Onewheel

Onewheel is a self-balancing electric board-sport, recreational personal transporter, often described as an electric skateboard. Onewheel was invented by Kyle Doerksen, the CEO and founder of Future Motion Inc. Future Motion Inc. is headquartered in Santa Cruz, CA with manufacturing of the Onewheel in San Jose, CA. The product has been featured in publications such as CNET, Sports Illustrated, Business Insider, and Popular Mechanics.[1][2][3][4]

Future Motion Inc.
Privately Held
IndustryElectronic Transport
Founded2013
FounderKyle Doerksen
Headquarters
Santa Cruz, CA
,
United States
ProductsOriginal Onewheel, Onewheel+, Onewheel+ XR, Onewheel Pint
Websiteonewheel.com

Four models have been released since 2014:[5]

  • Original Onewheel
  • Onewheel+
  • Onewheel+ XR
  • Onewheel Pint


History

The Onewheel was invented by Future Motion Inc. founder and CEO, Kyle Doerksen. Doerksen holds multiple engineering degrees from Stanford University. Doerksen spent 8 years creating Onewheel prototypes before starting Future Motion Inc. in 2013. Doerksen founded Future Motion Inc. in 2013 and launched Onewheel on Kickstarter on January 6, 2014 . The Kickstarter exceeded its campaign goal of $100,000 and reached over $630,000 by January 27, 2014.[6] Future Motion Inc. was first headquartered in Mountain View, California, in 2013. In 2015 Future Motion Inc. moved its headquarters to Santa Cruz, California and operated out of the Old Wrigley Building. In 2018 it moved to a 60,000 sq ft (5,600 m2) facility within Santa Cruz city limits.[7]

Onewheel models
Model Onewheel Original[8] Onewheel+[9] Onewheel+ XR[10] Onewheel Pint
Typical range 4–6 mi (6.5–9.5 km) 5–7 mi (8–11.5 km) 12–18 mi (20–30 km) 6–8 mi (9.5–13 km)
Top speed 12 mph (20 km/h) 19 mph (30 km/h) 19 mph (30 km/h) 16 mph (25 km/h)
Recharge time 20 min 30 min 100 min (60 min with Hypercharger) 120 min (50 min with Ultracharger)
Weight 25 lb (11 kg) 25 lb (11 kg) 27 lb (12 kg) 23 lb (10 kg)
Motor 500 W transverse flux hub V1 750 W Motor HYPERCORE 750 W Motor HYPERCORE 750 W Motor HYPERCORE V2
Battery 130 Wh Lithium Iron Phosphate (LiFePo4) 48 V 130 Wh Lithium Iron Phosphate (LiFePo4) 48 V 324 Wh NMC battery 148 Wh NMC battery
Tire 11.5 × 6.5-6 in Vega GO-KART 11.5 × 6.5-6 in Vega GO-KART 11.5 × 6.5-6 in Vega GO-KART 10.5 x 4.5-6 in
Max lean angle > 30 degrees > 30 degrees > 30 degrees > 30 degrees
Dimensions 9 in × 11.5 in × 30 in (23 cm × 29 cm × 76 cm) 9 in × 11.5 in × 30 in (23 cm × 29 cm × 76 cm) 9 in × 11.5 in × 30 in (23 cm × 29 cm × 76 cm) 8.75 in × 10.5 in × 27 in (22.2 cm × 26.7 cm × 68.6 cm)
Announcement date January 2014, Kickstarter January 4, 2017 January 8, 2018 March 12, 2019
Availability Discontinued Discontinued Available Available

Operation

The Onewheel is ridden by mounting the board with rear foot first and then placing the front foot on the pad pressing both sensors. When the rider comes to level, the motor will engage and begin self-balancing. The Onewheel will accelerate forward when the rider leans forward and decelerate when the rider leans back. Turning is accomplished similarly to a skateboard or snowboard. Leaning the body toward toe or heel side of the board will cause the board to track side to side.

Dismounting the Onewheel is accomplished by slowing to a stop and lifting the heel of the front foot off the sensor pad. This disengages the motor and the rear of the board can be lowered to the ground allowing the rider to step off the board. The Onewheel Pint model has an additional dismounting mode called Simplestop. With Simplestop engaged, the rider only needs to slow to a stop and then slowly roll back and the board will disengage, allowing the rider to dismount. When the board tilts backwards against the volition of the rider, it is known as push-back.[11] The board's system does that in order to limit the speed.[12] When the front of the board hits the ground, it is known as nose-dive.[13][14][15]

All Onewheels are usable independently of a smartphone, however, riders can use Bluetooth to connect to the Onewheel App with which the user can make changes to different functions of the Onewheel.

The Onewheel App has been through many iterations and was first released alongside the Onewheel Original in 2014 for Android and iOS. The app allows the user to be able to monitor their Onewheel, and change the way it rides.

Notable events
  • Launch – On January 6, 2014 (the day of its initial launch on Kickstarter) Onewheel was unveiled to the public at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES).
  • Race for the Rail – As part of the GoPro Mountain Games, Future Motion Inc. hosted their own annual Onewheel competition named "Race to the Rail". The first competition took place in 2017 and was most recently held in Northstar, Lake Tahoe.
  • LA Pop-Up Shop – In December 2019, Onewheel opened their first retail store for a weekend in Chinatown in Los Angeles.
  • ISPO AWARD – In 2016, Onewheel received the ISPO Award for its work in the wheeled electronics category.[16]

Similar devices

Self-balancing "1-wheel" scooters have been produced by Ben Smither[17] since 2006 from the UK with the help of open source information shared by Trevor Blackwell. Smither's design used a motor with a band to rotate the wheel.[18]

References
  1. "Test driving the Onewheel+ XR on the streets of New York". CNET. 2018-09-14. Retrieved 2018-10-30.
  2. Newcomb, Tim (6 January 2016). "Tech Talk: Onewheel offers every board rider a whole new on-land sport". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 7 February 2016.
  3. Tweedie, Steven (9 April 2015). "I rode the one-wheeled skateboard of the future around New York City — and people kept stopping me to ask where to get one". Business Insider. Retrieved 7 February 2016.
  4. George, Alexander (10 April 2015). "This is What it's Like to Ride a One-Wheeled Skateboard". Popular Mechanics. Retrieved 7 February 2016.
  5. "Onewheel Website". Retrieved 31 October 2018.
  6. "Onewheel :: The Self-Balancing Electric Skateboard". Kickstarter. Retrieved 2018-10-31.
  7. Gumz, Jondi (October 30, 2018). "Startup Onewheel embarks on expansion". Santa Cruz Sentinel. Retrieved October 31, 2018.
  8. "Onewheel_Owners_User_Manual_v1.0" (PDF). p. 41. Retrieved 10 October 2019.
  9. "Onewheel_UserManual_v2.3" (PDF). p. 54. Retrieved 10 October 2019.
  10. "Onewheel_UserManual_v2.3" (PDF). p. 55. Retrieved 10 October 2019.
  11. "5 Onewheel Safety Tips to Prevent Injury and Save Lives". oneradwheel. Retrieved 30 August 2019.
  12. "Push Back". Onewheel. FUTURE MOTION INC. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
  13. "Onewheel Nosedive – Onewheel Crash". E-surfer. December 23, 2017. Retrieved 25 September 2019.
  14. "GLIDER for Onewheel Ride safe, ride smart, and never lug around your Onewheel again". SynergyWiz. Retrieved 2 October 2019.
  15. "Onewheel Nosedive Wheels". The Sideways Movement. Retrieved 2 October 2019.
  16. "Pure Innovation". Ispo.com. Retrieved 2018-11-02.
  17. Smither, Ben. "robosys - balancing board". Robosys.
  18. Smither, Ben (March 4, 2007). "Ben Smither - Balancing Scooter/Skateboard". YouTube.

Further reading
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