By Laura Kiniry Photos by Rachel Fong Tired of walking to the
supermarket from his dorm, 21-year-old MIT computer science and
electrical engineering student Stephan Boyer decided he needed a
quicker way to travel. “I wanted a personal transporter that
could get me around campus but be as small and light and fast as
possible,” he says. Five months later, Boyer had Bullet, a self-
balancing electric unicycle that reaches a top speed of 15 miles
per hour and is the envy of his peers. Boyer built Bullet with
$1,000 and endless ingenuity. After teaching himself welding and
some mechanical engineering, he got to work collecting
materials: a basic fork to hold both a moped wheel and motor,
welded-on pedals to provide foot support, and a top seat. “I
didn’t really plan out the [entire design], so the battery and
electronics are held on with zip ties,” he says. Bullet also
features a kill switch for swift deactivation. He says the
design could be built for $600. For balance, Bullet employs an
onboard computer and two s