Jackal

The Jackal was my second attempt at making a single wheel self balancing Bike/Unicycle, forward and backward balancing is controlled by the unicycles microprocessor, whilst side to side is taken care of by the riders inertia.

This design takes everything I had learned from my previous machines and adds speed, style and a proper wheel

Components

-24v 450w geared unite motor (Part no. My1020z, can usually be found on eBay for a reasonable price)

-Arduino Mega REV3, this takes the data from the inertial measurement unit IMU (gyro) does some number crunching and then spits out PWM signals in the direction of the motor controller.

(running modified code originally from One Wheeled)

-IMU (gyro) - Purchased from Spark-fun in 2012 now obsolete!

-Motor controller, I used the SyRen 50 from dimension engineering, it can be adjusted up to 100A. This motor controller is almost indestructible, the only thing you must not do is connect the power the wrong way around as this will destroy it.

-Batteries, I have two 12v 12ah lead acid batteries wired in series to give me 24v, I am however planning to upgrade to a more powerful and lighter supply in the future. The lead acids have plenty of power, the main problem with using them in this application is that they are so very heavy.

-Wheel 19” motorbike wheel from eBay, I have previously used wheelbarrow wheels, they are cheap and easy to get hold of, they are however not always made very well and this can make balancing difficult.

-PVC (plasticized)15mm thick, its tough stuff, I buy my plastic from Aquarius Plastics in Guildford

-Whats not PVC is aluminum, all of the internal structure, motor mounts handle bars etc.

-Chain Drive (420 Bike Chain)

Performance

-Top speed around 20mph top safe speed is slightly less at about 15mph

-Battery life 90-120mins, and then performance takes a bit of a dip.

-Has enough torque to climb a modest gradient, John Dingleys Drive still remains out of reach.

Links

One Wheeled - Anybody thinking of making a self balancing machine should start here, this is where I started, I’m yet to find another place on the web with as much info on the subject.