Honda unveils U3-X, a new personal mobility device

[Roq999]

I can just see people modifying the voltage and drag racing these.

[Mechalindsay]

i dont think their goal was to market this exact model, but to demonstrate its possibilities for something that COULD go mainstream, something more practical. You gotta consider that by presenting this invention they are probably getting tons of potential investors from the hype alone, anyone crazy enough to spend the money on it now is just a bonus.

[juki0h]

its unecessary, but looks fun as hell. if your rich, just buy it!

[GayBoyRunning]

The sad thing is this cant go up stairs :(

[MasterMark123]

interesting yet, whats the point ? they seem really really slow ....you can walk faster

[khbikhib]

ohhhhhhhhhh what the.............

[Zerapolis]

The target demographic is likely the elderly, not the obese (as with most robotic innovations from Japan). A large and increasing percentage of the Japanese population is over 65; they are experiencing negative growth.

U3-X is an elegant solution to improve elderly mobility and is significantly better than the alternatives (visit 'The Scooter Store' for comparisons).

[qixxxz]

how much does that guy charge to follow you around and catch you when you fall?

[bill0756]

An electric moving thing...so what? The question is, and always has been with electric mobility devices, how long do the batteries last and how long does it take to recharge?

[pruxor]

what about speed bump, hole, squirrel? where is the airbag?

[NLS87]

Now let's RACE IT!

[RedCodeStudios]

does it work on rugs so you could use it as a chair in an office or some thing.

[WhatThePresidentSays]

will there be a Type-R version?

[TheJustinfernandez]

where do i leave my groccery`s ?

[paterson44]

is this hovering on air?

[psykick77]

Needs more turning ability.

[AwasomeGamerGuy]

if i used that i would be afraid of falling

[SumthinMstBAvailable]

How does it stay up right like that? Without tipping over to the side?

[michaelm8890]

but the question is, Will it Blend?

[bliglum]

The ultimate barstool!!!

[ledzeppeman]

it needs a touchscreen, with a gps or somehting.

[Asiats1]

Honda U3X = 4km/h. Supports up to 100lb

Segway = 30km/h Supports up to 350lbs

Gee, it's a tough decision! ;)

[RebornStarscale]

If I were rich, and had the money to be that rich crazy ceo, I would LOVE one of these.

[0o0Auron0o0]

omg how to ride this? oO

[BlackyFive000]

lol on the driving school ^^

[allamericankiller]

they should hook up one of those to one of those brain wave readers

[QualityControlTV]

they spent millions making something that we can all do from birth. We can WALK faster than this.

It's 2011 where are the jet packs and flying cars they promised me on the Jetsons?

We're going in reverse.

[txsizedballz]

Fire their CEo for supporting this idea. A waste of money on a mass market level. Its slow, and is an expense with for any company without a very slow rate of return. Where is this supposed to be used? not on the streets, malls, or homes. Please, someone tell me how they could see this helping them at home or work.

[izzy226]

it would be more better with something to support your back in my opinion

[10431567]

@izzy226 You have never used it, so how would u know. And I know you can't tell just by looking at it.

[cannonridge216]

@izzy226 they are trying to make it as small and portable as possible.

[jukio02]

@izzy226 they'll probably have different versions of it, if they do plan on selling them

[DannyJustiniano]

@izzy226 that wat i was thinking.. that'd be much more comfortable and I'd actually want it..

[freeminecraft100]

@izzy226 im shure u coiuld attatch somthink on it lol or attachables with it

[Fergo73]

@izzy226 Try a wheel chair then...man!?!?!

[XTCMatrix]

I would just try to push everyone I see on those :(

Yeah.. I'm bad

[Bullsight2020]

How many times must you clean the wheel compartment out each day?

[hunter4477]

this thing better have a radio

[cgkfox]

The one now looks way easier to control, judging by the rec3nt videos.

[nyclear]

I don't really get it from a mass appeal level. It's clear that it's cool but who is buying this? The morbidly obese would like it but don't think they would fit on it. Who wants to do this instead of walk?

[jukio02]

@nyclear rich people who can buy it just for fun or the hell of it

[FrankzTerz]

Yes but will it blend?

[gp500champion]

@ verdemanthe1

this should not be the demographic a bunch of obeast 300+ pound people. There are many more uses where the U3x would be useful. Hospitals, Factory assembly work, office work. come on really! over weight people is its only use? Problem with the 300+ pound people is they need to get up off there fat ass's.

[stnweeks]

@gp500champion What about the people who did not have a choice about being obese, I know a few people who got overweight from bad disability s. why don't they fucking make something for them or the people who dont have legs to walk on cause of spinal problems or were just plain born without any legs.

[21mugen82]

would be nice if that thing includes toilet.. XD ... Lol, Mobile Toilet....

[J040Z1NH0]

Will it blend?

[Celicagamer]

slower than walking, i wonder if this will be the next x-treme sport XD

[Laevi1337]

It cant turn? How do you turn when your at cruising speed?

[605manuel]

i want one ..

[canadianassassin79]

honda....best engineers ever

[omeane]

they need that here in america that way everyone can be jabba the hut

[jamialonnes]

is this on sale now? or they need 10 years more?

[theawesomone]

2 axis segway

[auzio]

hopefully this can evolve into something that people who use wheelchairs could use to move around but still stay upright.

[ryukenlmaoyes]

or you can just walk for free...

[DaeOh]

You lean to make it move? :/

[kmp3000]

What happens when you get to a hill?

[ronniegranillo]

I'm tilting side ways!

[08Cuz08]

it needs a way of spinning easily, would have much more control

[Technolab]

great toy to play with, awesome for the office walk ~intern~ thanks for sharing

[pope8620]

How do you roll down the windos?

[soniyapk]

wow! awesome balance and it is small! i want one too. no! more than one.

[CainmosniMirrored]

You have to love the Japanese and their useless inventions. This thing has ZERO practical uses. This device is just a showcase of the technology and will never be manufactured on a large scale.

[zenirjones]

sugoi!!!!

[sohiln]

Gran Turismo 7 will have these things as unlockables.

[gdiggle123]

screw a scooter im getting THis when im old

[detibry]

one thing these are good for...office jousting.

[profitsprout]

The only demographic I can see this benefiting are people aged 65+ or have problems walking. I'd buy this for my Grandma.

[phtmexplo]

Imagine their robot "Asimo" sitting on this !!! hmm, no w8, he can walk :)

[newedgepnoy]

The only use I see for this is as a replacement for the wheelchair. But, it seems like it requires some manipulation with your feet so it's completely useless for people who are paralyzed.

[idioticrandomguy]

I'd buy it just for the noise it makes.

[WisdomVendor]

that makes a segway seem like an ancient artifact.

[alnassralsaudi]

nice

[KipBurbank]

Awesome. Very Jetsons.

[netmatrix75]

They should re-engineer this to the current wheelchair design.

[bleucheese14]

Where's the cup holder?

[MrSquid21]

@bleucheese14 XD

[youngrelleus19]

@bleucheese14 lmao

[foxarasta]

@bleucheese14 your sitting on it xD

[potate311]

This is just Honda saying, "Yeah, we know we are BAMFs." The thing showed in the video may seem pretty useless, but it is just a demonstration of the awesome balancing and propulsion systems at work.

[shamalawy]

@potate311 yup, you got that right bro

[smithra555]

Smooth...........Real Smooth.....

[super6plx]

I want one :D

[mrdifar]

Well, if streets and sidewalks get carpeted it would be almost as fast as walking... but not quite.

Maybe it would be a good addition for someone recovering from a foot or leg injury to use around the house.

[grubbygrubber69]

wow...how cool,the new rolling chair of the future....excellent !

[glynbrain]

The president of Honda not wearing a tie? Now that's REAL power.

[jevajevajevajeva]

Does it have a weight limit?

[rickpaulos]

Lets see what happens when you hit a raised door sill?

[7075403942]

That would be a fun job

[ProductionsBoyCrazy]

LMAO XD It looks fun but thats bout it.

[MajorDiarriah]

Considering the design choices, this is more a mobile stool then a unicycle vehicle. Realizing that makes it more interesting. For transportation, the Enicycle is much better because it can turn and go faster.

[revenant3154]

How do you maneuver it?

[stevostevie]

Japan, making people lazier one step at a time.

[SelSun83]

wonder what's the MAX weight? I mean if americans wanna try those things ;PPP

[BandosSizeRS]

sound: ooooiiiiiiouuoiuiououoiuouiuo!­!!!

lol xD

[TarikuKunn]

top speed?

horsepower?

[Abomb520]

looks uncomfortable. I'll just walk...

[sovietmarxist]

that looks uncomfortable, what's the point anyway?

[agormanvideos]

The wheelchair of the future?

[TAXavier]

@agormanvideos A wheelchair has more features than that

[Eightball69]

Surely walking across the room would be more efficient?

[brk74]

just wait until the x-games gets a hold of one.

[defacedlawngnome]

funny thing is that the cops in my town have segways at the moment. won't be surprised if they get these in the near future. now i wonder if you shoot an emp at a segway, does it come to a sudden stop and the rider fall off?

[gangsta287]

does not look comfortable

[myshoescramp]

ha ha get two and strap em to your legs.

[beingVISUAL]

i proper lol at this comment!!

[nephil1977]

Didn't Segway already do this?...

[beingVISUAL]

only two wheel's.

here is shown one. using gravity sensor, more efficient. and sitting down is better :DD

[fojowell]

According to an article related to this in a magazine, they(Honda) seem to think that they apply this technology to "bike itself keeping its balance" in the future. may be...

[upallhours9]

Awesome!!

[Broadplay]

Great! When it realese i buy it!

[verdemanthe1]

The question is will this carry a person 300+lbs because thats your demographic right there.

[Nevoexpo]

Great, a lovely chair.

[cube60659]

i'd get one

[garagecrap]

I wana know how it stays up so straight!

[la12muerta]

probably an inner gyroscope

[MasterHasbar25]

@garagecrap kriss angel controls them with his mind!

[ChineseLearn]

lazy lazy lazy!!!

[pppxtwo]

we all getting Fatter! but some need it.

[exdav123]

they should make these illegal to people who can walk -_-

[oshirogama]

It could be very useful for people with special needs or some kinf of physical problem.

I like it.

[bignickkay]

Now imagine 15 yrs in the future the majority of us live in cities and we can ride these in the now covered streets that dont contain pulluting transport, you can program your destination and ride while you read, surf or watch TV, thats the real futue you just dont now it yet !

[nick2191993]

yeah itll be great going 5 miles an hour all the way to work on the other side of town, who would like being on this thing for 12 hours

[CeruleanDragon1]

@bignickkay I've always thought that the movie Wall-E got the image of our future pretty down pat... or at the very least I want one of the hover chairs from it. :)

[darkcowofthenorth]

@bignickkay but we'll all be fat

[ben3580]

Slower than walking, less comfortable, and more effort.

...and it makes an noise that would become annoying the moment it stops being cool (probs 5 mins)

[RANGONO]

this would b cool if u could take it on the streets like somthing u would see in the jetsons

[daefta]

Why would people be in need of such a vehicle? It's our laziness that drives those inventions forward. I rather use my legs and stay healthy instead of growing larger and larger...

On the other side it could be of use to people whose mobility is limited.

[manofsan]

Mobile Stool Gundam

[aries1g]

@manofsan Rofl. yeah, this is the first step

[baalzaeb]

hmmm..maybe we can use it into restroom!

[SuperGrandson]

Honda es Honda

[batlin]

It may be a novelty /now/, but this kind of device will probably be everywhere in ten years. Looks both fun and eerie, gliding along like some ghost!

[RandomInsano]

I can see this somehow turning into some manner of Back to the Future skateboard.

[rickvanhattum]

thats what i thought it was when i started the other movie clip :D

[Asus047]

I wonder if the sitting position on it is really good for the back.

[aspensti]

if you sit on it properly, good posture is always good for your back.

[bikenik]

Why does the woman in the tan jacket think she can safely travel backwards without looking where she is going?

[Ryckster1]

Bring it over -- I'll buy it!

[MOFUZION]

i want to try this machine it looks fun.

[acaahearts]

it cant turn. that will be a prob. looks fun

[Brendakov]

The user turns it. It doesn't look that hard to do, you use your feet as demonstrated in the video....

[Warhammerwarrior]

but can it run Crysis?

[ThomasHawkwood]

I'd like to see a robot stuck on top.

[spazz0id]

Actually that's a good point. Why don't they use this as the platform that their Asimo is sitting on instead of legs? ...of course then..you'd have "Rosie the Robot" from the Jetsons LOL

[J4KETS]

thats so weird. do you shift your weight to make it move?

[Youbian]

was rather getting tired of chunky folding bikes.

[pechiko]

結構煩いんだなあ

でも欲しい。

[SuperkatCoolmax]

It makes a lot of noise! Or not?

[krUsberry]

To quote Richard hammond from topgear: "Will they make a big one for fat people?"

[warhymn]

It doesn't seem to have any practical applications as it stands. A person can easily walk faster. I'm also certain the battery life will be a big issue with such a small device. Definately under 30 minutes. Like less than 20 if in constant use. Perhaps this can be a forerunner to improved mobility for the disabled. Otherwise, It looks like just another novelty toy for those with more money than sense.

[dachupathingy]

it may be a novelty, but it's a very cool novelty! lol

[zimtower]

Lol, the only excercise you could get from this is from twisting motion to rotate the vehicle. I can see this technology being applied for disabled mobility such as grandma or for lazy obese people. Kind of reminds me of Wall-E as what technology such as this can do to people.

[dyceast]

Everyones going to be obese soon lol

[blueboi05]

The wheel design would be AWESOME on like a chair. Primarily i'm thinking for the office. :D

[killbucket1]

Ultimately useless, because it moves more random than controlled. But close!

[mongolia4ever]

if the squeeking sound is fixed then it will be perfect in museums, shopping centers or in art galeries! lol just imagine all the people in the museum is using this segway thingy

[dondemonie]

going to be a lot of broken toes when they hit the kerbs. The cobblers will be delighted with the repair work on the worn-out shoe tips.

[RWBHere]

Hitting a kerb would be very painful for the cobblers! ;-)

[MR2Nutts]

the i-VTEC version costs 1 million more yen.

[HuntmanC68]

i just think it would be funny to see a person on one of these hit a bump and tip over and crash

[JUKIO01]

it will most likely be used indoors in smooth surfaces.

[zan5hin]

They should implement some sort of collision detection local bluetooth network, so you could have a bunch of people in an office all jetting around on these :D

[Pleasestopissinmeoff]

NEETO!!

[Ellsswhere]

as an industrial designer a few things immediately struck me. Its still more about design than function... remove the fancy folding seat and use that space for a larger battery. Also add small petals on the footrests for rotation as it seems everyone has to put their feet down to turn the device... this would make it possible to add some height to the device so the rider looks and feels more comfortable

[GuitarSauce]

Another YouTube demo of this little machine, titled The Personal Hovercraft, shows someone going faster, riding in circles, and turning--all without touching the floor with his feet. I should think the lower center of gravity would be central to design / function (what happened to form = function?!). If the lower wheel were taller or higher, mightn't it require more energy to operate it?

[Wikipunani]

I heartily agree its more about design than anything else.

Regardless, without the quantum leap in battery technology we've all grown inpatient for, this, along with so very many other newer ideas, is a mere novelty.

Perhaps if we could take the obvious nervous energy of the rider and somehow transfer that to the battery ... LOL

[77Reaver77]

Great another way to make people fatter..

[wadfine]

ever thought its for the disabled?

[Esherm55]

Everyone riding them looks so uncomfortable, like there about to fall forward.

[bfayer]

they use those same multi-directional wheels on luggage unloaders

[rdog4020]

Oh great, now the Americans arn't the only fat people, soon the whole world will be.

[ka7end]

lol when we get fat, we cant ride on it

[muycordell]

It should be called the ULook-Dumb

[zipzapzowy]

More like, that is what your comment should be called... because it makes ULook-Dumb

[n3rdbear]

This is the next step into the evolution of sportbikes. With this technology, one-wheeled Ninja ZX-R's are almost near. O_O

[earthinfused]

akira!

[valereydyachuk]

This device will stay in Japan ONLY because in other civilized countries the company will get sued out of all its money the very first week this things comes out. This thing is a slip and fall lawyer's dream come true. Those lawyers will switch from chasing ambulances to chasing people who are riding on top of these porta-potties.

[13R1CK4]

lol. I what to see a fat person try one.

[H2JKAY]

Japanese are more advanced than many so called civilised countries that making that spend time to find out how to keep on stealing from other country.

[zipzapzowy]

I enjoyed the clarity of that statement. The Japanese have never been involved in anything like you speak of... oh wait... korea. Now, I love Japan and it's people, but I don't know of any major country that doesn't have skeletons of some sort in it's closet. On a different note, Amazing innovation!

[DBDP3]

Very neat

[InsideLosAngeles]

Why not, just walk? Obviously it doesn't look like it caters to people who are disabled in the leg.