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Segway: IT Lives
by jason bergman, Dec 03, 2001 7:30am PSTCarried over from last night...Well here "IT" is, a little earlier than expected...Segway, the mystery invention also known as "Ginger" (thanks Aizaz Akram and everyone else who sent this in). Time magazine's story on Segway shows that the personal vehicle is intended for intra-city transportation (meaning you won't use it on a highway, but to get to work it's a gem), and features no steering wheel, a super-rechargable battery and an engine that has no harmful emissions of any kind. Initially it will be available for industrial use, but the plan is to have a consumer model out shortly thereafter (with a price tag of around $2,000).
Comments
I'll save you time when you'd otherwise be on foot, it runs on pennies a day in energy costs, & the concept is just flat out cool. Watching the vids of people riding them is just awesome.
The only way I see this device failing is through legislation or lawsuits (& you know the P.I. lawyers got wood when they saw this thing. Bastards.).
I'd love to have a chance to ride one & see what it's like.
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I think Segway looks pretty cool. Not the design, but the motion. It's a jivemobile. You juke and jive on it. Nice.
Worth 3 g's? Heh, tell me another one.
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She didn't wipe out because the the Segway company had people there acting as spotters, and they caught her. Oh well.
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sorry.
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If it only uses 5 cents of electricity per day then how come it can only manage an 11 to 15 mile range maximum without recharging?
I was thinking that the most revolutionary aspect of this device might be the incredibly small amount of electricity it takes to run it. But if it uses such a small amount of electricity then why can't it travel further on a single recharge?
So I'm afraid if the Segway didn't do the auto-balancing or was not controllable by shifting your weight then we would be left with nothing special at all.
And for all practical purposes a device like this could be just as effective if it simply had a third wheel that got rid of the need for autobalancing. How much trouble would it be to have a control switch for forward and backward. Those two things would totally destroy the cool factor but as a transportation device would it be any less effective?
I think Dean Kamen described it best in his first few words on Good Morning America when he said something to the effect of "It's the world's first self-balancing personal transportation device..." That's it. That's really all it is. Why make it off balance just so it can balance itself? What does it gain by being inherently off balance?
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Segway max speed = 20kmh (12.5 mph)
Segway max range = (up to) 28km (17 miles)
They say you can use it "all day" though... well look at the numbers. Looks like there's just over an hours worth of charge in those batteries.
The "up to" also means: (a) you're going on a perfectly flat surface (b) there is no wind. So basically in a perfect world of no wind, and no change in elevation, you're going to get 28km... I wonder how fast the charge dies going up and down hills?
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I see a guy going to work in the city. He is 5 minutes late. He is jamming down the bike lane at 15.3 mph on his Segway. He looks at his watch and shouts "FUCK!". With a grimmace on his face, he leans foward a little more.
The End.
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Segway is going to replace every mode of local transportation, including walking.
Which means, if I wait long enough, I can just "invent" the bicycle. Cept I'll call it the "Robotron2000". It's going to be about the size of those mini-bicycles that clowns ride in the circus. It allows you to move faster than segway, AND provides you with the aerobic exercise you (will) desperate need. All I have to do is install a hydraulic rotation plate that will come down and lift the "Robotron2000" off the ground, and then rotate the user in the direction he wants to go in. There ya go, zero turning radius!
And you can do tricks on it too...
dfi
I'd really like to see one.
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It sure looks gay, but I bet it's fun as hell and has a whole lot of potential. I wish I had one of these things 3 years ago when I started college. By the time they are available, I'll be done with long walks to class :(
5 Cents a day.
10 Cents for a 6 hour charge.
$3000 (The 65 Pound consumer model. Available in a year.)
$8000 (The 80 Pound Heavy Duty model.)
12mph-15mph
Range 15 miles? (Apparently a 7.5 hour charge time.)
There will be plenty of utility uses. (But I'm afraid the lawn mower version already exists)
The invention is basically what I expected to be, although I didnt think it would have a handlebar. Wouldnt it be better if you can shift your body weight to turn? Maybe not.
For that much money and a 6 hour charge though, I'd rather buy a bike. Besides, you can do tricks on THAT.
dfi
Am I right?
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* Overpriced
* Arguably useless
* Steve Jobs thinks it's fantastic. Hmm.
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xvdl vs ath1337
fight!
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It weighs 80 lbs. and has a maximum range of just 17 km or 11 miles on a full charge.
I'm getting this from segway's new website by the way. http://www.segway.com.edgesuite.net/consumer/connect/multimedia.html There's a consumer video that will probably make you laugh (the quicktime version is high quality and not getting hammered)
In the video I love the husband and wife who appear to be in the suburbs and are leaving for work on their Segways. They look ridiculous, they won't make it half way there. I want to see them smashed by a soccer mom careening down the road in her Ford Gargantuano with an American flag streaming from the top of both front side passenger windows. That's just what I want to see. That's America.
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1. Snap on attachments for things such as bag holders, coffee cup holders, laptop compartments, holsters for guns, etc, etc.
2. A rain coat, or, a special made enclosure for your segway with a door and all. Like snap-on face plates for cell phones (color your segway a stylish blue color, or make it look like your PT Cruiser!)
3. If you roll off the curb sideways in this thing, you're an idiot in the first place and deserve to break your neck.
4. I don't find it uncomfortable to stand for long periods of time as long as I am continually shifting my weight, much like what is required for skillful motion of the segway (apparently). So, I wouldn't personally find the whole standing thing an ordeal.
5. With the construction of it, I can't see people hitting eachother at high speed unless you're both looking the other way for an extended period of time (which doesn't seem highly probably unless walking) because of the fact that it reacts to your movements, so if you flinch or think about stopping fast, i'm sure the segway will bring you both to a comfortable stop without any injuries. You can't fall over anyway supposedly, so hitting someone in one shouldnt be an issue unless you throw yourself off of it in a desperate attempt to create a lawsuit.
6. I'd say it is MUCH safer than a car in weather, because:
a. Claims the tires are made for rain traction.
b. When it rains, people drive like they're fricking NUTS.
c. No windshield and wipers to squint past. (Umbrella).
d. Uhmmm... Refer to a and b and make your own conclusions.
7. If you want to ride a bicycle, go ahead. Those of us who don't like to arrive at our jobs or other places panting for breath, sweaty/smelly, and generally wasted will use our Segways when we have to go up that 5 block stretch straight up hill. Oh, and we wont have to worry about sticking that greasy chain back on after you go over a particularly nasty bump.
8. If you think everyone is going to stare at you like you're a nerdy moron when riding one, they probably already stare at you like that. What you're riding on has nothing to do with how people look at you unless you're getting in their way (Bicycle) or just being a stupid kid (Skateboard). The Segway is the adult transportation device. No one will care. You've got other issues if you're so afraid of people thinking you're different than them. Be different! (Hahah, Think Different).
9. We already handled all the rain/weather issues, but once again this is very simple: If you don't want to ride it when it's raining, then dont! A large percentage of people don't even drive when it's raining unless they positively HAVE to. A even larger percentage don't walk in the rain. What a waste of your body and the $15,000+ you spent on your car if you're not using it 75% of the year, huh! Damn.
Any more? I've been flipping through only a few comments a bit. And I think we're reached the conclusion that XVDL is a complete and total ass, so we don't need to reply to him anymore, I'd think.
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- What if your stopped on the sidewalk by a cop in a drunken state? DUI? Do they make you roll in a straight line?
"Sorry officer.. I just can't fuck up this straight line test."
- Look... I'm going to get wet leaving the damn building/office/school I was in no matter what. Even if the car or Segway is less than a foot away. Same with snow. Same with sweat and excessive heat. Weather isn't going to stop me from going where I want.
- There has to be a portable radio/mp3 player option. Half the fun of driving is turning on the tunes and enjoying a good song while doing so. Unlesssss... the whole idea in the first place was to make us buy an I-Pod from Steve Jobs. No wonder he loved it so much. C-O-N-spiracy.
- What hell do postal workers do if they have large packages/excessive amounts of mail? Will there be a mini-trailer that attaches to the Segway? I picture the postal worker stopping the jeep off at a neighborhood park, then refilling his bag to cover a certain amount of streets each time while riding the Segway. My postman is at least fifty years old. I can already imagine his reaction to being forced to carry shitloads of heavy mail in a backpack.
"Fuck you jackass. I'm not lifting this shit."
He always was the blunt type.
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just bundle up and wear a hat.
i would like to go 15mph in the SNOW instead of walking.. walking is slower than normal when there is snow.
i would rather use the Segway for 5 mins then walk for 30 mins in the freezing cold.
i cna see this being very usefull.
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Personally, I'd think $500-1000 would be fair.
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