Wednesday, 10 June 2015 16:33

Just a Wheel

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In 2012, the first Solowheel patent was granted. Since then, three more patents have been issued in the United States and other countries. To understand the physics behind the Solowheel, think about the last time you went ice skating.

Your feet were relatively free to move over the slick surface of the ice. When you skate in a straight line on one foot, you can see your foot steer right and left to balance your body. This observation has been turned into a concept that has been transferred to the Solowheel to help you balance and steer with ease. How? With your feet low to the ground and your legs resting against the pads, your lower body acts as one unit, like skating on one skate.

The human foot has a small mass that is easier to rotate and manipulate independently of the body than the larger mass of the hip. Using your feet to steer and balance is much easier than using your hips which is what traditional unicycles draw on.

Designing a simple means of transportation for all that is portable, convenient and reduces the harm of traffic on the environment is the goal behind the Solowheel. Therefore, the Solowheel had to be a wheel and nothing but a wheel: no brake pedal, no accelerator, no seat, and no steering wheel, not even a key. Just a wheel.

Mr. Chen loves the combination of exercise and fun brought about by sports. In his spare time, he windsurfs, speed skates, swims and dives, skis and snowboards to name a few. These activities have all helped inspire his numerous inventions. Just as sport represents human achievement, so he strives for his inventions to do the same. During the research and development phase of inventing, Mr. Chen experiments with a wide range of technology from the advanced all the way to the most basic mechanical concepts. His diverse life experiences combined with his drive to promote a more natural and healthy way of life help his current creations evolve and will no doubt inspire the ones yet to be thought of.

"Our mission is to develop sports-related products that are genuinely new, fun to use, and add an element of fitness at the same time," says Chen. The line of Solowheel products answers this calling.