Honda U3-X

Honda's latest concept design, the U3-X, has more in common with a unicycle than a traditional scooter or motorcycle, and will revolutionise 'personal mobility' says the Japanese company.

The odd-looking device is ultra-compact, about the size of a tennis racquet, and will be launched at the 2009 Tokyo motor show on October 24th.

It has a top speed of "less than" 6 km/h and Honda says the tech-toy was created with the elderly as a target demographic.

The president of Honda, Takanobu Ito, said, "I may want to use it in my home. It'd be easier to get around so I might really use it if my legs grow weaker."

Honda sees space in the market for its mobility product, a concept not unlike the futuristic Segway, that negates the need for walking long distances or short.

Composed of a tiny figure eight-shaped capsule of sorts, the U3-X has fold out seat pads and foot pegs plus several wheels of various sizes working in tandem to ostensibly form a single 'wheel' that allows the device "free movement in all directions just as in human walking - forward, backward, side-to-side, and diagonally" says the Japanese company.

Honda claims this makes the U3-X the world's first omni-directional driving wheel, nicknamed the HOT (Honda omni traction) Drive System. It features a self-levelling system to keep it upright while the rider controls directional movement by shifting weight in the desired direction.

Like the Segway, the device has a certain nerd appeal and would potentially find favour in the world's largest and most congested cities with early adopters being the tech-savvy. It will probably also be ridden Pankun the chimp.

Using balance control technology, which Honda first dabbled with during robotics development, the U3-X looks fairly intuitive (see the video below). Honda says that the high-tech unicycle was "designed to be friendly to the user and people around it by making it easier for the rider to reach the ground from the footrest" while also "placing the rider on roughly the same eye level as other people or pedestrians".

What we don't know is how long the batteries last and/or recharge times.

On the subject of unknowns, there is also a chance of a highly competitive U3-X racing division emerging in the future, where riders from all walks of life compete in daring dashes around office carparks. An off-road version would be fun too.