Gizmodo: balance

Japanese Scientists Miss The Point, Design Self-Stabilizing Electric Bike

Kit Eaton — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 07:36:00 EST

OK, I'll admit that this self-stabilizing bike is clever: it's kind of a Segway turned sideways, using gyros to detect if it's off-balancing, and adjusting the steering automagically to compensate. It's also a standard electric bike, so it propels you along without needing any annoying foot-power: very 21st Century indeed.

Apparently it's quite tricky to get a bike to balance, since steering and such requires a degree of off-balance maneuvering...but the team at Keio University in Yokohama has managed it and their prototype easily manages 2.5 meters per second.

They're working on making it able to deal with uneven road surfaces, and ultimately they want a zero-speed stable bike, since "Many bicycle falling accidents happen when elderly people stop a bicycle in a crosswalk, and so on." Great. Though, I'm going to suggest a lower-tech and greener approach: A third wheel. [Physorg]

Nyko's Energy Pak Gives the Wii Fit Balance Board a Recharge

Sean Fallon — Thu, 08 May 2008 19:07:31 EDT

Nobody likes buying batteries, and chances are if you are a fatty in dire need of some Wii Fit workouts, you will probably go through quite a few of them. Fortunately, the team at Nyko are offering a solution with their new Energy Pak product for the balance board. The Pak installs on the bottom of the board and makes it easy to plug in for a recharge without having to remove the device or turn the board over. You can get your sweaty hands on one starting May 19th for $19.99.

FULLY CHARGE YOUR WII WORKOUT WITH NYKO'S ENERGY PAK - COMING SOON

Rechargeable Battery Solution for Wii Balance Board Eliminates the Need for Wasteful Batteries

LOS ANGELES, California - May 8, 2008 - Nyko Technologies®, the premier game console peripherals manufacturer, today announced that it will soon release the Energy Pak for the Wii Balance Board™, a peripheral packaged with the forthcoming title Wii Fit™. The rechargeable battery solution is expected to hit stores on May 19th.

The Energy Pak installs conveniently on the underside of the Balance Board and features a unique AC Port Relocator that allows users to easily play with the board and charge the battery simultaneously, without ever having to remove the Pak or turn the Balance Board over. An easy-to-read LED charge light indicates the charge status of the battery, letting the user know when it is time to recharge, and when the charging cycle is complete. The Energy Pak can be quickly charged with the included, detachable AC adaptor, and provides up to 20 hours of playtime per charge.

"It is difficult enough trying to keep up with a regular fitness program without the hassle of swapping out alkaline or other rechargeable batteries," said Chris Arbogast, Director of Marketing at Nyko Technologies. "Like all of our charging solutions, the Energy Pak is as easy to use as it is functional. Users will be able to recharge the Wii Balance Board while in use or in between gaming sessions, all without ever needing to flip the board over to switch out battery packs."

Nyko's Energy Pak for the Wii Balance Board is expected in stores on May 19th for the suggested retail price of $19.99. Please visit www.nyko.com for more information.

[Nyko]

Balance Concept Phone Merges Dreams With Renders

Jason Chen — Mon, 21 May 2007 19:00:17 EDT

In case you can't get enough of real cellphones, designer Bence Bogar has a fake one for you to drool over. The concept, a luxury twist/slide smartphone, combines what we've seen in dual-screen phones with crazy expensive features.

Specs: two touchscreens with a third display on the back, sliding body that both slides and flips, 400x240 display at 2.8 inches, 5.1-megapixel camera with auto focus, 2x optical zoom, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS, 512MB internal memory and a microSD slot.

It's a pretty neat design for sure, but whether it will work in the real world where phones are dropped and slammed all over the place is anyone's guess. – Jason Chen

Concept Page [Egystudio]