As part of its robotics research, which began in 1986, Honda held an internal idea contest that resulted in two ideas for single-rider personal mobility devices. Leveraging its robotics technologies, Honda began full-scale personal mobility R&D based on these ideas.
In September 2009, Honda announced the U3-X, a personal mobility device designed for harmony with people. In May 2011, Honda unveiled the prototype of UNI-CUB, a personal mobility device offering enhanced ease of control and mobility.
