| last updated: Friday 25 September 2009, 09:42am |  Print this page |
Honda unveil 'future of indoor transport'
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Honda have unveiled an electric battery-powered personal transporter they say may be the future of indoor transportation in Japan.
The unicycle unit called U3-X, shaped like the number eight, can be steered by leaning in the direction the rider wants to travel. It is similar to a Segway but is more compact and can be easily stored in the boot of a car.
Japanese traffic restrictions have meant Segways and other similar vehicles are virtually impossible to use except indoors.
With a maximum speed of nearly 4 mph, or about the pace of brisk walk, indoors would be a natural environment for the U3-X.
'I am convinced that this new mobility unit, which uses the balance technology we developed through our research on the Asimo robot, will bring us a step closer to creating a fun transportation mode that will also open the way forward to infinite possibilities,' Honda CEO Takanobu Ito told reporters.
Ito added however that the vehicle is purely in the development stage and the carmaker has no plans to sell it yet. Japanese media reported that Honda expects the vehicle maybe used in airports or hospitals one day.
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