Housing a motor and counterweight inside a giant wheel, the driver sits on a platform that extends out in front of the device.
This is in contrast to the typical monowheels and their long history, where the rider sits inside the wheel.
Inside is a lead-weighted engine, which hangs by bearings off a stationary center shaft and uses its torque to move from 0 degrees vertical when stationary to 90 degrees forward at full blast, continually pulling itself forward around a sprocket bolted to the outer spokes.
An independent counterweight system keeps the driver floating gently above ground out front, instead of inside the wheel, where most monowheel designs sequester him.
[1] Part-time programmer and Renaissance Fair jouster Jake Lyall had never worked for a garage, studied engineering, or even held a welder before he built the RIOT Wheel.