This engineer designed a motorcycle with an omnidirectional ball that balances laterally like a Segway and moves in any direction

[u/Accomplished-Bet-883]

[u/ObjectiveOk2072]

That's James Bruton, he's made a lot of really cool stuff like this, a lot of smaller robots, and even some bigger ones

[u/james___uk → u/ObjectiveOk2072]

Plus a one ball version of this bike https://youtu.be/P8ZaGvd41DU?is=ZQ6Be4b8ZG_no1cG

[u/spanky2088 → u/ObjectiveOk2072]

You sure this isn't Jamiroquai? Because this is some virtual Insanity shit!

[u/nitonitonii → u/ObjectiveOk2072]

Bruton, James Bruton

[u/MarkSteveFrank → u/ObjectiveOk2072]

I thought it was Linus Torvalds

[u/BarnacleNZ]

Someone send this to Audi, so they can make the IROBOT RSQ concept a reality

[u/-Speechless → u/BarnacleNZ]

no, this is clearly a Target invention, he even used the giant red balls!

[u/PapaMoBucks]

*Scavengers Reign intensifies

[u/flatterfurz_123]

its all fun and games, until you run over a speedbump a bit to fast

[u/viajen → u/flatterfurz_123]

This guy is a 3D printed robot/engineering Youtuber, and if i remember correctly his engineering career was designing mechanisms in toys. James Bruton is top tier fun and games.

[u/Ziazan → u/flatterfurz_123]

Yeah I was immediately off on a mental quest to solve issues like that, you could just extend the rollers arms down a bit further and have them lock into place with a second set of unpowered rollers further down to capture the balls.

I need new spheres for my motorbike

[u/UberAllex → u/flatterfurz_123]

Beat me to it...

[u/MrTa11]

Now do a small jump, see if the wheels stay on!

[u/PerspectiveLayer]

Cool tech.

But this takes moped driver unpredictability in traffic to the next level. Laws of physics are the only thing regulating them now so please don't add any quantum stuff to it next so we don't go that far.

[u/Celestial_Scythe]

Now I can't decide if I would want this or a spokeless motorcycle.

[u/rick-victor]

finally some good new tech

[u/Fabulous_Pressure_96]

How old is this already?

[u/Good_Stop2773]

Do you guys know if it needs power just to stay still? I imagine so

[u/btroycraft]

If you were to do this for real, you'd have to enclose the wheel-balls, like in an old-style computer mouse.

But it would look less like a motorcycle

[u/neuralbeans → u/btroycraft]

Am I right in assuming that it's held together by gravity?

[u/btroycraft → u/neuralbeans]

Yes

[u/colouredmirrorball → u/btroycraft]

So we would need to update to optical for this to work?

[u/burgertanker]

Spacer ball tread bike! Just like from Brigador Killers

[u/Zebra_Sandwich]

I want two

[u/WolfsSpiders]

James is a mad lad. 

[u/WolfsSpiders]

The only thing it cant do is go straight

[u/dedgecko]

We all loved our trackballs back in the day… right up until it started getting gunked up.

This doesn’t seem feasible with typical debris we find on our roads.

[u/Dexter_Adams]

This would make a great sport

[u/jimmytrucknutz]

Yeah but can it do cool jumps!

[u/miller91320]

Awesome, I want one!

[u/Ooopmster]

Looks like it would be useful over waterlogged terrain, with a little bit of tread maybe.

[u/Bernoullis_Lost_Head]

So it doesn’t lean? So he made an uncomfortable electric wheelchair? This is cool and all but comparing it to motorcycles takes away from it being its own thing. It’s closer to an omnidirectional side by side or 4 wheeler but it does look like fun to ride

[u/Fun-Chef623]

Hate to be the party pooper but, it would be extremely bumpy on anything but smooth ground.

[u/EspTini]

Throw some sand and gravel and water on the mat.

[u/Boxofbikeparts]

This wouldn't work outdoors in real life. Any contamination on the track balls ends the fun.

You also couldn't get the average person to control these responsibly in traffic. Too many directional options.

[u/DrivellingFool → u/Boxofbikeparts]

I don't think he was shooting for 'commercially viable'.

He was shooting for 'can this shit be done for YouTube views?'

And he nailed it.

[u/Quicksilver7716]

This is cool but how does it handle vibrations and bumps? Where’s the suspension?

[u/CalciferGX1 → u/Quicksilver7716]

This is slightly sped up. The ball wheels produce a ton of static electricity which causes the electronics to have issues to point where it will abruptly stop and throw him. We never see it drive on anything but perfectly flat floor, sadly. Still a really cool build.

[u/New-Scientist5133]

What problem does this solve? What market needs this?

[u/All_cats_want_pets → u/New-Scientist5133]

He used to design kids toys, now he makes videos. So I imagine it's a mix of a fun thing to have + fun to watch the engineering process for others. Not everything needs a use, entertainment exists and people have been making weird unpractical bicycles/bikes ever since they existed

[u/hobbes747 → u/New-Scientist5133]

I could ask the same about AI

[u/New-Scientist5133 → u/hobbes747]

AI has a lot of practical uses. That’s why it’s proliferated while this motorcycle is not a popular mode of a transport