A group of engineering students at the University of Adelaide have built a vehicle that would be perfectly at home in just about any science fiction movie you've ever seen: Electric Diwheel with Active Rotation Damping, or EDWARD for short.

Here's an overview from the project page:

This honors project involved the construction of a human operated diwheel. Many diwheels in the past have been human powered or powered by IC engines. This one is purely electric. It has additional functionality lacking in other models, including inbuilt dynamic lateral stability and slosh control to prevent "gerbiling" or tumbling in aggressive braking or acceleration maneuvers. The diwheel also incorporates a unique feature that allows the rider to drive the vehicle when "upside down" - keeping the vehicle in its unstable state is achieved using a combined swingup and inversion controller. The mechanical design and some of the electronics was completed in 2009, with the majority of the electronics and control systems developed in 2010.

Intrigued by that description? Well then, you're definitely going to want to see the diwheel in action:

I'm not a huge fan of bicycles and cycling, but even I have to admit that this two-wheeled mode of transportation is cool...