EDWARD – Electric Diwheel With Active Rotation Damping

Students from the University of Adelaide’s School of Mechanical Engineering have build a pretty cool human operated diwheel as a school project, and I must say, the thing looks REALLY fun to drive, even though it might make me a bit nauseated after a while.

This project by students in the School of Mechanical Engineering, the University of Adelaide involved the construction of a human operated diwheel called EDWARD. Many diwheels in the past have been human powered or powered by IC engines. This one is purely electric. It has additional functionality lacking in other models, including inbuilt dynamic lateral stability and slosh control to prevent “gerbiling” or tumbling in aggressive braking or acceleration maneuvers. The diwheel also incorporates a unique feature that allows the rider to drive the vehicle when “upside down” – keeping the vehicle in its unstable state.