Robo-Lance

A bicycle built for two: one rider and one robot to do all the work

The project began as a challenge. Cart Morgan’s son Justin, recalling how he used to have to crank up a nasty hill outside their Bainbridge Island, Washington, home every day, asked his dad, a retired electrical engineer, if he (38)_____ build something that would take care of the pedalling lazy biker. The “yes” (39)_____ about a year later — an electric-motor-powered tandem bicycle featuring a gleaming robot named Joules.

Morgan spent months modelling how (40)_____ a motor spin into pedal-pushing legs. The motor inside Joules’s torso turns a series of linked belts and chains that transfer power from one area of the robot to the next. Each upper leg pivots at the hip, raising and lowering its knee and forcing the lower leg to turn the pedal. He also added “bones” (rods on the outside) for needed stiffness.

Morgan was nervous when he climbed in front for the final test, but Joules (41)_____ cruised to the top of the hill. The bike could probably do more, even hit 30 miles per hour, but Morgan says he doesn’t plan to find out: “I think Joules could go (42)______ faster but we’ll never know for sure.”