Wonder when we'll be seeing people installing their Empegs in these...

I didn't even click on your link yet, but I'm betting it's "ginger" aka "it" aka Segway.

Let's see if I'm right...

Yup. :)

Kamen should be thinking less about hauling around 150lb asses, as he puts it, and think about taking his head out of his. Time to take a breath of the real world.

It's a neat expensive toy and should do well in some vertical markets. But to think of this specific product in the same light as what the car was to the horse and buggy.. Well that's a load of horse sh... I suppose I'll be cruising around downtown on one of these at -20c in the middle of winter carrying around a few people on my back and a day's worth of shopping. Yeah, who needs a "4000lbs" car (he should really invest in a lighter car if he's been driving a dump truck to work... :) Of course I still think it's pretty cool. Just more toy cool than practical cool.

Maybe I can put an empeg onto my other ride...

Bruno

Damnit, now that the veils are off, why the hell aren't they publishing SPECIFICATIONS?

Christ, the very first things I want to know are weight capacity, maximum speed, can it climb hills, etc. Time does five pages on the thing and only includes tantalizing hints of its propulsion, no details. They only say you can "drive all day on 5c worth of electricity", which tells me nothing.

Yeah, it's not like anyone would be able to copy it since it's patented. The thing is the damn things weigh 65 pounds which means you can't take them on the subway with you, dragging them up steps isn't going to be a walk in the park... The potential uses of this thing don't astound me as much as I thought they might... The technology is fascinating, but I'm not sure I see people plopping down 3 grand for them...

Damnit, now that the veils are off, why the hell aren't they publishing SPECIFICATIONS?

This is the best I've seen...
http://www.time.com/time/2001/segway/index.html

They also have an official website
http://www.segway.com/

Tony-

I'm sure you've picked all this up by now, but just in case here's the basic specs (of course this varies by model, and all the models aren't yet announced)...

weight - 250 lbs.
speed - 3x walking (whatever that is)
range - 17 miles optimal, 11 miles realistically

yes, it can climb hills, though I'm not sure how steep, and that will probably depend on the model/weight capacity.

Personally, I think the thing is pretty cool. I don't think it'll take off for consumers in the US for a while, however, because we're way too car obsessed (at least I know I am). Also, any place were it's cold/snowing a good deal of the year (like Canada ) is obviously going to have less use for it. Plus, $3000 is a good deal of money, but I bet it will drop significantly in the first 5 years, in part due to demand by certain sectors of corporate america and the government.

I do think this will be very big very fast in countries with very densly packed cities (ie many parts of Asia) where people already tend to ride bikes or drive much smaller cars. Also, at least in the States, almost all new construction is designed to be wheel chair accessible, so getting around in this thing shouldn't be too big of a deal.

I'm mostly impressed with how polished a product it is. I think that is what makes it special. If you had to press forward and backward buttons instead of just shifting your weight, fine control would be much, much harder. That's fairly important, because a large part of its consumer success will depend on whether or not federal/state/city governments make it ok to ride these babies on sidewalks, since they're obviously not meant for the streets.

At any rate, I want one (though not at $3000).

-Adam

That thing is supposedly terrain independent. It even works on ice with perfect stability. so claimed.

It even works on ice with perfect stability. so claimed.

I wish I could claim that feature!

Poking around the segway web site i found these tid bits:
speed 12.5MPH (20km/h)
range up to 17 miles (28km)
Turning radius: 0
Capacity: 250lbs (110kg)
footprint: 19x25 inches (8 inch platform)
weights: 80lbs(36kg)
The right grip controls yaw (rotation)
comes with 2 keys. one for beginners and experienced.
Adjustable height control shaft.
Two brushless electric motors - >2 horsepower each
NICd or HIMH batteries available
redundant controller boards
5 Inertial sensors are tolerant of extreme temp variation
low pressure tubeless non-marking tires

Still havent found the DIN stereo slot in the specs.

That would be very popular in Cambridge, if there was some secure way to lock them up. Cars just aren't a viable option around here (says he, having used his bike about twice in the last 2 years).

Rob

I too was wondering how you'd prevent theft...

Allegedly, a digital key of some type. Obviously someone can just walk off with it, but they can also do that with a motorcycle. I would hope the digital key is very secure so that hackers don't start putting out "skeleton keys" or whatever.

That would be very popular in Cambridge, if there was some secure way to lock them up.

I think you're missing the point. The idea is that you'd ride it all the way up to your desk.

I think you're missing the point. The idea is that you'd ride it all the way up to your desk.

Scott Adams will have an absolute field day with that if it actually happens.

They go up four flights of stairs easily do they?

Rob

They go up four flights of stairs easily do they?

I dunno about England, but here in the US we have laws that require basically everything to be wheelchair-accessible. Any building with stairs will also have either a ramp or an elevator.

They go up four flights of stairs easily do they?



[whir] ... [whir] ... [Kah-Thud] [Kah-Thud] [Kah-Thud] [Kah-Thud] [Kah-Thud] [Kah-Thud] .... [whir] ... [whir]

No, but the wheelchair the same team are working on does: IBOT

No, but the wheelchair the same team are working on does: IBOT

I saw that one in a live presentation on RehaCare (large exhibition on mdeical care and rehabilitation in Düsseldorf, Germany) last year (or the year before). Absolutely amazing.
The man who sat in it, doing the presentation, asked someone to throw his suitcase over at him (while the chair was in two-wheel-mode). That suitcase was thrown over about 2.5m/8ft and catched without any problem, even though it was about 7.5kg/15pound. The chair didn't move much, it just stabilized and moved back to the position it occupied before.
If I ever needed a powered wheelchair, I would try to get that one for sure. But for now, my prosthesis and my hand "powered" wheelchair are sufficient.

cu,
sven

cu,
sven

There is a hole that goes through the wheel and the mudguard for putting a lock through - got a lock for that bike of yours?

I've been looking but I've yet to find the empeg elevator. We do have a chain ladder we can chuck out of the window if the building catches fire, though.

Rob