It is not the first time we see James Bruton’s inventions around here. And it is that this creator of gadgets and contents (calling it youtuber would not be fair because, in reality, it has spectacular knowledge and reduce it to that would be short), not stop creating vehicles that usually have something in common: they are multidirectional.
That is, Bruton’s creations are not what they seem because thanks to the mechanisms he uses, they do not behave as we could expect. If a normal motorcycle can go forward and some back (or well, all if you push them), it can move forward, backwards, for the sides, in a circle, diagonally … almost in all the ways that occur to us.
This is possible because the British, who has been creating this type of gadgets for almost two decades, calls this invention as Omni-Bike and has already created several, although the latter is Chopper style and, as he recognizes, does not work as expected. But before, we will detail how Bruton created this “pot.”
The first thing that we must be clear about is that the rear wheel is not conventional at all, and that it is operated by an engine and formed by two discs, each with six small wheels distributed so that the gaps of one are covered by the wheels of the other, thus ensuring continuous contact with the ground.
The chassis has been mounted using T-Slot-type aluminum profiles, mechanized plates and 3D-made parts. Everything is screwed solidly. Two recycled O-Drive Servos of a previous project are responsible for moving the front wheel, while another serve, placed just behind the seat on a vertical profile, deals with handling the rear through a pulley system.
Under the seat, which is slightly elevated and padded, we find the battery box and some strokes. There is also a level control panel, output meters, switches to activate the wheels and some more elements.
Another peculiarities of this project is that instead of riding rotating fists such as previous projects (one to move forward and go back, and another to bow), this time Bruton has listened to his community and has chosen to install joysticks in the handlebar.
Each of the joysticks allows the vehicle to be moved in six different axes. In theory, everything could be controlled with only one, but that implies a little practical complexity, so it has preferred to use one to move forward or back and another to move laterally.
Bruton’s omni-bike is not so easy to handle
In the video where he teaches all the assembly – highly recommended if you go the experiments with motorcycles – Bruton reviews step by step each part of the process. If what interests you is to see how it is going, just jump to the 20:30 minute to see the test, which comes with surprise.
And it is that during the first laps he discovered that turning in a circle was not as intuitive as he expected: to turn to the side he had to bow to the opposite. That is why he tried to roll in reverse, although the results were not as expected …
There is no doubt that once again, Bruton has launched a project that, although it is not precisely functional or thought for daily use, does offer a level of creativity and technical genius difficult to match.
Because yes, this omni-bike may not be the ideal mobility solution, but in terms of originality, it is left over.
