DTV Shredder By Ben Gulak

BPG Motors
• The Uno
While a senior in highschool in 2006, Gulak began working on a design for the Uno following a trip to China with his father. After witnessing major smog pollution caused by heavy use of small motor vehicles, he decided he wanted to create an eco-friendly alternative to submit to a science fair. According to Gulak, "I wanted it to be something small enough to store indoors: you could bring it up to your apartment to plug in and charge, and then you could ride it around on the road." His first designs were on Google SketchUp.
His initial design efforts consisted of an iron frame with wheelchair motors, batteries and gyroscopes. He described his first test-ride as "absolutely terrifying" and resulting in a crash and a chipped kneecap. Other early problems, including a series of electrical fires, arose. He was then joined by California robotics expert Trevor Blackwell, and together they refined the Uno's gyro control system so the machine would properly balance and move smoothly. Gulak then used the revised plans to develop a prototype vehicle with the help of various partners. The Uno is an electric-powered vehicle that bears a resemblance to a motorized unicycle. Described in news reports as either a "one wheeled motorcycle" or "electric unicycle", it is more accurately a dicycle, created by placing two closely spaced wheels side-by-side at the centre-point of the vehicle. He began building the prototype at a motorcycle shop outside Toronto.