

This guy reinvented the wheel -- by turning it into a cube. - EGreg
http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2013/06/this-guy-reinvented-the-wheel-by-turning-it-into-a-cube/276705/

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mdturnerphys
Sounds like a lot of hype. If you go look at the actual wheel, it's nothing
more than a circular wheel with a sinusoidal tread.

After watching the Kickstarter video, it looks like the "cube" part comes from
the inventor discovering this tread while playing with ways to fit a curved
tube inside a cube.

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beloch
It does indeed look like a cube... from an off-axis angle thanks to the
irregular protrusion of the tread. If you were to cut the excess tread off
straight across the axis you'd have a pretty normal looking wheel.

The explanation of why it's better is also pretty flimsy. The video basically
says, "I put together a weird shape that can sort of fit in a cube but also
rolls! Gnarly man!". These are basically skateboard wheels with treads, which
might make them decent off-road wheels (people already make these). Those
irregular edges look really weird to slide sideways on and I have a feeling
they might be a little bit unpredictable.

I'm not sure if this is a good invention or not, but they've already picked up
$80K on kickstarter, so it's certainly a great example of how to run a
kickstarter campaign!

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nakedrobot2
As beloch pointed out, it is a great example of how to run a kickstarter
campaign.

But zooming out a bit, it is a great way to subvert "regular folks'"
understanding of geometry to create a winning PR campaign and score major
coverage from reputable sources.

Congrats to all involved. I'm not sure whether to shake their hands or slap my
own forehead.

