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Self-balancing Unicycle
An electric unicycle (often initialized as EUC or acronymized yuke or Uni) is a self-balancing personal transporter with a single wheel. The rider controls speed by leaning forwards or backwards, and steers by twisting or tilting the unit side to side. The self-balancing mechanism uses accelerometers, gyroscopes, and a magnetometer. In 2020, suspension models were introduced by three major manufacturers Begode, Kingsong and Inmotion. Operation Commercial units are self-balancing in a forward and backward direction, with side-to-side (lateral) stability being provided by the steering motions of the rider, similar to Bicycle and motorcycle dynamics. As of 2022, no commercial human-rideable unicycle has lateral self-balancing capabilities. However, a non-ridable, dual-axis self-balancing unicycle was demonstrated in 2012, with small, lightweight robots using a large weighted reaction wheel or control moment gyroscope. The control of a unicycle can be considered to be an inverte ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Paris Without Cars 2015 Unicycles
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Since the 17th century, Paris has been one of the world's major centres of finance, diplomacy, commerce, fashion, gastronomy, and science. For its leading role in the arts and sciences, as well as its very early system of street lighting, in the 19th century it became known as "the City of Light". Like London, prior to the Second World War, it was also sometimes called the capital of the world. The City of Paris is the centre of the Île-de-France region, or Paris Region, with an estimated population of 12,262,544 in 2019, or about 19% of the population of France, making the region France's primate city. The Paris Region had a GDP of €739 billion ($743 billion) in 2019, which is the highest in Europe. According to the Economist Intelligenc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eunicycle
A Eunicycle is a computer-controlled, partially self-balancing, motorized unicycle invented by Trevor Blackwell. It uses a computer control system similar to the one used by the Segway HT that servos its wheel to balance itself by keeping the contact point of the wheel below the center of mass of the vehicle in the front-to-back direction. To balance from side to side, the rider must rotate the vehicle the same way a unicyclist does, enabling the balancing servo to balance in the new direction. The Eunicycle is based on an open design; the engineering drawings and control software source code are available from the website. See also * Bicycle and motorcycle dynamics * Self-balancing unicycle * Uno dicycle * Wheel in B.C. (comic strip) ''B.C.'' is a daily American comic strip created by cartoonist Johnny Hart. Set in prehistoric times, it features a group of cavemen and anthropomorphic animals from various geologic eras. ''B.C.'' made its newspaper debut on February 17, 19 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Electric Bicycle
An electric bicycle (e-bike, eBike, etc.) is a motorized bicycle with an integrated electric motor used to assist propulsion. Many kinds of e-bikes are available worldwide, but they generally fall into two broad categories: bikes that assist the rider's pedal-power (i.e. pedelecs) and bikes that add a throttle, integrating moped-style functionality. Both retain the ability to be pedaled by the rider and are therefore not electric motorcycles. E-bikes use rechargeable batteries and typically are motor-powered up to . High-powered varieties can often travel more than . E-bike use is growing in some markets, as they are seen as an eco-friendly and healthy alternative to cars, fossil fuel-powered mopeds and small motorcycles, and a less physically intense alternative to conventional bicycles. Depending on local laws, many e-bikes (e.g., ''pedelecs'') are legally classified as bicycles rather than mopeds or motorcycles. This exempts them from the more stringent laws regarding t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ballbot
A ball balancing robot also known as a ballbot is a dynamically-stable mobile robot designed to balance on a single spherical wheel (''i.e.'', a ball). Through its single contact point with the ground, a ballbot is omnidirectional and thus exceptionally agile, maneuverable and organic in motion compared to other ground vehicles. Its ''dynamic stability'' enables improved navigability in narrow, crowded and dynamic environments. The ballbot works on the same principle as that of an inverted pendulum. History The first successful ballbot was developed in 2005 by Prof. Ralph Hollis of the Robotics Institute at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU), Pittsburgh, USA and it was patented in 2010. The CMU Ballbot is built to be of human size, both in height and footprint. Prof. Hollis and his group at CMU demonstrated that the ballbot can be robust to disturbances including kicks and shoves, and can also handle collisions with furniture and walls. They showed that a variety of interesti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Segway Inc
Segway Inc. is a Chinese owned, formerly American manufacturer of two-wheeled personal transporters, chiefly through its Segway PT and Segway miniPro product lines. Founded by inventor Dean Kamen in 1999, the company's name is a homophone of the word "segue". Segway Inc. was headquartered in the U.S. state of New Hampshire and primarily marketed its products to various niche markets, including police departments, military bases, warehouses, corporate campuses, and industrial sites. It has held some key patents on designs for self-balancing personal transporters, although some of them have since expired. Since the Chinese company Ninebot acquired it in 2015, Segway has focused on developing a stronger presence in the consumer market with smaller products such as the Segway miniPro. History Origins The first patent by Dean Kamen for a self-balancing transportation device was filed on February 23, 1993, and granted on December 30, 1997, in relation to the iBOT, a self-balancing ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Analog Science Fiction And Fact
''Analog Science Fiction and Fact'' is an American science fiction magazine published under various titles since 1930. Originally titled ''Astounding Stories of Super-Science'', the first issue was dated January 1930, published by William Clayton, and edited by Harry Bates. Clayton went bankrupt in 1933 and the magazine was sold to Street & Smith. The new editor was F. Orlin Tremaine, who soon made ''Astounding'' the leading magazine in the nascent pulp science fiction field, publishing well-regarded stories such as Jack Williamson's '' Legion of Space'' and John W. Campbell's "Twilight". At the end of 1937, Campbell took over editorial duties under Tremaine's supervision, and the following year Tremaine was let go, giving Campbell more independence. Over the next few years Campbell published many stories that became classics in the field, including Isaac Asimov's ''Foundation'' series, A. E. van Vogt's ''Slan'', and several novels and stories by Robert A. Heinle ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Harry Harrison (writer)
Harry Max Harrison (born Henry Maxwell Dempsey; March 12, 1925 – August 15, 2012) was an American science fiction author, known mostly for his character The Stainless Steel Rat and for his novel ''Make Room! Make Room!'' (1966). The latter was the rough basis for the motion picture ''Soylent Green'' (1973). Long resident in both Ireland and the United Kingdom, Harrison was involved in the foundation of the Irish Science Fiction Association, and was, with Brian Aldiss, co-president of the Birmingham Science Fiction Group. Aldiss called him "a constant peer and great family friend". His friend Michael Carroll (author), Michael Carroll said of Harrison's work: "Imagine ''Pirates of the Caribbean'' or ''Raiders of the Lost Ark'', and picture them as science-fiction novels. They're rip-roaring adventures, but they're stories with a lot of heart." Novelist Christopher Priest (novelist), Christopher Priest wrote in an obituary Career Before becoming an editor and writer, Harrison ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Science Fiction
Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel universes, extraterrestrial life, sentient artificial intelligence, cybernetics, certain forms of immortality (like mind uploading), and the singularity. Science fiction predicted several existing inventions, such as the atomic bomb, robots, and borazon, whose names entirely match their fictional predecessors. In addition, science fiction might serve as an outlet to facilitate future scientific and technological innovations. Science fiction can trace its roots to ancient mythology. It is also related to fantasy, horror, and superhero fiction and contains many subgenres. Its exact definition has long been disputed among authors, critics, scholars, and readers. Science fiction, in literature, film, television, and other media, has beco ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Robert Heinlein
Robert Anson Heinlein (; July 7, 1907 – May 8, 1988) was an American science fiction author, aeronautical engineer, and naval officer. Sometimes called the "dean of science fiction writers", he was among the first to emphasize scientific accuracy in his fiction, and was thus a pioneer of the subgenre of hard science fiction. His published works, both fiction and non-fiction, express admiration for competence and emphasize the value of critical thinking. His plots often posed provocative situations which challenged conventional social mores. His work continues to have an influence on the science-fiction genre, and on modern culture more generally. Heinlein became one of the first American science-fiction writers to break into mainstream magazines such as ''The Saturday Evening Post'' in the late 1940s. He was one of the best-selling science-fiction novelists for many decades, and he, Isaac Asimov, and Arthur C. Clarke are often considered the "Big Three" of English-language sci ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Roads Must Roll
"The Roads Must Roll" is a 1940 science fiction short story by American writer Robert A. Heinlein. It was selected for ''The Science Fiction Hall of Fame, Volume One, 1929–1964'' anthology in 1970. The story is set in the near future, when "roadtowns" (wide rapidly moving passenger platforms similar to moving sidewalks, but reaching speeds of 100 mph) have replaced highways and railways as the dominant transportation method in the United States. Heinlein's themes are technological change and social cohesion. The fictional social movement he calls "functionalism" (which is unrelated to the real-life sociology, sociological theory functionalism (sociology), of the same name), advances the idea that one's status and level of material reward in a society must and should depend on the functions one performs for that society. Plot summary In the first section of the narrative, a stormy meeting takes place at a Sacramento Sector Guild Hall of the technicians working "down inside", am ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Motorcycle Suspension
A motorcycle's suspension serves a dual purpose: contributing to the vehicle's handling and braking, and providing safety and comfort by keeping the vehicle's passengers comfortably isolated from road noise, bumps and vibrations. The typical motorcycle has a pair of fork tubes for the front suspension, and a swingarm with one or two shock absorbers for the rear suspension. Front suspension The most common form of front suspension for a modern motorcycle is the telescopic fork. Other fork designs are girder forks, suspended on sprung parallel links (not common since the 1940s) and bottom leading link designs, not common since the 1960s. Some manufacturers (e.g. Greeves) used a version of the swinging arm for front suspension on their motocross designs. A single-sided version of the idea is also used in motor scooters such as the Vespa. The hub-center steering as developed by Ascanio Rodorigo, on a concept associated to Massimo Tamburini is a complex front swingarm alternat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
