Development of the Portable Two-Wheeled Inverted Pendulum Type Personal Vehicle

Some inverted pendulum type personal mobility devices, including the Segway have already been invented. However, they cannot go over the obstacles such as stairs or curbs on the road. In order to resolve this problem, we have developed a portable personal vehicle. It looks like a skateboard or snowboard. It is light and small enough to carry in comparison with others. It is maneuvered by detecting the vehicle's angle with the accelerometer and the gyroscope. When an operator applies the body weight onto a front foot plate, the vehicle leans to the front and its angle is detected, then the vehicle goes forward. Although some of the same type of vehicles have already been developed, the different point of our development vehicle is that it has two wheels on one axle. It makes our vehicle possible to spin in place or to turn tightly. Additionally, because it doesn't have a handlebar, we can drive it without hands.