September 24, 2009 Honda Develops New Personal Mobility Device With the Goal of Co-existing in Harmony with People -- World's first drive system that enables movement in all directions -- TOKYO, Japan, September 24, 2009 - Pursuing the concept of "harmony with people" Honda has developed a new personal mobility technology and unveiled U3-X, a compact experimental device that fits comfortably between the rider's legs, to provide free movement in all directions just as in human walking - forward, backward, side-to-side, and diagonally. Honda will continue research and development of the device including experiments in a real-world environment to verify the practicality of the device. This new personal mobility device makes it possible to adjust speed and move, turn and stop in all directions when the rider leans the upper body to shift body weight. This was achieved through application of advanced technologies including Honda's balance control technology, which was developed through the robotics research of ASIMO, Honda's bipedal humanoid robot, and the world's first* 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. In addition, this compact size and one-wheel-drive personal mobility device was designed to be friendly to the user and people around it by making it easier for the rider to reach the ground from the footrest and placing the rider on roughly the same eye level as other people or pedestrians. Honda is planning to showcase the U3-X at the 41st Tokyo Motor Show 2009 (sponsored by JAMA) which will begin on October 24, 2009 at Makuhari Messe in Chiba, Japan. Striving to propose the next-generation mobility which expands the joy and fun of mobility, Honda has been conducting robotics research since 1986, including ASIMO, walking assist devices and U3-X, at the Honda R&D Co., Ltd. Fundamental Technology Research Center in Wako, Saitama, Japan. * Based on Honda's internal research

Attached Images

	01.jpg (53.3 KB)
	05.jpg (94.5 KB)
	06.jpg (63.5 KB)
	07.jpg (50.7 KB)
	11.jpg (58.4 KB)
	12.jpg (64.5 KB)
	19.jpg (34.1 KB)

For 35 years Ferne Jacobs has employed a wrapping technique used in ancient basket-making to create fiberworks suffused with mystery and beauty. "My commitment grows out of a fascination that thread can be made solid, that by using only my hands and the thread, a form can be made that will physically stand on its own." Her sculptures range from large-scale to small and are structurally intricate. They are labor-intensive, taking from two to seven months to complete. All are created out of waxed linen for stability. Early pieces have an austere simplicity and symmetry reminiscent of ancient ceremonial artifacts. But Jacobs' artistic path has been one of continuing evolution in which she pushes the expectations of fiber as a medium. Her wall-hangings and free-standing forms have grown increasingly fluid and organically complex. They explode with bright color, lively intersecting shapes and surface openings that reveal interior space. Recent works are even more animated and rhythmic with mixed color filaments selectively woven in to delineate the sensuous contours. Jacobs' pieces seem imbued with so much exuberant life force that they appear less like objects and more like individual beings or presences. "I see myself as a link in bringing an ancient way of being into my own time, and helping nurture it into the future," she says. Born in 1942, Jacobs has taught and lectured widely.