Float History

Dean Kamen, Robert Ambrogi, Robert Duggan, J. Field, Richard Heinzmann, Burl Amesbury, and Christopher Langenfeld invent automatically balancing vehicles.

Predating Future Motion, Inc.‘s debut of their Onewheel Kickstarter Project by 7 years, YouTube user bensmither, posts Balancing Scooter / Skateboard.

You can read more about the build on the robosys.co.uk website here.

Future Motion, Inc. launches the Onewheel :: The Self Balancing Electric Skateboard Kickstarter campaign.

Within the first 24 hours, the project reaches 40% of it’s initial $100,000 pledge goal.

After 25 days, the original Kickstarter campaign for the Onewheel is fully funded by 1,015 backers for $630,862.

The first Onewheel is hand-delivered by Kyle Doerksen and Jack Mudd.

Future Motion, Inc. holds the first officially sponsored Onewheel competition at the GoPro Mountain Games in Vail, Colorado, which occurred June 4-7, 2015. “Onewheel” was listed as a “Demo & Expo Partner” for the event.

(If you know who won this competition, or any details about this competition, please send me a message!)

Future Motion, Inc. was granted an ex parte temporary restraining order and seizure order against Changzhou First International Trade, which prompted US Marshals to raid their booth at CES 2016 (video), confiscating their Trotter single wheel electric skateboard devices and all associated promotional material.

Future Motion, Inc. previously filed a complaint of patent infringement against Changzhou First International Trade on January 5, 2016.

Future Motion, Inc. voluntarily dismissed their lawsuit against Changzhou First International Trade on Feburary 4, 2016.

Future Motion, Inc. announces Onewheel+. Most notably, Onewheel+ features the first iteration of the “Hypercore” motor, which allows the axle to act as a heat sink for the motor. Onewheel+ was initially priced at $1,499 and shipped in April 2017.

(If you know the exact date the Onewheel+ arrived to the first customer, please send me a message!)

On, or about a month prior to June 22, 2017, the first “bonk” is performed by Jeff McCosker.

A “bonk” is the single wheel electric skateboard equivalent to traditional skateboarding’s “ollie”, where a rider uses a small obstacle to get air time with their board.

(If you have a better description for a bonk, or proof of an earlier bonk, please send me a message!)

FloatLife Fest, which eventually becomes the longest running Onewheel community event, began with their first event hosted on October 13-15, 2017 in Asheville, North Carolina.

Future Motion, Inc. announces Onewheel+ XR. Compared to Onewheel+, the battery voltage was increased from 48V to 63V, and the range more than doubled from 5-7 miles to 12-18 miles. Onewheel+ XR was initially priced at $1,799 and shipped in March 2018.

During the life of the Onewheel+ XR, Future Motion, Inc. updated the Onewheel application so that it no longer displays pack or individual cell voltages in diagnostics. Being able to see each cell’s voltage is an important safety feature and can help riders identify faulty batteries before they cause a ride failure. This feature also allowed riders with non-stock batteries to monitor their remaining charge by inspecting pack voltage in diagnostics.

(If you know the exact date the Onewheel+ XR arrived to the first customer, or the exact date or version the Onewheel app was updated to no longer show voltages, please send me a message!)

In Miami, Florida, Cory Boehne witnessed a serious hit and run while riding his Onewheel+ XR. Boehne was able to chase the driver down on his board, break their driver’s side window, remove them from their car, and detain them until law enforcement arrived. (additional sources)

Future Motion, Inc. announces Onewheel Pint. Onewheel Pint is a more compact and affordable addition to Future Motion, Inc.’s product lineup, featuring a slower top speed of 16mph and shorter range of 6-8 miles when compared to the Onewheel+ XR. The Onewheel Pint was initially priced at $950 and started shipping in May 2019.

(If you know the exact date the Onewheel Pint arrived to the first customer, please send me a message!)

Mitch Lustig lays the foundation for self-balancing devices controlled by VESC through his contributions to VESC Tool. Lustig later releases several video tutorials on his YouTube channel, outlining configuration, usage, and key concepts around the application.

VESC Tool is an open source brushless direct current motor controller tool with an intuitive user graphical interace, which enables users to configure their VESC-based boards.

Future Motion, Inc., announces Onewheel GT and Onewheel Pint X during their “Onewheel Uncharted” live event.

The Onewheel Pint X, initially priced at $1,400, is a direct successor of the original Onewheel Pint. Its advertised range (12–18 miles), battery voltage (63 V nominal), and top speed (18 mph) match those of the Onewheel+ XR, while keeping the same form factor of the original Pint.

The Onewheel GT replaces the Onewheel+ XR as Future Motion’s flagship product, featuring a complete design overhaul and improved performance. Priced at $2,200, the GT features an advertised top speed of 20 mph, expected range of 20–32 miles, and a 75 V battery.

Controversially, the GT uses a larger hub motor rim diameter—6.5 inches versus the XR’s 6 inches. Compared to the XR tire, the GT tire holds less air and provides less clearance between the tire and hub; these factors negatively affect the ride experience and increase the risk of hub motor rim damage.

Additionally, the new tire dimensions render all previous Onewheel tires incompatible with the GT. With 11.5×6.5-6.5 tires being a non-standard size, non-Future Motion Onewheel GT compatible tires would not exist for months following the launch of the board.

Both new boards were available for purchase immediately. Onewheel Pint X started shipping same-day, with the first customers receiving their boards the next day. The first production Onewheel GT shipped on March 7, 2022.

As early as November 2021, Hannes Schatzmann, aka @vesc.mann on Instagram, discovered through independent trial and error that utilizing high Mahony KP (a tuning setting that distorts pitch angle readings when under heavy acceleration/deceleration) and ditching many typical tuning conventions produced much more intuitive, smooth, and predictable ride feel more similar to Future Motion, Inc.’s proprietary Onewheel motor controller software.

When surfdado learned of this in March 2022 from Schatzmann in private group chats and made this information public through his “VESC Balance Firmware – Magic Settings in v5.2” video, these tuning adjustments were widely adopted and became the basis for further iteration by a growing community of rider-developers.

The largest issue introduced with this new tuning methodology was “nose hunting,” where high frequency bumps or rough terrain could cause the nose of the board to slowly rise or lower as these conditions can cause the motor controller to “lose sense” of what is level.

A key issue affecting the early production models of the Onewheel GT was “ghosting”, where the footpad sensor remains active after a rider leaves the board, causing the board to stay engaged and drive away as if a “ghost” is riding it. This unintended behavior poses a serious risk to persons and property as the board will accelerate to its top capable speed (roughly 30 mph) and continue traveling until the board topples over or the sensor recognizes the error.

This issue became so widespread that on August 11, 2022, Future Motion, Inc. and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) recalled thousands of GT footpads. Consumers can determine if their footpad is affected by visiting recall.onewheel.com, and if affected, receive a replacement footpad free of charge.

The recall revealed that by August 11, 2022, Future Motion, Inc. had received 813 reports of “ghosting”, with 11 of those reports including injuries.

To mitigate the ghosting issue, Future Motion, Inc. started manufacturing GT footpads with an additional layer of plastic between the grip tape and the sensor, rendering the sensor less sensitive to pressure and thus less likely to receive false-positive readings. There are numerous community tutorials available instructing users how to remove this extra layer of plastic if desired, as some riders prefer the previous, more sensitive pressure sensors (accepting the higher risk of “ghosting” and of damaging their sensor during the modification.)

On this date, surfdado integrated a new IMU filter developed by Mitch Lustig into the VESC firmware which eliminated the nose hunting issue introduced earlier in the year when the VESC rider community broadly swapped to using Hannes Schatzmann’s high Mahony KP tuning methodology.

This update marks a major turning point where VESC boards became more broadly recognized as being just as, if not more, capable than Future Motion, Inc.’s proprietary Onewheel boards.

On this date, The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) posted a warning about the risk of death and serious injury with all models of Future Motion Inc.’s Onewheel self-balancing electric skateboards. Siting at least four reported deaths between 2019 and 2021 and multiple reports of serious injuries after the product failed to balance the rider or suddenly stopped while in motion.

CPSC Commissioner Richard Trumka stated “Immediately stop using all Onewheel electric skateboards—they are not worth dying for.”

According to the CPSC, Future Motion, Inc. refused to agree to an acceptable recall of the product. Future Motion, Inc. issued a press release and public message regarding the CPSC statement on social media, calling CPSC’s warning “unjustified and alarmist”.