Someone at the Canadian company Bombardier Recreational Products was thinking way outside the box when they created this futuristic Embrio Advanced Concept one-wheel motorcycle. This unicycle-on-steroids concept is powered by hydrogen fuel cell and gives a glimpse of what the future of transportation may look like in the year 2025.
The Embrio Advanced Concept oddly enough is designed to fit two people and the driver can turn left or right simply by shifting their weight. The one-wheel motorcycle is equipped with gyroscopes and sensors to help maintain balance while on the road. At slow speeds (about 12.5 mph) those funky front wheels descend on the vehicle, sort of like landing gear for an airplane, to help the gyroscopes and passengers with the balance of the motorcycle.
The accelerator for the Embrio Advanced Concept is one the left handlebar while the brake is on the right side. At 360 pounds, the one-wheeled Embrio Advanced Concept was designed using magnesium, aluminum and even nylon.
Now, its hard to envision the Embrio Advanced Concept on the open road riding next to Harley Davidsons and whatever other vehicle will still be around in 2025. More likely it could be an advanced trick vehicle for skateboarders who want to move up in RPMs. But, nonetheless, kudos to Bombardier for their outside-the-box thinking and daring to dream of new and inventive methods towards a zero emissions future.
wow, this was an idea concept released in 2003, winning a Gold Award at the 2003 Annual Design Awards . You write about it like they actually built one. It never left the drawing board and made it to a working prototype.
As far as I know, it’s not possiible to fit a hydrogen fuel cell into something that small and generate enough electrical power to propell 700lbs of weight at 12-60mph while maintaining a gyroscope at the same time. Maybe with the production of the new nanobattery this design may see a rebirth, but untill then, don’t hold your breath for it. It was vaporware back in 2003. It still is.
I see your concern and made a small correction to the article. The point of the exercise was to envison what a vehicle might look like in 2025. Even though it was shown a couple of years ago it still has that “coolness” factor and will for many years to come.
What do you think hydrogen fuel cells will look like in 2025?
I think the technology to make a gyroscopic unicycle is there. The main blockade they probably ran up against was a powerplant.. Even using todays LiPoly batteries the vehicle would be a challenge at best. Back in 2003 the electrical storage technology just wasn’t there. Batteries were too heavy and Hydrogen Fuel cells weren’t efficient enough to fit in such a small vehicle and generate that level of power. The efficiency of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFC) fuel cells today are much greater than they were in 2003 and hopefully will continue to increase in their ability to generate a clean affordable fuel. With the development of nanotechnology, I believe a tiny compact fuel cell with a high power output will be an atainable goal by 2025.