WHATif - Revamped Hovershoes

Welcome back readers!

Yes...its been a minute, lets talk.

But first how are you? No really, how is everyone doing? Good? Busy? Tired? Excited? I hope you are all well and safe. Let me know in the comments!

As for me, I moved into uni three weeks ago and its been busy ever since. I love it here call me moist if you like and I enjoy being able to study for something I actually like. Howeverrrrr, that does not mean it's easy...it's not 😭. And I have been pretty busy keeping up with all of the course content, which is why this has taken some time to come out. But I am back now, and I have something a bit different for you!

Normally my WHATif posts are about something I came up with, but I wanted to switch things up for this post, and do an analysis. This just means, we get something weird and wacky that already exists, and I try to redesign how they would work, with ✨my twist✨. And today's topic will be on 

Hovershoes!!!

BUT

Before we get into it, make sure you have subscribed to the blog (button in right hand corner of the page when you scroll up) and share with anybody you know is interested in innovation/how things work. My people, lezgerrintowit!

HOW THEY WORK

A lot like Segways, the user leans forward or back or tilts to either side to indicate the direction that they want to go. The hoverboard actually has a roller so that it moves forward, and the person's weight is balanced on each board. 

Force description: bodyweight/2 indicates that the person has two feet (hopefully) over which the entire body's weight is shared. The reaction force from the ground ensures that they do not sink into the ground. As with all surfaces, there is friction, as the wheel rubs against what ever surface the user hovers on, and there is the forward force produced from the motors inside it, which move the wheels. 

WHAT DOES IT NEED:

• Wheels - they see me rollinnnnnnn 😎, they hatinnnnnn 😡
• Surface to put feet on
• Motors to help the wheels change direction💥
• Power input
• Pressure sensors, to detect the tilt from user in direction the user wants to move in 
• Microprocessor, to determine user's desired move and control which direction the motors move and when.

DESIGNING IT:

As you can see there are three main sections to this design. You have the foot rest, the sensing section, and the motion section. I have opted for a long rotating roller rather than a wheel, so this design takes the shape of more of a roller skate. However, this was easier to design in terms of changing directions, as the roller slides horizontally in the front and the back to provide rotation. While I haven't really gone into depth about the kind of materials these will be made out of, there are properties that are necessary for some parts to have, so I will make note of that throughout. 

Section A

This section is probably the simplest section. 20cm wide (most feet are narrower than that anyway) and 30cm long (again, larger than length of most feet but not too large). The little ridged sections, as can be seen in the diagram, are to prevent slipping through increasing friction. 

Section B

The foam layer just insulates the pressure sensors so they are not damaged, but also helps to transfer the pressure to the pressure sensors, and distribute some across the body of the foam, so it isn't oVErLOad on the sensors.

The sensors are on the outskirts of the section, and measure pressure on the front, back, left and right sides. They are connected to the third section below, which is the motion section, which also contains the microprocessor, which coordinate the movements.

Section C

Coordinating motion

Diagram 1- motors

Diagram 2 - Microprocessor connected to the pressure sensors

(see the annotations F, B, L, R - Front, Back, Left, Right respectively)

if B prominent (if sensors at the back detect most pressure), rotate mot. B and mot C anticlockwise [see first diagram]

if F prominent, rotate mot. B and mot. C clockwise [see first diagram for annotated motors]

(NB, I am only doing one example of this analysis used for changing direction, as this would become very long otherwise. From the example you can probably deduce where the pressure placement would need to be the most to indicate a desired change in direction)

E.g. coordinating changing direction to the left

if F and L prominent (this is where the most pressure placement in toes would be if the user was to lean/tilt body forward and to the left), rotate mot. A anticlockwise [see first diagram for annotated motors]

On diagram 1,  above motors B and C you will see that there are 2 circles, with either a dot or cross on them. Their directions mean into the page or out of the page respectively. On the side of them there are the abbreviations AC and C which mean anticlockwise and clockwise . This just indicates what direction motor A is moving in when the motors B and C are moved into/out of the page. The diagram above should help to portray what the effect of this is on the roller. 

On diagram 2, there are some weird banana looking shapes in white, with a circle in each of them. These are just bevelled areas on which motors B and C can slide when motor A rotates. 

The microprocessor is connected to a mini voltage booster circuit beneath it, so it can send enough voltage to power the motors. This power is also in conjunction with the power form the inlet at the back B. 

Unlike my previous post, I have not done as much detailed retelling of my images, as they should hopefully speak for themselves...that is if you can read my cursive on mY brANd nEW iPAd (I will not be living this down any time soon sorryyyyy).

And that is all for today folks.

 This was actually a pretty light exercise, and not as intensive research-wise as some of the other WHATifs, which is nice for a change. Don't leave without some interaction - let me know what you thought in the comment sections (I know most of you are an opinionative bunch, don't be shy), how you would have done it, what materials you would use, etc. 

Andddd defo subscribe to this.. wouldn't want to miss some of the opportunities I have lined up for my next posts 🙈

God bless, 

EO