Unrideable bricycle

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rvmJ_R4psdo

by bromagosa • 12 years ago

11 6 12 years ago

youtube.com

ZeroGravitas• 12 years ago

That was much better than I expected from the initial still.

wgeorgecook2• 12 years ago

Username is relevant

wgeorgecook2• 12 years ago

This is probably one of those things where we have no idea what a practical application is until it pops up on something.

bromagosa• 12 years ago

I was thinking exactly the same thing! What kind of stuff would you want to keep on a straight trajectory and prevent from steering?

Many studies that seem unpractical or even stupid at first sight become genius when somebody finds a problem to which they are an elegant and obvious solution.

Isamu• 12 years ago

Abstract from paper:

A bicycle with compliant training wheels, half way between a bicycle and a tricycle, is uncontrollable

ANDY RUINA, Cornell University, Mechanical Engineering

We have built and tested a vehicle that can balance and steer like a bicycle, a tricycle, or anything in between. A bricycle is essentially a bicycle with springy training wheels. The stiﬀness of the training wheel suspension can be varied from inﬁnite, when the bricycle is a tricycle, to zero, when it is a bicycle. One might expect a smooth transition from tricycle to bicycle as the stiﬀness is varied, in terms of handling, balance and feel. But the situation is more complicated. Rather, the controllability of a bicycle depends on gravity. Without gravity, lean and direction cannot be controlled independently. Springy training wheels eﬀectively reduce or even negate gravity. Indeed, experiments with the bricycle show problems when the total eﬀective gravity is about zero. People can then still balance easily but can no longer turn the brike. The theory and experiment show a qualitative diﬀerence between bicycles and tricycles. A diﬀerence that cannot be met halfway.

DEinspanjer• 12 years ago

Okay, I'll burn my karma for it...

Chuck Norris could steer a bricycle!

Unrideable bricycle

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