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by novia 996 days ago
A onewheel is supposed to self-balance at all times. A nosedive would be when it failed to engage in the expected self balancing behavior, rendering it suddenly unrideable.
2 comments

You’re riding a Onewheel, you lift your foot completely off the back of the board. How is it physically possible for the Onewheel to continue self balancing in this state?
on my electric unicycle, it is perfectly capable of of counteracting the entirety of my weight on my toes to come to a stop. idk if onewheels are different
That’s literally impossible. It can only balance within its operating limits.
https://thestoddardfirm.com/product-liability/onewheel/

> Once the device senses that it is getting dangerously close to these limits, it shuts off. This wouldn’t be a big problem on a regular motorized scooter, moped, or other comparable device, but the Onewheel has self-balancing technology that requires power. Instead of simply cutting off additional forward momentum and letting the user coast to a stop, the board lurches violently forward into the ground as soon as the motor stops, according to the reports of injured users.

Yes, if you push through the pushback then you can get it going to the motor’s limit.

What do you think should happen at that edge case? Preferably in a way that adheres to physics…

It was discussed in the article. They're adding a vibration and audible warning once the motor reaches its limit, or in any other edge case where the board cannot supply the proper counterbalance.

Why this feature wasn't implemented after the first prototype ever made is completely beyond me. Seems like a literal no brainer. The "bump" feedback can easily be mistaken for an uneven road surface (ask me and my broken ass wrist how I know) but a board buzzing and audibly yelling at you is hard to mistake.

Pushback is nothing like “a bump”

The nose starts lifting and it’s quite obvious. I’ve heard the term “Captain Morganing” in multiple groups of riders, because that’s how it feels if you’re not aggressively leaning into it to go faster.

The GT already has an audible alert, it’s less obvious than pushback.

They already said what they should think happen. And after the lawsuit we will know if a nosedive is considered a reasonable failure mode.
I think the full recall tells us that, no, it is not.
> there’s no obvious reason the balance-assist system couldn’t be designed to stay on for a while after the motor stops

Amazing, would love to hear how this works!