Honda Unveils U3-X Personal Mobility Device

Honda has developed a new personal mobility technology and announced a compact experimental device, the U3-X,designed to provide free movement in all directions -- forward, backward, side-to-side, and diagonally.

The new device builds on the robotic research the company has developed in conjunction with its work on the ASIMO bipedal humanoid robot project. The U3-X also incorporates Honda's omni-directional driving wheel system (Honda Omni Traction Drive System, or HOT Drive System), which enables movement in all directions, including not only forward and backward, but also directly to the right and left and diagonally.

For a video demonstration visit Honda's Web site here.

Honda plans to continue research and development of the device and will conduct experiments in a real-world environment to determine practical uses of the device.