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CURRENT EV ENTS Electric Auto Association
CURRENT
EV
ENTS
Mar-Apr 2004
Promoting the use of electric vehicles since 1967
Vol. 36 No. 3 & 4
BUILDING A BALANCING SCOOTER
By Trevor Blackwell ©2003
continued on page 16
Self-balancing scooters, like the
Segway™ are often thought to be
technological miracles, but it is not actually
very hard to build one. I built the one
described here in about a week using Short
MPEG Video [1.0 MB] off-the-shelf parts.
I spent another week tweaking the high-
speed stability, improving the steering
control, and writing about it.
Although the Segway has several exotic
components, mine is built from common
low-tech parts like wheelchair motors and
RC car batteries. The parts, even at small
quantity retail prices, cost less than half of a
genuine Segway. It also doesnt need
complex or high-performance software. The
first version was written in Python and used
serial ports to talk to the gyroscope and
motor controller. The current software, now
in C running in an onboard 8-bit
microcontroller, is only 500 lines of code.
Riding the scooter is definitely fun.
Things I like about it are: Its easy, when riding down the street, to
stop and chat. Somehow on a bicycle or
a regular scooter, its a huge nuisance to
stop. But on this scooter, it seems very
natural to pull up and chat while standing
on it. Its pretty easy to drive around inside the
office. The low-speed maneuverability
makes it easy to go through doors.
Things I dont like are: Its fairly tiring to ride. Standing still on
a hard, bouncing platform makes my feet
tired. Not as bad as rollerblading, but a
somewhat similar feeling. The body is
really evolved to be in constant motion,
and the combination of static posture
(even more static than standing normally,
since you try to keep your weight
centered) and being jolted by bumps is
probably bad for your spine. I feel like a total techno-dweeb riding it
around. It just screams silicon valley
nerd, even more than having 3 cellphones
and a PDA strapped to your belt. OK, I
am in fact a silicon valley nerd, but I dont
want everyone to know it. I get stopped on almost every block by
someone asking questions. I dont mind
telling people about it, but it does take
an awfully long time to get to the coffee
shop and back in the morning. And I cant
quite drink a cup of coffee on it while
moving at any speed, so the net result is
that I arrive back at the office, 30 minutes
later than if Id just walked, with a cold
coffee. All in the name of science,
though. Its speed and terrain handling is an
uncomfortable middle ground between
walking and bicycling. When walking, I
usually go in pretty straight lines, over
grass and curbs. Biking is fast enough
that I dont mind going around on the
road. But the scooter is neither fast
enough to make going the long way
round feel right, nor maneuverable
enough to go up and down a lot of curbs. Its not relaxing and conducive to having
deep thoughts the way walking is. Riding
it is fun but tense. I dont know whether to ride it on the
road or the sidewalk.
Rolls Royce vs Model T
The Segway is made with quite high-quality,
high-tech, and expensive components.
Overall, the components I used are a lot
lower-tech and cheaper than the ones in the
Segway. Yet, mine seems to ride pretty
nicely. It suggests that theres room for a
Henry Ford of balancing scooters to develop
and sell a low-cost everymans version.
Heres a quick comparison. Quotes below
are from segway.com. 2
Current EVents / Mar-Apr 2004
Photos provided by Trevor Blackwell
Publications Committee:
Chairman - Ed Thorpe
CE comments, 2 Smith Ct., Alameda, CA
94502-7786, USA
E-mail: ceeditor@eaaev.org
Editors - Bob Oldham, Ed Thorpe
Publisher - Dorothy Foglia
Assistants/Reviewers - Various
News in Brief:
Electric Vehicle Today
CE Reporters/Contributors:
As noted in articles
Photo Credits:
Typically author of article, except as
noted.
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Article Submissions:
The deadline for articles is the first of every
month for consideration in the next issue of
CE. Articles received after this date will be
retained for future issues of CE. Contact the
Publication Committee for more informa-
tion at ceeditor@eaaev.org.
Advertisements:
A full advertiser's information package and
Rate Sheet can be sent by U.S. Mail or E-
mail. Please contact Advertising Manager or
CE Staff for details.
National EAA:
Web Site: www.eaaev.org
E-mail: contact@eaaev.org
Mailing: 2 Smith Ct., Alameda, CA
94502-7786, USA
Membership/Address Changes:
E-mail: membership@eaaev.org
Mailing: Electric Auto Association
Membership, 4189 Baker Ave.
Palo Alto, CA 94306-3908, USA
www.eaaev.org
I N T H I S I S S U E
C E S T A F F
C OV E R S T O RY
COPYRIGHT 2004
Current EVents is a publication of the Electric Auto Association. All
rights reserved. While Current EVents and the Electric Auto Association strive for clarity
and accuracy, we assume no responsibility for usage of this information. Permission to
copy for other than commercial use is given, provided that full credit is given to originator
of material copied. This permission does not extend to reprinted articles.
Articles:
1 Cover Article: BUILDING A BALANCING SCOOTER - Trevor Blackwell explores
insights and advice for building a Segway-like two-wheel scooter.
4 PERSPECTIVES ON SHOCK HAZARD - Information about the safety issues of
high voltage in electric and hybrid cars, and how the fire safety industry is addressing it.
5 EV1 GRAVEYARD - Up-to-date photos and description from Jim Stack of how GM is
completing the phase-out of the excellent EV1s.
6 E-METER AND PEUKERT - Lee Hart explains how Peukert's equations and formulas
are applied to EV battery management through the use of the E-meter.
14 REVA EXPORTS 500 nEV ELECTRIC CARS TO BRITAIN - The compact electric
car from India is being exported to Britain by its European Going Green.
15 EV TOWING AND TRANSPORTING - Jim Stack describes his experiences with
the process of educating those involved with transporting electric vehicles.
Events:
8 LVEVA NEDRA PRE-SEASON OPENER/TEST AND TUNE AT LAS VEGAS
MOTOR SPEEDWAY - Roderick Wilde gives a running commentary of the Las Vegas
Motor Speedway drag racing season's kick off. The photos portray the scope of the event.
19 THE 2004 TOUR DE SOL IS COMING - National Transportation Week will be the
background for this event May 21-25.
21 PHOENIX ELECTRIC BOAT RACES
- Darrell Sheppard describes the SRP Solar
Spectacular for 2004.
22 THE ZILLA CONTROLLER EXPLAINED - John Wayland explains the history
and details of Otmar's CafeElectric Zilla controllers.
Column:
3 Commentary: EV FUTURE IS BLEAK BUT PARTS ARE AVAILABLE - An
observation on the demise of the European Smart car.
12 Industry News: Various news from around the world regarding electric vehicles.
24 EAA Awards for 2004
25 Annual Meeting Notes / 2004 Board of Directors
26 EAA Chapter Listings
28 EV Resources - How to shop for an EV, Charging station maps, and more
29 EAA Merchandise
30 EAA Membership Form
31 EV Conference and EAA Chapter Events Calendar Mar-Apr 2004 / Current EVents
3
COMMENTARY: EV FUTURE IS BLEAKBUT PARTS ARE AVAILABLE
By Ed Thorpe, EBEAA & CE staff
EV future is bleak. In early February, most of the EV parts from
Emotions Smart car conversion project were placed on the auction
block of Ebay. At the end, MapCorp raised close to $90,000 in
basically a one-day fire sale.
The conversion project was based on the European Smart car, which
was originally designed to be electric but was produced only in gas
and diesel versions in the EU.
The USA-base conversion effort used Solectria AC motors,
controllers and accessories. The design was also based on the Saft
Lithium-Ion battery a much sought after commodity.
At the end, 14 Smart cars were auctioned. The one unmodified gas
Smart car went for over $10,000. There were a total of nine rolling
chassis and four partially converted EVs.
There were some Saft High-Energy Lithium-Ion Battery Packs also
up for sale total of 5. These fetched from over $3,000 to over
$8,000 a pack (12 batteries). Each pack is designed for 273V
nominal, 312V max, when new. This would provide 11.6 kW-hr, 41
amp-hr, 25 kW continuous/35 kW peak at C/3 when new. Packs
this size weigh approximately 330 lb. And are liquid cooling,
controlled by a CAN bus.
Hopefully we will hear from