This is the U3-X, a bizarre honda Creation that it Honda says has been designed in pursuit of 'harmony with people' - although it could just as easily be described as 'silliness with people
Unicycles don't tend to be at the cutting edge of transport technology, but that is the essence of Honda's latest gadget, the U3-X - it's a hi-tech unicycle.
The technology behind the U3-X is derived originally from Honda's 'ASIMO' robot project and uses a series of small wheels housed within a larger wheel to allow the U3-X user to move in any direction they want.
Honda calls this the Honda Omni Traction drive system (HOT for short) and describes it as "the world's first wheel structure which enables movement in all directions including forward, backward, side-to-side and diagonally". We thought that had been already done before and called 'the ball', but you live and learn.
Like other quirky personal mobility systems before it - in particularly the more-than-faintly-ridiculous Segway - users (riders?) simply lean in the desired direction of travel.
The U3-X is also designed to be eminently portable, being small enough to carry under one arm and weighing less than 10kg. Useful for when its lithium-ion battery pack runs out of juice after an hour of use.
Honda is set to unveil its motorised stool at the Tokyo motor show towards the end of the month. But don't get too excited - the U3-X is just an experimental concept for now with no plans for production.
Experimental mobility concepts do occasionally leak into reality, of course, the aforementioned Segway for one. The Sinclair C5 famously made it to market in 1985, though it did have some natural enemies, such as hills. A mint-condition example of the ultra-rare symbol of technological frivolity recently surfaced on the PH Classifieds, and was snapped up within hours - presumably by somebody who lives in a very flat place, where everything is very close to everything else.
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