http://www.amazon.com/Hub-City-FB110URX5-Setscrew-Mounting/dp/B00ECZOXNY/ref=sr_1_28?ie=UTF8&qid=1445020629&sr=8-28&keywords=5%2F8%22+locking+collar

Double set screw locking collar  and mount for securing rod to one side

Today went very smoothly.  I was very happy about the progress we made; I did not think that we would get as far as we did.  First, we planned everything out.  We decided on using potentiometers and accelerometers for our sensors instead of pressure pads.  We also talked a little about how to mount them to the body.  We did a little of everything today, but we mainly focused on the body housing.  We 3D modeled it, and then cut it out in thick wood.  By the end of the day, we had all of the parts for one of the sides (not including the side covers).  Tomorrow, I think we will assemble it and also cut out the other side.  Dan is bringing in wheels that he has at home.  They have a ten inch diameter, so they might be too big, but we wanted to test them out before we ordered something.

2 of these: 6031K16 

The monorover is a simple and effective tool to speed up everyday travel.  It is easy to learn, and uses pressure plates to tell the position of the passenger. The person just has to lean forwards or backwards to go in their desired direction.  Surprisingly, I could not find any detailed schematics or information about the electronics online, but I can make assumptions about the technology they used.  Since it is self balancing, they would have to use some gyroscopic sensor to keep it level.  I would also guess that there is some sort of rotational sensor in the middle of the board, where the two sides meet, to deal with turning.  For our version of it, we can just use a two by four for the base, and the small motors that were used on the electric skateboard would be the power.  I think the easiest way to make it monerver is to have buttons on the inner walls (next to the feet), so the feet could press against them when the person wants to move.  The person would hold down both to go forward, hold down one side to turn in a certain direction, and tap the buttons once to go backwards.  I think that it would be a challenge to make it self balancing, but we could do it using gyroscopic sensors and stabilisers.