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Pedal power

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Japanese electronics parts maker Murata Electronics' "Murata Seiko-chan" displays its unicycle riding skill at its demonstration at CEATEC Japan in Chiba on Tuesday.

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Big heart full of electric wires.

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Of course this robot is a female. Only females ride unicycles in Japan. Usually females under 10 years old.

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Wow...and looks like it'll fill a useful niche, too...

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It is a single wheel direct drive, it isn't a standard unicycle, uses the same balance engineering as a segway.

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That is what I thought. A one wheel Segway. Must infringe on multiple global patents. This thing will never see the light of day on a store shelf.

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What happened to Murata Seisaku-kun, the boy riding a bicycle? Are they riding side by side?

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Does this remind anyone of something that belongs in "Ghostbusters?"

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If Im not mistaken, Murata makes power tools. I just can't see a carpenter going into a hardware store and ordering a couple of these.

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Obviously an attempt to replace carpenters with unicycling power-tools.

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i had a little problem when i hear the name at fist. it sounds like Psycho-chan!!!

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This is useless.

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This is useless.

Not entirely. It's a proof of concept. You pretty something up, something that can wow people. The tech can be used in more useful applications. So yeah, useless as shown. Some of their findings during dev. will show up elsewhere.

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a child's toy that amuses is NOT a useless thing at all. As m5c32 pointed out it is also a proof of concept.. the 1 wheeled balance act that is precise enough to work even on a wire? That is not a segway patent infringement, that is a BIG step beyond.

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Yeah. This is serious science. Don't be fooled by the packaging.

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This is much more difficult to control and stabilize compared to Segway. Segway needs to keep the balance only in one axis so only wheel is enough for that but this system requires to keep the balance at all directions, which can be done by the gyro inside the chest of the system. Murata is doing these staffs not to sell it but to promote its products sensor etc and to show what can be done by using its products.

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Boorrriiiinnnnngggggg... Any wonder Japanese electonic makers have fallen on hard times if this is what the R&D is being wasted on?!?

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There is a guy in makezine that made similar thing but only costs him only 10-20 bucks maybe even less. Basically, a motor spinning a heavy plate, like a gyro.

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Notechatall:Thats Makita with them Powerful tools I remember Murata from a commercial they did some time ago:"Murata haite imasu ka"/Does it have Murata inside?" to tell the people what their company is about:small, but important electronic parts. And I have to agree with ases 200g2, calling this just balancing is like comparing a paper plane to a jet-plane. Its balancing, finding a path, and moving forward on it. Fields of use: Mars exploration, disaster-help, soldier-robot, to name a few.

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Maybe boring, but designing a device that can remain balanced on a unicycle wheel has merit in the goal to develop a truly autonomous robot able to operate in less than ideal conditions (narrow walkways exposed to high wind, for example). Between this and that robot dog thing from a few years ago, some amazing things are being done with automation.

(Robot dog video at youtube dot com slash watch?v=W1czBcnX1Ww)

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I'm amazed by the ignorance on this site sometimes. They are not making this product for the sake of making this product or for selling this product. It is a tool for displaying the technology they have acquired or are working on. Would you rather attend a slide-show lecture explaining the technology or see this? Which is easier to appreciate?

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