OliverH Posted October 19, 2016 Share Posted October 19, 2016 In german TV there was a new device showed to a group of investors which opted in to support with their contacts and money (500k EUR invest) to bring the device to the final stage and sell it: http://www.eball.io/ eBall.io can set up on specialist in different areas (legal/ regulation, marketing, sourcing/ production, sales and enough funding with the right contacts). I started some time ago this thread: Why do I mention it again? The interest in Personal Light Electric Vehicles (PLEV) is there. I'm sure with a PLEV compliant EUC (to sell on regulated markets) there's a bright future. I'm sure there will be a company to join (existing or new) the market to ride the PLEV wave. Remark: I'm not connected with eBall in any commercial way. I use the example with eBall to show how fast investors can join if a product is available or the projectplan/ milestones are on a trusted base. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rehab1 Posted October 19, 2016 Share Posted October 19, 2016 1 hour ago, OliverH said: Why do I mention it again? The interest in Personal Light Electric Vehicles (PLEV) is there. I'm sure with a PLEV compliant EUC (to sell on regulated markets) there's a bright future. We all know there are many people who will never ride an EUC due to difficulty, age ,medical conditions, etc. I myself like the diversity of the various PLEVs coming to market. This product looks simple to ride and has a futuristic appearance that may entice those sitting on the sidelines to join the self balancing craze that is here to stay. I wish the company success! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mono Posted October 19, 2016 Share Posted October 19, 2016 Nice one, similar to the concept from, I believe, Sony I remember to have seen before. There should be this amazing choreography using it somewhere in THE VIDEO THREAD! ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rehab1 Posted October 19, 2016 Share Posted October 19, 2016 I just started hitting prompts on the German company web site featuring the E Ball and bingo I just received this email. Gewinnspiel: Gewinne den ersten eBall der Welt! Vielen Dank für Deine Teilnahme an unserem Gewinnspiel. Bitte bestätige, dass Du bei unserem Gewinnspiel teilnehmen möchtest. Translated: Win the first ball in the world! Thank you for participating in our contest. Please confirm that you want to participate in our contest. *I don't think someone from America that does not speak one ounce of German is their ideal contestant Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Vu Posted October 19, 2016 Share Posted October 19, 2016 I wonder what the battery size and motor power are. Also what are the specs on the ball? And how do you turn and not strafe? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OliverH Posted October 19, 2016 Author Share Posted October 19, 2016 5 hours ago, Michael Vu said: I wonder what the battery size and motor power are. Also what are the specs on the ball? And how do you turn and not strafe? What I understand the eBall has 3 motors for balancing and driving and one for turning the direction of the platform. The control board must be more complex than on EUCs. They've an app to set up a lot of values to control the balancing. Could be a nice thing to port the control board/ firmware to EUCs.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jurgen Posted October 19, 2016 Share Posted October 19, 2016 The concept is nice but apart from addtional complexity vs an EUC it has some inherent limitations: - the diameter (actually less than half of it) of the ball will be the limiting factor when negotiating obstacles like a kerb - the bigger the ball the wider the feet will be apart If they would go for multiple small balls ( 3 for stability ) that are below the level of the feet, now that could be promising for use in area's with smooth surfaces (shopping malls, clean warehouses, hospitals, etc.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Fat Unicyclist Posted October 19, 2016 Share Posted October 19, 2016 14 minutes ago, Jurgen said: If they would go for multiple small balls ( 3 for stability ) that are below the level of the feet, now that could be promising for use in area's with smooth surfaces (shopping malls, clean warehouses, hospitals, etc.) But if you can't use it "most places" that you might want to go, then it becomes a toy - like a hoverboard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunka Hunka Burning Love Posted October 19, 2016 Share Posted October 19, 2016 I can see some problems maybe going up or down hills where the surface slope is moderately inclined. Unless the platform has some sort of sensor to tilt the front or back ends accordingly they might scrape if the eBall keeps trying to keep the whole top part level? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mono Posted October 19, 2016 Share Posted October 19, 2016 This issue should be the same on one wheeled skateboards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mono Posted October 19, 2016 Share Posted October 19, 2016 1 hour ago, Jurgen said: If they would go for multiple small balls it would loose most of its appeal to me. Like comparing the appeals of an EUC and an electric skateboard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Eucist Posted October 20, 2016 Share Posted October 20, 2016 I posted about this concept May of last year. Glad it has become a reality. Hope it's not patentable. https://www.facebook.com/groups/ElectricUnicycle/permalink/810423175722314/ Copy and paste of the contents of that post:May 6, 2015Colin Heng mentioned "UniBall" as a joke regarding the design of a euc (in another post) that looks almost ball-like. That got me thinking. Perhaps a Self-Balancing UniBall can be created so that you can ride and lean any direction and it goes that direction. Standing in place will be easy too. I hope posting this idea here can prevent anyone from PATENTING and monopolizing this idea. I hate patents on things people can naturally think of.Clarification: When I said "things people can naturally think of" I meant "things EVERYONE can naturally think of". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Eucist Posted October 20, 2016 Share Posted October 20, 2016 11 hours ago, Michael Vu said: And how do you turn and not strafe? This is the best question of all. I suppose as you strafe it needs to automatically rotate you towards that direction gradually? 5 hours ago, Jurgen said: - the bigger the ball the wider the feet will be apart Unless you stand on TOP of the ball. But then it's a bit of a hassle to get on. 4 hours ago, HunkaHunkaBurningLove said: I can see some problems maybe going up or down hills where the surface slope is moderately inclined. Unless the platform has some sort of sensor to tilt the front or back ends accordingly they might scrape if the eBall keeps trying to keep the whole top part level? Same as above. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaxLinux Posted October 20, 2016 Share Posted October 20, 2016 18 hours ago, OliverH said: In german TV there was a new device showed to a group of investors which opted in to support with their contacts and money (500k EUR invest) to bring the device to the final stage and sell it: http://www.eball.io/ That looks like a fun device, but best for riding in a small area. It could never be used for traveling distances like EUCs. The "ball" is too small to traverse varied terrain and the 3 friction-based "driver wheels" will gradually start slipping as dirt accumulates and the rubber wears down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Eucist Posted October 20, 2016 Share Posted October 20, 2016 No idea what this is. 3 minutes ago, MaxLinux said: and the 3 friction-based "driver wheels" will gradually start slipping as dirt accumulates and the rubber wears down. That's a very good point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jurgen Posted October 20, 2016 Share Posted October 20, 2016 it will be limited in application, and will work best in more specialised areas: imagine you have these at big shopping malls, with big parkings lots at some distance: in the parking lot you hop on the device and tap your parking space nr and you destination store, departement etc, in the app, scan the bar code of products you want to buy on the way, put in the ETA back at the car in the parking lot, and when you arrive there a robot cart with all your goodies is waiting to be loaded into you car (or if you prefer, you can have it shipped to your home at the time slot you've requested). It's an e-shop that combines the experience of 5-senses shop with an webshop. In big hospitals it could also work, you hop on and the devices brings you to your different apointments and examinations with a lot less stress so you can focus on consultation and procedures. Small pods on top of the device could be used to transport stuff around in the hospital so medical personel can focus on patients ("nurse could you please get me some extra 10cc syringes"). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blunzn Posted October 20, 2016 Share Posted October 20, 2016 sry I'm a sceptic (and maybe wrong) but this device seems to me to be utterly crap ... the Hendo Board comes to mind ... hurray you can ride straight ... but how do you make a turn on this thing ? probably only with hand/upperbody movements, a remote control, pressure sensors ?... in the video of the OP the rider @0:28 went sideways because he wasn't able to align the eball forward... the one @0:32 had to drive sideways into the walkingtrail cause he could not allign the direction ... most of them seem to have some sort of weird sideway twist while trying to go straight ... there is another short vid of the inventor, where he said @1:02 "turning is like with Skiing" ... but no view of the upper body and it was a quite wobbly turn ... the "die Höhle des Löwen"-video (shark tank clone) wasn't too impressive either ... he almost fell backwards braking @0:46 so the motors don't seem to have much power or some slow firmware ... the younger investor tried out the eball and failed @ appx 3 minutes in. he said he is a good skater and drives a One Wheel (not sure if he meant EUC or OneWheel) ... the older one who tried it managed it quite fast ... http://www.clipfish.de/special/die-hoehle-der-loewen/video/4345572/eball-als-neues-fortbewegungsmittel-die-hoehle-der-loewen-2016/ until some further videos or tests on how you turn / turn while driving ... i would say, interessting device ... but crap and probably not at all easy to manouver through pedestrians if possible at all ... maybe its funny inside the house ... for a day or two before it lands in the cupboard ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mhpr262 Posted October 20, 2016 Share Posted October 20, 2016 Hahahah, can you imagine the mess you will have to clean up if you run over a dog turd on the sidewalk with that thing? It will also cause the friction based drive principle to fail, because the turd will get smeared all over the surface of the ball and turn it slippery. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunka Hunka Burning Love Posted October 20, 2016 Share Posted October 20, 2016 I loved the Back to the Future series as much as the next guy, but is that really the look we're going for here? Com'on! Then again, sometimes inspiration comes from the most surprising places... Where the heck is the eBall battery pack located? I think maybe on a larger scale to move items in a warehouse, if he built a platform on top to carry boxes, it might be useful as some sort of balancing transporter for pallets maybe? Still seems a little shaky if stability is a concern. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mono Posted October 21, 2016 Share Posted October 21, 2016 The question remains: I can see how the ball will go in any direction by leaning in this direction, but what is the input to make it turn? What is the input to even make it turn on the spot? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Eucist Posted October 21, 2016 Share Posted October 21, 2016 5 minutes ago, MoNo said: The question remains: I can see how the ball will go in any direction by leaning in this direction, but what is the input to make it turn? What is the input to even make it turn on the spot? I think it can programmed so that if you strafe it rotates towards the direction you're travelling. EDIT: By "strafe" i mean moving side to side without turning towards it. Like pressing "A" or "D" in fps games like doom/quake/csgo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mono Posted October 21, 2016 Share Posted October 21, 2016 36 minutes ago, John Eucist said: I think it can programmed so that if you strafe it rotates towards the direction you're travelling. EDIT: By "strafe" i mean moving side to side without turning towards it. Like pressing "A" or "D" in fps games like doom/quake/csgo Sorry, I still don't understand what strafe means. I am not a gamer and dictionaries didn't help either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Eucist Posted October 21, 2016 Share Posted October 21, 2016 2 hours ago, MoNo said: Sorry, I still don't understand what strafe means. I am not a gamer and dictionaries didn't help either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mono Posted October 21, 2016 Share Posted October 21, 2016 I see, so you are saying that leaning sidewards will not only move the ball sidewards but also turn it into the direction where it is leaning until it actually moves forward (again). Makes sense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Eucist Posted October 21, 2016 Share Posted October 21, 2016 1 hour ago, MoNo said: I see, so you are saying that leaning sidewards will not only move the ball sidewards but also turn it into the direction where it is leaning until it actually moves forward (again). Makes sense. Yes exactly! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.