More Details About the Futuristic Unicycles in the New OK Go Music Video

Posted by Ray | 27 Oct 2014 | Comments (0)

In Casey Neistat's review of Google Glass, the filmmaker likens the wearable device to another much-lampooned gadget of a previous generation: Indeed, the Segway endures in pop culture, if only as a cautionary tale. Dean Kamen's much-hyped invention effectively poisoned the well for the personal mobility industry as a whole; short of the comfort and convenience of, say, the hoverchairs in Wall-E, this category will likely remain stigmatized as solutions looking for a problem. (Although a recent Kickstarter project may portend Disney's increasingly rotund future for the human race, task-oriented assistive devices may be the growth area for the time being.)

The use case that we didn't foresee: the ever-popular music video. Today sees the debut of yet another carefully choreographed performance from none other than OK Go, who have long since made the transition from run-of-the-(tread)mill rock band to viral video soundtrackers, writing generically catchy power-pop earworms solely in service of their increasingly over-the-top cinematic efforts. But even more impressive than OK Go's harmonies is their use of props and optical illusions; for their latest effort, 'I Won't Let You Down'-the second single from their new full-length, Hungry Ghosts, following the forced-perspective trompe l'oeils of ' The Writing's On the Wall'-the foursome saddle up on Honda UNI-CUBS, a stool-sized monowheel vehicle (more on that below).

I won't reveal the grand finale, but quasi-spoiler alert: At about 1:03, it becomes apparent that the entire video-a continuously shot long take as in their previous vids-was filmed with a UAV, which is also pretty impressive (props to Multi-Copter Pilot Kenji Yasuda). Let's just say they've come a long way from those treadmills...

Is it jiust me, or do both the 2011 original (at right) and newer β model look like penguins?

As for the diminutive EV itself, the UNI-CUB β debuted about a year ago, the second generation of the experimental vehicle, which incorporates stabilization technology from the Japanese automaker's ASIMO bipedal robot and debuted in 2009 in a previous incarnation as the figure-eight-shaped U3-X. As these things go, Honda generously provided the UNI-CUBs, which are currently at the pilot program stage with no word on production plans. Seeing as frontman Damina Kulash reportedly took stunt driving lessons for OK Go's Chevy-sponsored video, I can't help but wonder about the learning curve for the UNI-CUBs; one reviewer claims that it is by far the easiest vehicle he has ever 'driven': 'From the moment it moved with my 85 kg weight aboard, I realized the UNI-CUB β nano-EV offered something very close to a direct vehicle-brain-interface, with only 'intention' required to move in a certain direction or speed.'

Naturally, the OK GO video may well pique wider interest in Honda's unicycle-like device, which weighs in at 25kg (52lbs), offers a top speed of 4 mph and a range of four miles. Contrary to the OK Go video, the UNI-CUB is intended for indoor use only, and Gizmag's Mike Hanlon notes that:

I will be very interested to see how this technology works with the aged and mobility-impaired-operating it requires no more strength than being able to sit upright, so it might well turn out to be a killer app for the elderly. Hat-tip to It's Nice That; previously: White Knuckles'; 'This Too Shall Pass'; 'Needing/Getting' These technologies obviously have application in other personal mobility devices too, and since the experience, I have been envisioning many new compact mobility solutions, from monocycle wheelchairs through to sports machinery.