Honda U3-X Personal Mobility Device Concept

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What comes to mind when you hear the words “personal mobility device”? Do you get visions of wheelchairs or of George Costanza scooting down the sidewalk being chased by a geriatric biker gang? I, for one, conjure up mental pictures of the Segway. You remember that one, don’t you? Wasn’t it supposed to change the way people got around? Yeah, that worked out, didn’t it? Now, unless you’re a mall cop or a tourist you probably won’t ever find yourself on one of those over-hyped gadgets…ever. Well, the ever-inventive folks at Honda have once again attempted to bring us the next generation of personal mobility devices, the U3-X.

Honda’s U3-X is being touted as the next big thing in personal mobility. Basically, it’s a motorized unicycle that lets you travel in just about any direction. And to make sure you can get around on it without having any sense of balance, they’ve integrated the same balancing system used in their ASIMO robots. You remember the ASIMO robots for Beck’s Hell Yes video, don’t you?

Anyway, the U3-X uses small, in-line motor-controlled wheels connected to create a single large wheel. Movement of the large wheel allows for forward and backward motion, while the smaller wheels allow for sideways movement. If you move both sets of wheels at the same time you get diagonal movement. Too bad Honda doesn’t have a cool name for this technology. I’m just kidding, they do. Honda calls it the Honda Omni Traction Drive System, or HOT Drive System.

The U3-X weighs in at around 22-lbs and sports a rechargeable Li-ion battery that provides for up to one hour of operation on a single charge. Honda will demonstrate the U3-X at the 41^st Annual Tokyo Motor Show scheduled to begin on October 24^th.