Patent ID: 8219308

Claim:
A vehicle comprising: a wheel having a diameter, an outer periphery of the wheel for contacting a surface for moving relative to the surface; a support structure circumscribed by the wheel, wherein the wheel rotates about the support structure; a propulsion system circumscribed by the wheel and connected to the support structure, the propulsion system being coupled to the wheel for rotating the wheel around the propulsion system, thus propelling the wheel along the surface; and an automatic balancing system circumscribed by the wheel and connected to the support structure, the balancing system comprising: a flywheel that is controllable to spin around a flywheel spin axis, the flywheel spin axis being connected to the support structure by a pivot that is rotatable to orient the flywheel in different directions, whereby changing a direction of the flywheel spin axis places a torque on the support structure; and a control system configured to receive signals from one or more sensors in the vehicle providing balancing information, the control system being coupled to the pivot to orient the flywheel in different directions to adjust an attitude of the vehicle for maintaining balance of the vehicle.