As personal transporters such as the Segway increase in popularity, it's only natural for enthusiasts to make their own versions or improve on the original. One example of this is by Markus Limseth who has used similar design theory and technology to make his own self-balancing unicycle with Arduino.
The physiclal structure is quite simple, and with a 600W motor and a 10 Ah battery the unicycle can have a range of around ten kilometres. The electronics are comprised from off-the-shelf parts and with a weekend or two you can be motoring along on your own version, as show in the following video:
It would also be a good idea to wear a helmet. Otherwise for the details, visit Markus' Instructable page. And for more, we're on facebook, twitter and Google+, so follow us for news and product updates as well.
If you're interested in making your own self-balancing or autonomuos device such as the unicycle above, you'll need an inertial measurement unit (IMU) and here at Freetronics we have our new 9-DOF IMU module:
With an onboard accelerometer, gyroscope and magentometer your project will have a wide variety of data to work with, and doing so is very easy. We have libraries for both Arduino and Raspberry Pi to get you started. We even included an onboard voltage regulator and logic level shifters, so you can connect it directly to either 3.3V or 5V microcontrollers right out of the box. Just plug and play!
Our 9-DOF Inertial Measurement Unit module is now in stock and ready to ship, so for more information and to order - visit the 9-DOF Inertial Measurement Unit product page. And to keep up with news, products and more from Freetronics, please follow us on your choice of facebook, Google+, and twitter.
