Test driving the future
Is Uni-Cub the next Segway? We tried Honda’s new ride
You can’t actually buy one yet, but Honda’s Uni-Cub just might make you feel like Homer Simpson at the old folks home when he said “Here I am, using my legs like a sucker.”
Developed as part of the company’s robotics research, Honda brought this personal mobility device to Toronto on a media tour. It’s most famous use so far has been in an OK Go video.
Uni-Cub looks a bit like a robot penguin, but unlike the Segway, instead of standing, you sit and lean ever so slightly to steer. It moves easily, with a look of your head and subtle weight shift getting you where you want to go.
Designed for people with mobility issues, or for the elderly, it has a top speed of just under10 km/h, can carry someone weighing 220 pounds and has a charge that lasts for an hour and a half.
“This is designed, perhaps, for people that can walk, but can’t walk long distances,” said Honda spokesman Eric Mauk. “So places like shopping malls or museums, this can help people enjoy their mobility longer.”
Like the Segway, the Uni-Cub is being used at some tourist attractions in Japan, though there is no planned release date or price.
It’s been years since I tried out a Segway, but these do feel safer, due to their low speed and the fact that you are closer to the ground and sitting. Stopping is as easy as putting your feet on the ground.
It’s also a much easier and safer ride than one of those two-wheeled scooters that are all the rage with many athletes (and that got Wiz Khalifa arrested last month).
I tried one of those last week and it almost flew out from under my feet.
In contrast, the Uni-Cub was simple to pick up and start whizzing around the office right away.