The Segway Pogo Stick uses similar engineering concepts to the Segway scooter, namely that it has an inbuilt sense of balance that keeps the user from tipping over.
The user just climbs on and begins to jump. Gyros and electronics inside the stick sense the movement, and actuators move the bottom end of the stick (say, 12 to 18 inches long) to compensate for the user's being off-balance. Of course, once the adjustment had been made to the bottom of the stick in mid-flight, it would have to be locked in place somehow to prevent undue stress on the servo motors when the user hits the ground (over 100 lbs of bending force would likely result).
It would also, like the Segway scooter, sense when the user is intentionally leaning in a certain direction, and allow them to bounce in that direction (without falling over of course).-- andrewbee, Apr 23 2010 3D one-leg hopper, 1983-1984 http://www.ai.mit.e.../robots/robots.htmlClick "runners/hoppers" link at top of page. [mouseposture, Apr 24 2010, last modified Apr 25 2010] Cool, but as you mentioned stressful on the mechanism. (+)-- MisterQED, Apr 23 2010 I'd bun this as wildly impractical, if the description made it at all possible. How about a ring of feet, only one of which sticks out at a time?-- baconbrain, Apr 23 2010 I will have to bone this unless it is made clear then the device does the jumping for you, and you only have to stand on the platform holding the handle. Far too active and energetic otherwise.-- pocmloc, Apr 24 2010 [baconbrain] Impractical, maybe, but not *wildly* so: <link>-- mouseposture, Apr 24 2010 Bun only because its more practical than the normal segway because it can go up stairs.
I think you could use a classic pogo stick but have retro rockets at the bottom of the stick to always point it at the optimum angle and center of gravity.-- metarinka, Apr 26 2010 random, halfbakery