Chan's Gingerbread Man Who Doesn't Give Up
Shane Chen, the inventor of the monocolice and hoverboard, recently started collecting money for a Kickstarter for a new device. The miniature eight-inch two-wheeled monowheel Solowheel Iota, according to Chen's plan, should be a compact answer to the “last mile problem”. Under the cut - more detailed characteristics of the device, video and some of my thoughts.
Photo: Inventist
The video shows a prototype of Iota (the design of the final devices will be different).
UPD: There was a translation of the video into Russian.
')
Iota will need to have the following characteristics:
The production model will need to have a more advanced design:
Photo: Inventist
Technically, the Iota is a monowheel with two wheels instead of one wheel. In this case, 8 "is the typical diameter of the wheel of the hoverboard.
From left to right: 18 '' Solowheel Extreme monowheel, 8 '' Solowheel Iota prototype, 8 '' Hovertrax hoverboard, photo by Inventist
Add a second wheel to the usual monowheel came up with anonymous Chinese engineers a few years ago, and similar devices have already received the Russian name "Tutsikl." Tricycles were relatively common a year or two ago, but now they have practically disappeared. The advantages of a four-inch wheel tricycle are great stability, easy training, the ability to stand still, overlap with disadvantages - large tricycles were heavier, had worse maneuverability and slower speed. At the same time, for the small Iota, these flaws may not be noticeable. High speed is not expected from him initially, and the second small wheel will not add much weight. Even if Inventist underestimated the mass of the serial device (they already had such a story with Solowheel Extreme), the mass of 5-6 kg will still be very small.
Curiously, Chinese firms are already producing their eight-inch monowheels, but they all have one wheel and are distinguished by a rather large, upwardly extended body.
Funny, but the smallest monowheel was invented by the Chinese company Gotway and has an even smaller diameter - 5 inches. At the same time, despite the practically pocket size, they even managed to shove a headlamp into it.
Judging by the video, small monowheels are characterized by poor lateral stability, and the two wheels of the Iota can improve the usability. Also Iota will be the first Solowheel monowheel with a built-in handle, the Chinese thought of this useful addition before Chen.
35 of 50 thousand dollars have already been collected, and the Kickstarter campaign will most likely be successful. As for the potential success of Iota, it is difficult to say something definitely here. Giroskuter objectively worse in quality of transport than the monowheel, but, thanks to the markedly lower cost and ease of training, has become much more popular. On Iota, you can drive a few kilometers from / to the public transport stop or leisurely ride through the park, provided that there is excellent asphalt on the road without curbs. For other tasks, it is of little use. But a relatively small price can lead to the fact that Iota will press the hoverboard in their niche. Besides, let's not forget that Chinese copies will appear very soon, which will cost even less.
I do not think the current terms of copyright retention are adequate, but Shane Chen is very sorry. He came up with two really new and wonderful devices - a monowheel and a hoverboard. But they were instantly copied by the Chinese, who began to produce them in much larger quantities than Chen Inventist. It is good that these very offensive events did not break Chen, and he continues to invent the transport of the future.
Photo: Inventist
The video shows a prototype of Iota (the design of the final devices will be different).
UPD: There was a translation of the video into Russian.
')
Iota will need to have the following characteristics:
- Weight: 3.6 kg.
- Wheel diameter: 8 inches (20 cm), inflatable wheels.
- Width: 17.8 cm.
- Travel range: up to 12.8 km.
- Maximum rider weight: 133 kg.
- Motor power: 1000 watts.
- Battery Capacity: 100 Wh
- Charging time: 40 minutes
- Cost: $ 600 ($ 395 on Kickstarter).
- Planned release date: September 2017
The production model will need to have a more advanced design:
Photo: Inventist
Technically, the Iota is a monowheel with two wheels instead of one wheel. In this case, 8 "is the typical diameter of the wheel of the hoverboard.
From left to right: 18 '' Solowheel Extreme monowheel, 8 '' Solowheel Iota prototype, 8 '' Hovertrax hoverboard, photo by Inventist
Add a second wheel to the usual monowheel came up with anonymous Chinese engineers a few years ago, and similar devices have already received the Russian name "Tutsikl." Tricycles were relatively common a year or two ago, but now they have practically disappeared. The advantages of a four-inch wheel tricycle are great stability, easy training, the ability to stand still, overlap with disadvantages - large tricycles were heavier, had worse maneuverability and slower speed. At the same time, for the small Iota, these flaws may not be noticeable. High speed is not expected from him initially, and the second small wheel will not add much weight. Even if Inventist underestimated the mass of the serial device (they already had such a story with Solowheel Extreme), the mass of 5-6 kg will still be very small.
Curiously, Chinese firms are already producing their eight-inch monowheels, but they all have one wheel and are distinguished by a rather large, upwardly extended body.
Funny, but the smallest monowheel was invented by the Chinese company Gotway and has an even smaller diameter - 5 inches. At the same time, despite the practically pocket size, they even managed to shove a headlamp into it.
Judging by the video, small monowheels are characterized by poor lateral stability, and the two wheels of the Iota can improve the usability. Also Iota will be the first Solowheel monowheel with a built-in handle, the Chinese thought of this useful addition before Chen.
35 of 50 thousand dollars have already been collected, and the Kickstarter campaign will most likely be successful. As for the potential success of Iota, it is difficult to say something definitely here. Giroskuter objectively worse in quality of transport than the monowheel, but, thanks to the markedly lower cost and ease of training, has become much more popular. On Iota, you can drive a few kilometers from / to the public transport stop or leisurely ride through the park, provided that there is excellent asphalt on the road without curbs. For other tasks, it is of little use. But a relatively small price can lead to the fact that Iota will press the hoverboard in their niche. Besides, let's not forget that Chinese copies will appear very soon, which will cost even less.
I do not think the current terms of copyright retention are adequate, but Shane Chen is very sorry. He came up with two really new and wonderful devices - a monowheel and a hoverboard. But they were instantly copied by the Chinese, who began to produce them in much larger quantities than Chen Inventist. It is good that these very offensive events did not break Chen, and he continues to invent the transport of the future.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/400991/
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