The Zero-Emissions One-Wheeled Motorcycle

The Uno accelerates with a simple lean and turns like a street bike on side-by-side wheels
By Bjorn Carey Posted 05.13.2008 at 1:30 pm 39 Comments

RED HOT ROLLER: Gulak had a custom fiberglass body built for the Uno. Photo by John B. Carnett
Uno
Cost to Develop: $45,000
Time: 2 years
Prototype | | | | | Product
Just before his plane dipped into the clouds above Beijing International Airport two years ago, Ben Gulak caught the last clear view of the sun that he would see for two weeks. On the ground, the 17-year-old, who was on a family trip to China, quickly spotted a source for much of the thick haze hanging over the city: smog-spewing motorbikes. Thousands of them, everywhere. “Right then,” he says, “I decided that I wanted to create an alternative mode of transportation, something clean and compact.”

EASY RIDER : Ben Gulak sits on his self-balancing electric “unicycle” outside his home near Toronto. Photo by John B. Carnett
When he got home, Gulak drew up a plan for an all-electric unicycle that would emit no fumes and, he figured, be easier to weave through crowded streets than a standard two-wheeler. To give the ride more stability, he put the wheels side-by-side just an inch apart and directly under the rider, who accelerates by leaning forward, as he would on a Segway. When the rider leans into a turn, the inside wheel lifts and the outside wheel lowers, so both stay firmly on the ground.

Gulak put off college for a year (now 19, he enrolls at MIT this fall) and began building the Uno at a motorcycle shop outside Toronto. He modified the frame from a Yamaha R1, which is wider than most motorcycles, so it can house the side-by-side wheels. But he quickly realized that he was out of his depth in the electronics department: He would ride the Uno for a few seconds, and the circuitry would catch fire. So he contacted Trevor Blackwell, a robotics engineer who specializes in self-balancing software. With Blackwell’s help, Gulak equipped the Uno with a gyroscope and a control system that both keeps the rider balanced over the tires and manages the suspension.

The Uno’s two wheelchair motors should, theoretically, give it a top speed of 40 mph, but for safety’s sake, Gulak hasn’t taken it above 15 mph yet. “The only way to figure out if an alteration works is to jump on and ride the thing,” he says. “I’m pretty sure I chipped my kneecap in one crash.”

Gulak’s next task is reworking the suspension to handle more drastic leans, but he says he may need some help writing the code that keeps the Uno balanced at faster speeds. “The fundamental tech is figured out,” he says. “It just needs the right people to tweak it.”

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39 Comments

Comments

TAYV
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 05/13/08 at 4:59 pm

now this is cool. make it go to 150km/hr and I'll buy two!

1 out of 2 people found this comment helpful
pdaeges
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 05/13/08 at 9:14 pm

This thing is really cool! If it passed all the safety tests I would definitely buy one.
-Wolfgang

1 out of 1 people found this comment helpful
planite
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 05/13/08 at 11:53 pm

pretty sweet. it wouldnt need to be that fast for scooting around crowded cities and it would be more impressive than a moped.

2 out of 2 people found this comment helpful
hans_lubricant
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 05/14/08 at 4:29 am

And exactly how do you stop this thing without filliping forward?

past say 10 mph you'd do a face plant with any hard stop!

2 out of 4 people found this comment helpful
luke123abc
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 05/14/08 at 7:22 am

now, what i find hard to understand about this thing is that its probably going to cost a fortune with the electronics inside it, not too mention its going to make it like a bike form of a segway. segways are like, 2000 dollars alone and i dont think they could just go out and buy somthing like that for that much money when a cheaper kind of motorbike will suit them just fine. im not saying i like smog im just saying i dont think this will fix it. in stead though, maybe for a cheaper version, bars that have shocks on them and wheels underneath could maybe stabalize the bike so the electronics wouldnt be so complex that way, they can still lean in a turn and turn tightly without falling or having complex systems to stop it from falling

0 out of 0 people found this comment helpful
Davinci
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 05/14/08 at 11:09 am

The design looks fun but dangerous especially if you have to stop fast. The only practical one wheeled motorcycle was developed by Kerry McLean who built a six foot diameter wheel and he and the motor ride inside of the wheel. He turns by leaning and the only problem that he has is with Gerbleing when accelerating and stoping (the inside weight rotates in the opposite direction of the applied force). I think that a gyroscope could help stabilize the ride.

1 out of 1 people found this comment helpful
redwarrior
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 05/14/08 at 8:50 pm

will someone please explain how it does balance itself? I understand a computer is doing it but i dont know how.

It looks like a cool bike, but i think people wont by it until they understand how it works and that its not just for fun, like that huge motorcycle also in that issue.

0 out of 1 people found this comment helpful
zero_emissions_NOT
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 05/14/08 at 11:28 pm

The only way this vehicle can claim zero emissions is if it is charged from power supplied by solar grid or a nuclear power plant or some other non-emitting power source. This is highly unlikely in the US where electrical power is primarily provided from coal-fired or natural gas power plants both of which produce significant emissions.

So unless you live in France, you are still creating emissions with your electric vehicles!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

0 out of 2 people found this comment helpful
rickabruzzo
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 05/15/08 at 4:23 pm

I can clearly see in the photo the vehicle has two wheels. While the wheels are side-by-side, it is not a one wheel motorcycle.

2 out of 3 people found this comment helpful
hippinessrules
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 05/15/08 at 9:39 pm

This seems like a really cool idea.

I would get one as long as it passed the safety test and was a decent price. It look really cool.

1 out of 1 people found this comment helpful
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