We just lately lined James Bruton’s try and construct an omni wheel bike utilizing components pulled from a hoverboard. Bruton deliberate for this to behave like a hoverboard, however on a a lot bigger scaled and rotated 90 levels relative to the rider. Like a hoverboard, it will stability itself and rotate in place. And due to the rider’s orientation, it may transfer side-to-side. However this did not work in addition to Bruton had hoped, because it was troublesome to regulate. So Bruton took a brand new strategy, upgraded the bike, gave it jet thrusters, and dressed it up as a Star Wars speeder.
The unique plan was to make use of solely the hoverboard electronics and motors, which the rider would management by shifting their physique weight side-to-side (equal to a traditional hoverboard transferring ahead or backward) or by twisting the entrance half of the bike relative to the again half (equal to a traditional hoverboard rotating). However Bruton discovered that troublesome to journey whereas remaining secure. His answer was to implement extra standard handlebar controls.
The brand new handlebars can rotate, but additionally tilt left and proper. Every of these motion axes rotates potentiometers monitored by an Arduino Uno R3. The Arduino, in flip, strikes servo motors that tilt the hoverboard controller boards. So rotating the handlebars left causes one controller board to tilt ahead whereas the opposite tilts backwards. That mimics the impact of a hoverboard rider rotating in place. This lets Bruton management the side-to-side movement and the rotation utilizing the handlebars as an alternative of shifting his physique weight or twisting unnaturally, which is extra intuitive and simpler to grasp.
The precise handlebar additionally has a throttle, which the Arduino displays to regulate the velocity of the jet thrusters. These thrusters are severe enterprise—the type you’d see on a high-end RC jet. They produce thrust by spinning extraordinarily quick and Bruton selected them as a result of this bike rides on omni wheels with free-spinning rollers. As a result of these thrusters and the “gliding” motion made it a pure selection, Bruton added some ornament to make this look a bit like a speeder bike from Star Wars.
Sadly, even the highly effective thrusters Bruton selected struggled to propel the bike. To get transferring, he wanted a push from a good friend. However after he began rolling, the thrusters have been sufficient to maintain him going.