Manufacturer Ethical Responsibilities

[Hunka Hunka Burning Love]

With Microworks teasing us with their 40B controller board with no speed limit, I wonder whether manufacturers are struggling with the dilemma of how fast should they make their EUC's go.  On one hand, speed demons and thrill seekers will always want the latest and greatest fastest wheel out there just like motorcycle enthusiasts snap up Suzuki Hayabusa's that go at 248 MPH (399 KPH).  On the other hand, how many motorcycle deaths and accidents occur every year because of excessive speed?

Should manufacturers limit the top speed of EUCs for our own good?  What's a safe top speed?  If motorcycle companies did that, we'd have motorcycles with top speeds of 50 KPH.  Is that any fun?  Or should manufacturers put out the fastest EUC's they can produce while concentrating on maximizing safety (ie. backup controller boards, BMS cut off prevention measures, powerful motors that can handle any load/hill, etc)?  I have a feeling that right now, most likely are saying something like "We'd better limit this wheel to XX KPH for the safety of our customers or people will start dying."  Yet motorcycle and automobile makers don't take that into consideration as they feel the responsibility should be in the rider's/driver's hands.

If we're in the Ford Model T age of electric unicycle transportation, do you feel that manufacturers should only limit their wheels to the capabilities of the electric motor/battery combination?  If they can develop a motor capable of high speed while having a good reserve of power to overcome hills/sudden acceleration demands/heavy riders and a battery pack to match, do you feel that a EUC's top speed should be limited for our safety? 

Interestingly enough the Ford Model T could smoke the fastest EUC wheel out there as it could go at a top speed of 72 KPH (45 MPH).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Model_T

[Frode]

I don't think this should and and even can be handed over to the manufacturers.

In my country they have solved this for other motor vehicles by demanding physical restriction on speed on motor vehicles that is to be used without drivers license. With a drivers license you are required to pass a theory test and also a practical test.

Problem is that EUCs are to new for there to be any education for instructors to give you a course and an exam. Therefore they instead require the EUC not to be able to drive faster than 20 kph (which is ridiculously low since even a child is able to pedal a bicycle faster than that without restrictions, even in traffic - not even a helmet is required).

[lizardmech]

They just need to make the max speed lower than the hardware can support. You shouldn't be able to just accelerate until the unit shuts down or breaks without warning.

[EricGhost]

@HunkaHunkaBurningLove your motorcycle comparison is missing a key point, the motorbikes do not fold by themselves when they reach their power limits at 240 kmh they simple stop to accelerate they do not go from 240 to 0kmh in an instant.

So the motorbikes are quite reliable products imo the improper use or human errors in traffic or bad maintenance generates the accidents in 99.9999%

For EUC as far as I understood we are still far from such a Product reliability and the process must go through the search of an unfolding wheel, then you can raise speed and let the user manage his life as far as he does not jeopardize other people life, imo the rules/laws

[nomad]

The fastest human footspeed on record is 44.7 km/h (12.4 m/s or 27.8 mph), seen during the final 100 meters sprint of the World Championships in Berlin on 16 August 2009 by Usain Bolt (average speed between the 60th and the 80th meter, which he covered in 1.61 seconds).

45 km/h is also the top speed of european mopeds, I think this is a good limit.

[Frode]

7 hours ago, lizardmech said:

They just need to make the max speed lower than the hardware can support. You shouldn't be able to just accelerate until the unit shuts down or breaks without warning.

There is an inherent problem with restricting speed on the wheel: you actually make it unstable. The only thing the wheel does is trying to keep itself upright (balancing an inverse pendulum). If it measures it speed and denies itself to exceed a given maximum speed, it won't be able to keep itself upright anymore when it reaches that speed. It will fall forward. Think about it. You are leaning forward, either to try to increase speed or because you for som reason is slightly unbalanced forward. The wheel denies to increase its speed. How is it going to put itself forward in the position underneath you to balance you?

Reaching a set speed limit on the wheel is actually the same as reaching the inherent maximum speed of the system. It won't any more be able to balance you.

What my wheel (KS-16) does is not restricting speed, but 1) beeping to tell me that I have reached a certain speed, and 2) offset the vertical so the wheel will balance with the pedals angled backwards which makes me feel that if I continue, I might soon loose balance. This encourages me to stop leaning forward to keep the speed constant - or even lean back to decrease the speed. But limiting the speed must be an action of the rider, not the system. It must still accelerate if I disregard the alarm/tiltback and continue to lean forward, but it will feel kind of awkward and  unstable - without it actually being unstable because the wheel can still increase speed to balance me if needed.

The alarm/tiltback must of course come well before the wheel reaches its inherent maximum speed. If you reach that speed, there is no way back. You will (most probably) fall forward because the wheel cannot balance you an more in that direction.