If it lives up to the description in the Time magazine article, I think the
Segway has got a lot of potential.
A couple of points buried in the article
- It doesn't go fast enough for people to hurt themselves if they crash,
but it does go faster than walking.
- It uses very little power, extremely little; its range should be
excellent.
- It's not supposed to compete with cars, it's supposed to compete with
feet. More correctly, it's supposed to fill a niche that isn't currently
covered, and support cities that are basically giant pedestrian malls
surrounded by car parks. Reading between the lines, I think you are supposed
to bring the Segway to the edge of town in your car (or on the train or
bus), then zoom around the car-free zone.
- It's extremely safe, you can't hurt yourself in a crash (unless you are
being a complete f*ckwit)
- They've seem to be working on the US govts to allow it on sidewalks in a
big way, approaching from multiple angles. Apparently people in the US will
see postal workers zooming around on them real soon now.
Emlyn
(btw, rtfm, ok?)
-----Original Message-----
From: Artillo5@cs.com
To: extropians@extropy.org
Sent: 3/12/2001 6:12 PM
Subject: Segway safety in the 21st century
well Emlyn has 2 good points... how do you carry anything and what about
rain, but there are other implications also.
I think that until there is an infrastructure in place (special lanes on
sidewalks for example) that will support this device, it will be banned
from sidewalks just like skateboards and scooters are in many cities. I
can also imagine that safety while riding the thing is going to be a
huge issue. Self-balancing or not, I would still want to be strapped in
or something if I am zooming down a road at 30 miles per hour! Helmet
and pads would have to be required I would think... which might look
funny on a postal worker!
The picture from Time doesn't show the top of the device either... I
want to see how it is steered, and if you even have to hold on at all.
I would love to see the performance specs on the thing... stuff like
ground clearance (HMMM I wonder if you can put all-terrain knobby tires
on it???), turning radius, maximum incline allowed, top speed, etc.
Imagine what all the pro skateboarders/rollerbladers would do with this
thing too hahaa!
One last thing... is there a sidecar attachment??? :P
Brian (Artillo)
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