Science Fiction Dictionary
A  B  C  D  E  F  G  H  I  J  K  L  M  N  O  P  Q  R  S  T  U  V  W  X  Y  Z

 

When Will I Get My Unipod Gyro Balanced Personal Vehicle

Syd Mead supplied his (as always) excellent concept art for the idea of a Unipod Gyroscopically Balanced Personal Vehicle:

As Technovelgy readers know, I'm very attached to Robert Heinlein's tumblebug from his 1940 novelette The Roads Must Roll:


(Heinlein tumblebug from Astounding SF June 1940)

Even earlier, there is this idea, although it uses two wheels: the gyrocar from a 1911 story Two Boys in a Gyrocar the story of a New York to Paris motor race:


See if you can find a prototype Unipod Gyroscopically Balanced Personal Vehicle in these links:

  - EMBRIO Embodies The Tumblebug
  - Eunicycle Single-Wheel Gyro-Stabilized Scooter
  - Segway Robotic Mobility Platform Looks Like A Tumblebug
  - Tango Motorcycle Monocycle Like Heinlein's Tumblebug
  - Self-Balancing Unicycle - Heinlein's Tumblebug
  - eniCycle Self-Balancing Tumblebug
  - Honda U3-X Self-Balancing Unicycle Video
  - Self-Balancing Unicycle Mythbuster Video
  - SBU Self Balancing Unicycle Perfected In V2.0
  - Solowheel Self-Balancing Unicycle
  - Self-Balancing Electric Unicycle By MIT Student
  - Honda's Tumblebug - The UNI-CUB beta
  - RYNO To Heinlein - Your Tumblebug Is Ready!
  - Pinwheel Battery-Powered Unicycle Is Segway In Your Price Range
  - Ninebot One Self-Balancing Wheel
  - Solowheel Xtreme Heinlein Tumblebug Video
  - Hi-Yo Modobag! Away!
  - InMotion Glide 3 Electric Unicycle For The Last Mile
  - Electric Unicycle Is A Tumblebug
  - InMotion V11 Electric Unicycle Gets Air (Video)
  - Electric Monocyle Tumblebug Available On Alibaba

Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 3/13/2022)

Follow this kind of news @Technovelgy.

| Email | RSS | Blog It | Stumble | del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit |

Would you like to contribute a story tip? It's easy:
Get the URL of the story, and the related sf author, and add it here.

Comment/Join discussion ( 0 )

Related News Stories - (" Vehicle ")

The 'Last Mile' In China Crowded With Delivery Robots
Yes, it's a delivery robot. On wheels.

Musk Idea Of Cars Talking To Each Other Predicted 70 Years Ago
'My cars talk to one another.' - Isaac Asimov, 1953.

Waymo And Tesla 'Autonomous Cabs' Are Piloted By Remote Drivers
‘Where to, sport?’ the starter at cab relay asked. - Philip K. Dick, 1957.

Maybe It's Too Soon To Require Autonomous Mode
'I hope all those other cars are on automatic,' he said anxiously. - Arthur C. Clarke, 1976.

 

Google
  Web TechNovelgy.com   

Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Invention Timeline, or see what's New.

 

 

 

 

Science Fiction Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's   1950's
1960's   1970's
1980's   1990's
2000's   2010's

Current News

Replace The Smartphone With A Connected Edge Node For AI Inference
'Buy a Little Dingbat... electropen, wrist watch, pocketphone, pocket radio, billfold ... all in one.'

Artificial Skin For Robots Is Coming Right Along
'... an elastic, tinted material that had all the feel and appearance of human flesh and epidermis.'

Robot Guard Dog On Duty
I might also be thinking of K-9 from Doctor Who.

Wearable Artificial Fabric Muscles
'It is remarkable that the long leverages of their machines are in most cases actuated by a sort of sham musculature...'

BrainBridge Concept Transplant Of Human Head Proposed
'Briquet’s head seemed to think that to find and attach a new body to her head was as easy as to fit and sew a new dress.'

Google's Nano Banana Pro Presents Handwritten Math Solutions
'...copy was turned out in a charming and entirely feminine handwriting.'

Edible Meat-Like Fungus Like Barbara Hambly's Slunch?
'It was almost unheard of for slunch to spread that fast...'

Sunday Robotics 'Memo' Bot Has Unique Training Glove
'He then started hand movements of definite pattern...'

Woman Marries Computer, Vonnegut's Dream Comes True
'Men are made of protoplasm... Lasts forever.'

Natural Gait With Prosthetic Connected To Nervous System
'The leg was to function, in a way, as a servo-mechanism operated by Larry’s brain...'

Spidery 'Walk Me' Toyota Autonomous Wheel Chair Like Star Wars
Walk along with the emperor.

Dancing Robots Taught Dance Moves
'A clockwork figure would be the thing for you...'

Proof Of Robothood - Not A Person
'Who are you people? - Show 'em.'

Indonesian Clans Battle
'The observation vehicle was of that peculiar variety used in conveying a large number of people across rough terrain.'

The 'Last Mile' In China Crowded With Delivery Robots
Yes, it's a delivery robot. On wheels.

Tornyol Microdrone Kills Mosquitoes
'The real border was defended by... a swarm of quasi-independent aerostats.'

More SF in the News Stories

More Beyond Technovelgy science news stories

Home | Glossary | Invention Timeline | Category | New | Contact Us | FAQ | Advertise |
Technovelgy.com - where science meets fiction™

Copyright© Technovelgy LLC; all rights reserved.