There's a model railroader who builds these things.[1] They balance and corner fine.<p>With one rail, the models can't take power from the rails. They run on AA batteries.<p>There's also a drivable 2-wheeled gyro-balanced car from the late 1960s.[2]<p>These things work, but wobble too much. With active control, though...<p>[1] <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ifroNPpK9jQ&list=PLE006F2D7330BBE12" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ifroNPpK9jQ&list=PLE006F2D73...</a><p>[2] <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TTCVn4EByfI" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TTCVn4EByfI</a>
Some things im curious about with this concept.<p>1) why not mount the gyro horizontally?
2) would the addition of a very large (say 10ft diameter) primary load bearing wheels (like a bicycle) assist with stability at speed
3) video mentions a need for gyros in each car, I wonder if such a system could only require a complicated active control system in the front (and maybe rear) car, and the rest could have simpler 'passive' gyro arrangements to assist in relative stability to the active controls?
4) could modern control systems materially improve upon this? For example, an all-electric drive for the intermediate gyros off a primary power unit is pretty trivial.
5) why wouldn't they want the flywheels higher up, like mounted over the roof? quicker reaction time and more force per rotation?<p>Thats all for now.