DEVELOPING: 'IT' REVEALED; 'SEGWAY' SELF-BALANCING PEOPLE MOVER

Drudge ^ | Dec 2, 2001

[Sungirl]

Neat....a button...I wondered how he was walking one minute and rolling the next.

[Leroy S. Mort]

Yeah I've seen the Moller. Maybe I can get a roof-rack for my Segway.

[Semper911]

From theITquestion.com forum:

TIME MAG REVEALS INSIDE DETAILS OF WHAT INVENTION 'IT' IS

Award-winning Journalist John Heilemann Spent Three Months on Story for TIME 'IT' UNVEILS THIS WEEK UNDER OFFICIAL NAME: SEGWAY

The Segway 'Will Be to the Car What the Car was to the Horse and Buggy,' Inventor Dean Kamen tells TIME

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'The Big Idea is to Put a Human Being into a System Where the Machine Acts an Extension of your Body'

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New York -- Dean Kamen's long-awaited, secret invention, the Segway "will be to the car what the car was to the horse and buggy," he tells TIME on the eve of his product's unveiling.

Kamen imagines them everywhere: in parks and at Disneyland, on battlefields and factory floors, but especially on downtown sidewalks from Seattle to Shanghai. "Cars are great for going long distances," Kamen says, "but it makes no sense at all for people in cities to use a 4,000-lb. piece of metal to haul their 150-lb asses around town."

In the future he envisions, cars will be banished from urban centers to make room for millions of "empowered pedestrians" - empowered, naturally, by Kamen's brainchild, reports John Heilemann in next week's issue.

The invention is set to be unveiled Monday morning during ABC's GOOD MORNING AMERICA.

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The Segway is a self-balancing people mover - powered by batteries and controlled by tilt-sensors and five solid state gyroscopes - that looks like a rotary lawnmower. The magic is in the balancing act ð no matter how hard you try, it won't let you fall.

For the past three months, Kamen allowed TIME behind the veil of secrecy as he and his team grappled with the questions that they will confront - about everything from safety and pricing to the challenges of launching a product with the country at war and the economy in recession.

There is no denying that the Segway, previously code-named "IT" and "Ginger," is an engineering marvel, reports Heilemann, who rode on the machine many times. Developed at a cost of more than $100 million, Kamenis vehicle is a complex bundle of hardware and software that mimics the human bodyis ability to maintain its balance. Not only does it have no brakes, but also no engine, no throttle, no gearshift, and no steering wheel. And it can carry the average rider for a full day, nonstop, on only five cents' worth of electricity.

Kamen explains how the Segway works: "When you walk, youire really in whatis called a controlled fall. You off-balance yourself, putting one foot in front of the other and falling onto them over and over again. In the same way, when you use a Segway, thereis a gyroscope that acts like your inner ear, a computer that acts like your brain, motors that act like your muscles, wheels that act like your feet. Suddenly, you feel like you have on a pair of magic sneakers, and instead of falling forward, you go sailing across the room."

As Kamen and his team were working on the IBOT wheelchair ð a six-wheel machine that goes up and down curbs, cruises effortlessly through sand or gravel, and climbs stairs - it dawned on them that they were onto something bigger. "We realized we could build a device using very similar technology that could impact how everybody gets around," he says. The IBOT was also the source of Gingeris mysterious codename. "Watching the IBOT, we used to say, ÈLook at that light, graceful robot, dancing up the stairsiÐso we started referring to it as Fred Upstairs, after Fred Astaire," Kamen recalls. "After we built Fred, it was only natural to name its smaller partner Ginger." With Ginger, as with the IBOT, Kamen explains, "the big idea is to put a human being into a system where the machine acts an extension of your body."

With the Segway, Kamen plans to change the world by changing how cities are organized. To Kamenis way of thinking, the problem is the automobile. "Cities need cars like fish need bicycles," he says. Segways, he believes, are ideal for downtown transportation. Unlike cars, they are cheap, clean, efficient, maneuverable. Unlike bicycles, they are designed specifically to be pedestrian friendly. "A bike is too slow and light to mix with trucks in the street but too large and fast to mix with pedestrians on the sidewalk," he argues. "Our machine is compatible with the sidewalk. If a Segway hits you, itis like being hit by another pedestrian."

Ordinary consumers wonit be able to buy Segways for at least a year, a consumer model is expected to go on sale for about $3,000, Heilemann reports. For now, the first customers will be deep-pocketed institutions such as the U.S. Postal Service and General Electric, the National Parks Service and Amazon.comÐ institutions capable of shelling out $8,000 apiece for industrial-strength models.

TIME also takes a hard look at the question of whether this product will really make it in the consumer market. "The consumer market is always harder," Intel chairman Andy Grove, who also rode the Segway, told Heilemann. "But when you think about it, the corporate market is almost unlimited. If the Postal Service and FedEx deploy this for all their carriers, the company will be busy for the next five years just keeping up with that demand."

"IT flies, IT zooms, it's gonna change everything"

[EdZep]

I saw this kid in the mall yesterday wearing a regular pair of sneakers....only...they were rolling! I saw no wheels and he also walked when he wanted to on them...what are those??

I saw (something like) these in a Big 5, recently. They had extra thick soles, with 2 cavities that housed flip-down rollers. The rollers were barrel shaped, only about 1 inch diameter. They, and the mechanisms, did not appear very durable. The skates did not look like they would handle very well. They had 1 latch per mechanism that would have to be manipulated by hand. Now, if the set you saw could be engaged/disengaged by a toe-tap or something... that would be better.

Socialists in Congress? Click on the zeppelin, Grasshopper.

[Leroy S. Mort]

"but it makes no sense at all for people in cities to use a 4,000-lb. piece of metal to haul their 150-lb asses around town."

If this is a limitation, I'm out of the market. ;-)

[Registered]

Buddy you're killing me over here!! Bwaaaahhhahahah! You were born to analyze new technology!

[Skywalk]

That sounds fantastic. For instance, someone like me who cannot really justify the cost of a car(and the hassle of parking) could purchase the vehicle and travel distances that are unrealistic for walking, but allow me to get somewhere without being dependent on the bus, or wasting money on a car that would mostly take up space.

[djf]

I saw the original speculation about it being some sort of scooter. There is one reason that it's very overblown, the same reason all forms of mass transit are overblown.

Ya can't stop at Safeway after work, buy three bags of groceries, and load them on the bus with you.

[Leroy S. Mort]

But think of how it will revolutionize Shriner's parades.

[Skywalk]

Poppycock. If it is indeed nearly impossible to fall off this thing, and it can traverse different terrains and obstacles, it would be far easier than taking a car.

Right now I can pack a bag of groceries in my bookbag, and hold one in my hand. Instead of spending 10 Gs on a car, if I really don't need one, I could spend what I might on a top line computer and save how much on parking, gas, and other expenses? If it cuts my travel time to some of the places I go by 75 percent or more, than I can simply make two trips to the grocery store and still save significantly on time.

[Brett66]

It's kind of a neat toy but the hype has been so over the top it's made me very skeptical. Kamen can join a long list of people that thought they had an idea to do away with the car - and failed miserably.

[Semper911]

Yes, it does sound fantastic. I have been following Dean Kamen for a few years now, and I always had the sense that he is just weird enough to change the world.

I have questions about this vehicle, though: Does it have a cup holder? If I can't drink coffee on the way to work, count me out. And how about a cargo compartment? Where do I put my briefcase and the pizza I pick up on the way home?

These questions need to be answered before I consider buying one.

Seriously though, I believe it is the underlying technology that will prove to be the revolution, not the scooter.

[Pharmboy]

Just wait'll the SUV version comes out. It will be called "GetouttamyWay."

[virgil]

Our machine is compatible with the sidewalk. If a Segway hits you, itis like being hit by another pedestrian."

Or like being hit by a fork lift. Well, you didn't need that leg anyway.

[EdZep]

I have questions about this vehicle, though: Does it have a cup holder? If I can't drink coffee on the way to work, count me out. And how about a cargo compartment? Where do I put my briefcase and the pizza I pick up on the way home?

As they're apparently hoping to sell large numbers of "industrial strength" Segways to the postal and delivery services, they must have a utility version with cargo room on the front or back.

Socialists in Congress? Click on the zeppelin, Grasshopper.

[Skywalk]

That's exactly what I was thinking. Maybe it starts off as a scooter, but eventually becomes a nicely sized vehicle that's small enough to traverse bike paths and sidewalks, but not as large or deadly as an automobile.

I think people in rural/far suburban areas are overlooking the majority of us that live IN cities. I really don't need the expense of a car at my stage, but having this kind of vehicle(unless it's really slow) would transform my mobility and while I'd still walk sometimes, if I just worked an overnight shift, I could just scoot to the grocery store, or to meet someone downtown and not be reliant on the bus' schedule.

[HAL9000]

Motorcycle Airbag US Patent 4,528,964*

Although it may look like a Martian body suit, this is really fashionable inflatable motorcycle wear. The giveaway here is the bungee cord strapped to our hooded hero's waist. Patented in 1989, this protective airbag is designed to cushion the rider's fall during an accident.

[djf]

Well, I've seen kids on skateboards that can tie their shoes, pick their nose, and paint your house all at the same time.

Usually not single moms or grandmothers.
The only thing I see this changing is auto insurance going up because these foolz keep zooming out in front of caddies.

[CaptSkip]

If this is so revolutionary, why did Matt and Trey have enough advance to write a hillarious (though painfull) episode of SOUTHPARK featuring this "IT" and airing a few weaks ago?

Mr. Garrison's "IT" is a Homophobe's nightmare...and rightly so!!!

[EdZep]

Mr. Garrison's "IT" is a Homophobe's nightmare...and rightly so!!!

That provided one of the most jaw-dropping belly-laughs (JDBL) I've gotten out of South Park. Another JDBL was when Ms. ChokesOn's pendulous mammaries peeked out from her blouse as she raised her arms in gesture.

Socialists in Congress? Click on the zeppelin, Grasshopper.