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Gyroscope + Kickboard

CAE study proving gyroscopic effect stabilizes electric kick scooters on uneven terrain.

Year
2022
Role
CAE Engineer
Team
Seungtae Moon, YeongHwan Shin and YounHyuk Bae
Topics
  • CAE
  • Experiment Design

Problem Defintion

The increasing use of personal mobility devices has led to a rise in traffic accidents, highlighting the need for enhanced safety measures. As of the first half of 2021, 73.9% of reported electric scooter accidents involved slipping or falling due to poor road conditions. User surveys revealed dissatisfaction with unstable rides caused by uneven or poorly maintained roads. This project aims to design an electric kick scooter that improves lateral stability to address these road-induced issues.

Experiment Design

• Initial Speed Condition 0 km/h → 25 km/h (uniform accelerated motion in 6.0 seconds)

External ForceInterval TimeWith Riding Human
Experiment I--X
Experiment II50N6.0s - 6.5sX
Experiment III50N3.0s - 3.5sX
Experiment IV--O
Experiment V200N6.0s – 6.5sO

Result Graph

Experiment 2

Work image

Experiment 3

Work image

Experiment 5

Work image

Discussion

In this study, we successfully demonstrated that the gyroscopic effect can control the lateral moment of electric kick scooters, enhancing stability on uneven surfaces by generating a restoring torque. Achieving complete control over unstable terrains requires refining the control mechanism, potentially using multiple rotating bodies to distribute mass effectively.

Additionally, Experiment 5 revealed that the high density needed for stability poses challenges for practical manufacturing, necessitating optimization of mass and moment of inertia for real-world feasibility.