Honda U3-X Auto-Balancing Unicycle Gets Video Demo

Honda's U3-X "personal mobility device" didn't really stand out among the Segway-inspired clones last year, but having seen the self-balancing unicycle at work I'm all of a sudden rattling my piggy-bank.  CrunchGear spent some time with the Honda prototypes, and the biggest surprise in their video is how easily the U3-X glides sideways instead of just forward/backward motion.Video demo after the cut

That's because of some seriously nifty wheel technology, which basically puts a strip of 90-degree cross angle wheels in among the regular ones.  The end result is a unicycle that can move in any direction, rather than needing to face that specific way, reacting to where you lean your body.

Apparently the battery is currently good for about an hour's use, though we're not sure how well it might work away from smooth carpet and out, instead, on pavements and the like.  From the sound of it Honda haven't quite decided if they're going to begin production, and even if they did it's reportedly very expensive.