Ben Gulak

Ben Gulak
Ben Gulak riding the Uno
Born	Benjamin J. Poss Gulak[1] 1989 (age 25–26) Milton, Ontario, Canada
Residence	Boston, Massachusetts
Known for	Inventor of The Uno
Website
bpgulak.com

Ben Gulak (born 1989) is a Canadian inventor best known for creating the Uno, an eco-friendly,^[1][2] electric-powered vehicle that bears a resemblance to a motorized unicycle.^[3] The vehicle had its first public unveiling in 2008,^[4] and was awarded a Top-10 prize on Popular Science's list of 2008 Invention Awards.^[5] Gulak founded the Massachusetts-based company BPG Motors, which has also developed a design for the DTV (dual-tracked vehicle) Shredder, a portable all-terrain vehicle with the handlebars of a Segway and treads similar to those of a tank.^[6]

Early life

Benjamin J. Poss Gulak^[1][7] was born in 1989^[8] in Milton, Ontario.^[4] He is the only child of Ken and Sylvie Gulak. His father is in the food business, and his mother is a psychotherapist.^[9] Gulak's grandfather was a design engineer,^[10] and at a young age Gulak would help his grandfather tinker in his basement machine shop.^[1] He spent much of his childhood making model trains, rockets, and other projects,^[1] and was a fan of inventor Nikola Tesla.^[11] His grandfather died in 2003, and Gulak inherited the machine shop.^[8][10]

In ninth grade, he entered a school science fair with a "real simple magnetic car that shot around a track using accelerator coils."^[1][10] He ended up being chosen to represent Canada on an International Level on Team Canada, which consists of 18 people competing against 54 other countries.^[1] According to Gulak, his classes subsequently suffered as he frequently skipped school to work on further science fair projects.^[11] In 2005, he entered in McMaster Engineering's summer L.E.A.P. program, where he was a team leader in the robotics program and helped the team win a robot-building competition.^[12]

BPG Motors

The Uno

While a senior in highschool in 2006, Gulak began working on a design for the Uno following a trip to China with his father.^[13] After witnessing major smog pollution caused by heavy use of small motor vehicles,^[14] he decided he wanted to create an eco-friendly alternative to submit to a science fair.^[1][2] According to Gulak, "I wanted it to be something small enough to store indoors: you could bring it up to your apartment to plug in and charge, and then you could ride it around on the road."^[11] His first designs were on Google SketchUp.^[15]

His initial design efforts consisted of an iron frame with wheelchair motors, batteries and gyroscopes.^[2] He described his first test-ride as "absolutely terrifying" and resulting in a crash and a chipped kneecap.^[2] Other early problems, including a series of electrical fires, arose. He was then joined by California robotics expert Trevor Blackwell,^[2] and together they refined the Uno's gyro control system so the machine would properly balance and move smoothly.^[2] Gulak then used the revised plans to develop a prototype vehicle with the help of various partners.^{[1][2][16][17]} The Uno is an electric-powered vehicle that bears a resemblance to a motorized unicycle. Described in news reports as either a "one wheeled motorcycle" or "electric unicycle", it is more accurately a dicycle, created by placing two closely spaced wheels side-by-side at the centre-point of the vehicle.^[3] He began building the prototype at a motorcycle shop outside Toronto.^[5]

He entered his first Uno through Team Canada during the 2008 international science fair.^[1] The vehicle had its first public unveiling at the Toronto Spring Motorcycle Show in 2008,^[4] and was awarded a Top-10 prize on Popular Science's list of 2008 Invention Awards ^[5][18][19] In an episode of the CBC series Dragons' Den, Gulak obtained $1,250,000 of venture capital for a 20% share in further development of the Uno cycle.^{[6][20][21][22]} He also appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno to talk about the project.^[9]

He put off attending MIT for a year to work on the project,^[9] raising funds and moving to Boston to open a small office in Cambridge.^[11] He started the company BPG Motors to develop the motorcycle.^[17][23] He enrolled in MIT in fall of 2008.^[8][24]

The Shredder

At age 22 while at MIT, Gulak created the DTV Shredder, an all-terrain vehicle. According to Gulak, "In a recession it doesn’t make sense to have to buy an expensive snowmobile that you can ride for three months of the year and an all-terrain vehicle that you can ride for four months of the year. I wanted to make something small enough that you could fit it in the back of any car. And I wanted it to be something you’d be able to ride all year, whether in snow, sand, or mud."^[11] The small vehicle has Segway-like handlebars, wheels similar to tank treads, and can tow up to 400 pounds.^[17]

The vehicle became popular with X Games fans.^[6] In late 2010, Gulak posted some videos of a prototype online, which by the next day had accumulated 50,000 hits, and a million hits within a week. Some bloggers assumed it was a new military device, while Gulak claims it was also intended as an extreme sports vehicle.^[11]

References

External links

• Official website

Further reading

• Rolling Stone: How Inventor Ben Gulak Went From Science-Fair Nerd to the Playboy Mansion (October 2011)