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Why have four wheels or even two when all that’s needed is a single one?
Venice entrepreneur Sean Chan, with that in mind, has developed a one-wheel electric unicycle. His product, the Uno Bolt, partly inspired by the Japanese anime television series “Dragon Ball Z," has attracted the attention of Hollywood and the Discovery Channel.
The Uno Bolt can be traced back to Chan's college days. In 2009, he graduated from State College of Florida, Manatee-Sarasota, and he got a degree in information technology from the University of South Florida in 2014.
During college, he worked for a company developing a different kind of vehicle. Chan was involved in a few versions of that vehicle, including a version that caught the eye of Hollywood director James Cameron’s production company for use in an upcoming movie.
Chan says he wanted more of a say on changes to the vehicle, so he parted ways with the company. After he did, he started work on what would become the Uno Bolt.
Research and development on the Uno Bolt is being done in Venice at LED Impressions and Computer Solutions, a company Chan started that makes LED signage and performs computer repair. He and his father work at the company, along with other engineers who help with the Uno Bolt.
The Uno Bolt is available for $999 at unobolt.com. Chan says they sell five to 10 units a week.
A smaller vehicle, dubbed the Uno Bolt Mini, is expected to launch in the third or fourth quarter of 2018, Chan says. It will be priced around $800. He foresees the minis selling two or three times more than the original because of the mini’s ability to serve as a stand-in for other modes of transportation for commuting in cities and navigating college campuses.
The manufacturing of the original Uno Bolt is done in China. But Chan says for the mini, the manufacturing will shift to Venice.
He says to look for the Uno Bolt on television in the coming months, when a show on the Discovery Channel might air featuring the invention. The channel already came and filmed the product, putting the Uno Bolt through several tests. Says Chan, “We’re still doing some modifications.”
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