Toyota, one of the world’s biggest and most influential carmakers, have unveiled the Winglet, which they say is ‘A personal transport assistance robot ridden in a standing position.’ And since the Winglet has two wheels – even if they are side by side rather than one behind the other – we’ll say it’s Toyota’s first motorcycle…Still under development, the battery-powered Toyota Winglet has internal sensors that constantly monitor the user’s position and stabilize the vehicle automatically. Toyota say the Winglet’s parallel link mechanism allows the rider to go forward, backward and turn simply by shifting body weight – just like the Segway transporter.Toyota are working on three Winglet variants – L, M and S – each of which, the company claims, has different handling characteristics, from practical to sporty! The Winglet will only do 6km/h however, so don’t get all set to trade in your GSX-R just yet. Consumer trials are expected to begin soon, and Toyota’s ‘motorcycle’ may go into production by 2010-11.
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