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Look, Mum! Auto-balancing Jyrobike eliminates need for training wheels
The Jyrobike – held upright by a spinning disc inside the front wheel. – AFP/Relaxnews pic, June 9, 2014.A child may wobble as he searches for balance his first time riding a two-wheeler, but if it's the Jyrobike it doesn't show. He might not be able to pronounce "gyroscopic precession" yet, but that's just what's holding him up.
The mechanism keeping the bike upright is a spinning disc inside the front wheel that provides a slow moving bicycle the same stability it would be expected to achieve at higher speeds.
This is called gyroscopic force, a slice of physical science based on the principle that a moving wheel grows more stable with increasing speed.
The learner's wobbly first efforts are offset upon the generation of a gravitational counter force. This process, called "gyroscopic precession", is the byproduct unique to the Jyrobike.
The concept of the seemingly magical bike was developed in 2005 at the Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth College in Hanover, NH.
Founder and CEO of Jyrobike Robert Bodil says the process of weaning young learners away from the highly specialised assistance of gyroscopic precession to ride unassisted can be accomplished in just one day.
The bike's stability is changeable, allowing learners to gradually decrease their dependency on the flywheel that generates gyroscopic force and precession.
Parents and supervisors can change the bike's stability at all times using a wireless remote control.
Bodil hopes his product will open doors for disabled children previously thought to be unfit to attempt two-wheeler mastery.
On his Kickstarter page, Bodil features a video of an 8-year-old girl with dyspraxia learning successfully how to ride the Jyrobike.
At present, Jyrobike is available in two child sizes, a 12-inch aimed at the 3-to-5-year-old set and a 16-inch version for 5-to-8-year-olds.
An adult version is in the works and could become available next year.
Philadelphia-based Jyrobike Inc., hopes to raise US$100,000 (RM320,650) before July 3. The product is available for pre-order for those willing to contribute a minimum of US$249, with delivery estimated for January 2015.
Trending in two-wheel training are low-to-the-ground bikes without pedals to allow younger tots to get the feel by gliding along, balancing with their feet, like the Glider, the Strider and the KaZAM, all of which feature a similar design but no gyroscope. – AFP/Relaxnews, June 9, 2014.
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