here is the concept I will build :
The motor, yet to come, is inside the wheel.
stability is given by a inertia wheel + gyros, yet to come too.
the cockpit and pilot are just place holders for now.
C&C much welcomed
<edit> update 03/12/04
stuff inside wheel is mostly done. will add details and texture later
What do you think of it ?
Added rollers to make it clearer how it works
a mono-wheel… Y didn’t I think of that?! cool… I cna’t relaly comment on it as it’s still in the beginnign stages… but so far yayayay
Man, you totally skipped the two wheeled Segway concept and went for just the one. Kudos.
Actually, it’s not a so new idea.
S68 submitted one-wheelled things in the 2002 contest (but pilot was inside and that was not very detailled), and I saw one on CGtalk recently where the barely claded chick piloting it was in an akward posture more fitted for a bed.
In real world there was studies about feasability as far back as the sixties (by GM, car body inside huge fin wheel).
But it’s true that segway has make the dream to reality.
I didn’t want to make a starwar racer, so I searched a weird idea, but still feasible.
I didn’t know someone had submitted one before, but there are mono-wheeled motorcycles around too. None that are high speed though, and your design would need computer control.
Not mandatory. Once gyros are launched, you can have equilibrium with an hydrostatic splitter feeded directly by the gyros.
However, a computer solution is certainly nowadays cheaper and lighter. And F1 have already quite comp power, so that’s not a problem
BTW, small update in first post
hmm…it’s looking like a good concept so far.
Some small things…the stuff in the wheel. The hydrolic pump, hmm they look nice but they are quite unpratical…the wheel couldn’t rotate with that attached to the main chassis…so ya got a prob 
I would try to find some better way to attach it…
No, the wheel is hubless and rotate around the spokes which are fitted with magnetic bearing. The motor goes down in the center of wheel too.
That will be more clear as more stuff is added
Some small things…the stuff in the wheel. The hydrolic pump, hmm they look nice but they are quite unpratical…the wheel couldn’t rotate with that attached to the main chassis…so ya got a prob
Actually the way this is set up would work. It appears that the “hub” remains stationary (as it does in actually working models of this concept) and the wheel rotates around it on rollers or bearings (sort of like a big round monorail, only the rail is a wheel 
)
edit: too late beat me to it 
I like that concept. Kinda reminds of The Spiral Zone cartoon from the 80s.[/i]
No, the wheel is hubless and rotate around the spokes which are fitted with magnetic bearing. The motor goes down in the center of wheel too.
That will be more clear as more stuff is added[/quote]
Well from what I undestand now…“only the tire” rotate right? that way it would work… But actually…I really thought the motor would be inside the whole wheel…making the whole wheel rotate as the motor don’t move…and the other part of the body is connected by the side and don,t move either…it would have been more realistic that way I think but anyway, it’s your design not mine
Well from what I undestand now…“only the tire” rotate right? that way it would work… But actually…I really thought the motor would be inside the whole wheel…making the whole wheel rotate as the motor don’t move…and the other part of the body is connected by the side and don,t move either…it would have been more realistic that way I think but anyway, it’s your design not mine
Actually, you could have like in the early days of aviation a rotating engine and a still axle coming out and connecting to the edges. That would reinforce the strength of the wheel and give you a better cooling too. Question remains, if the wheel is on magnetic sustension, where does the magnetic power come from? not permanent magnets because you’d lack the necessary strength. You’re going to need a generator somewhere, as well as a tank and some weight to balance that of the cockpit and pilot too. Otherwise it looks cool so far.
Nearer to us, you have electric brushless motors who can works like that.
This technology is the best currently for a given weight ant output power. And if Supra-conductors can be acheived, it would be unbeatable.
The car is powered by an energy cell which feed such a motor, and the magnetic bearings & couplers.
Balance is acheived dynamically by gyros.
It’s an elaborate concept but not so far away from our current technology.
And yes to have such weird ideas, I’m an engineer (and I work in a research team if on much simpler things). 
I was going to ask if anyone had seen that! That was a great render, and not just because of the semi-clad chick.
Looks good so far. Personally I wouldn’t be too concerned whether the racer is ‘feasible’ in the real world. If it looks good, who cares? Besides, since this is the future, they’d have technology we haven’t yet created, so many new possibilities are open.
Balance is acheived dynamically by gyros.
Even if that is the case, you still need some weight to compensate for the weight of the cockpit, otherwise it will endlessly lower itself (yes I have some engineering studies behind me as well!) no matter how many or big gyros you put behind it.
And to be honest, I’m not too worried about actual feasability. It’s just that the more “faisible looking” it is, the closer to reality it will look.
That’s all.
Well, no. You are thinking of physical balance. But think of a bike accelerating, if if does it quickly enough, it will go wheelling, why ?
because there is friction between tyre and road giving you a torque equivalent at the hub while resisting movement changes. If this torque exceed the one created by front weight the bike can go wheeling or at least maintain it.
If you feed just the amount needed to a skipping coupling between an inertia wheel and tyre, you can have a dynamic equilibrium even when dead stopped. The motor must then feed back the energy loss of the inertia wheel or you will effectively top down. that’s a purely dynamic internal balance.
this will not work in a perfect world where no loss are made when resisting to rolling, but luckily our world is not perfect.
That’s even the way you measure torque on an electric motor, a weigth at the end of a long pole skidding on the output axle.
concerning feasability, it’s not a concern as there is many wild entries in this contest, but that was my own goal, to make something weird but not absurd.
what about when it’s not going foward? on park and on the first second of acceleration the front would be on the ground…damaging most of it…and surely making it go all weird and fall on the side hehe
I was going to ask if anyone had seen that! That was a great render, and not just because of the semi-clad chick.
[/quote]
It was really a great render, but the posture was so strange that it give me the idea of making one more confortable to use (the bike not the chick )
x-warrior has a point there… and how is it going to steer?
using some blowing engines at teh side of the cockpit?
anyhow, nice concept, and who cares about physical problems 8)
I answered to X-Warrior point. It could work as soon as the inertia wheel is launched
For steering, how did you guess ?
But I will go for good old attitude rockets motors
Also the whole thing can go at angle, giving it a fair amount of steering if speed is enough (else you top)