such as this UNO – an entry in the 2007 Michelin Challenge Design Competition - are of great interest therefore, as they serve as a tantalising glimpse as to where the future of urban transport is rapidly headed for those of us for whom the ultimate mode of future transport – namely personal air travel – will forever remain unattainable (at least certainly within our lifetimes).

The UNO is a single seat urban vehicle using hybrid hydrogen fuel cells and is powered by independent motors driving each of its wheels resulting in supreme agility which, paired with the wide field of view provided – 30% of the total structure being composed of glazing – should make precision parking a breeze. Interestingly, the headlights as well as the brake and indicator lights comprise of an LED array built into each of the UNO’s main wheels whilst a gyroscopic based motion system – much like that employed in the Segway - providing continuously calculated stability and adaptive handling according to road surface quality.

The UNO is a collaborative concept work overseen by Juan Alberto Cruz Gomez, a 22 year old graduate from Mexico’s Universidad Autonoma Metropolitana (UAM) and further details and imagery can be obtained via this link.