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Unread 05-12-2001, 16:56
BSMFIRST BSMFIRST is offline
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Thumbs up the Segway will rule

Like Joe said, the advantages of Segway are subtle. These subtleties are further hidden with all the hype and "whimsical" expectations; I am totally confident that the Segways and their inevitable knockoffs will be accepted into everyday life within 15 years.

Dean and Co. have solved the REAL problems that previous scooters haven't even considered--issues that aren't obvious if you haven't designed consumer products. I'm just in college, I haven't really designed consumer products. But I competed in another competition that seems even more "Kamen-esque" called NEDC; it requires high school teams to design a product that solves a given problem--usually a "worthy" problem at that. The key design features they had us consider were widely agreed upon set called the Universal Design Criteria. See this link: http://www.design.ncsu.edu:8120/cud/...c_overview.htm .

The Segway beats the normal scooter in every category.

This is important because without all of these traits the product will never gain universal acceptance. Furthermore, while these criteria may not be required for a great deal of us who are mechanically adept and physically coordinated, they are needed for a product that intends to replace the most automated and frequent activity--walking. This, I think, is why traditional scooters are not popular even among us who could use it. Riding a scooter is far more awkward and requires more concentration than riding a bike or walking--can you imagine two people riding in scooters side by side having a real conversation? It was pretty clear in the Good Morning America debut that Segway requires just slightly more concentration than walking; half the debut and interview was done on a Segway after all.

The universality of Segway goes a little further than that too. It's full name is the Segway HT, HT means Human Transporter. Not just Human-on-sidewalk Transporter. Wherever a human normally travels too on a given day, this can go to and--this is important--fit right in. After the novelty wears off (Segway will always be fun to ride though) this very unassuming device will fit into any environment. I don't expect that people just ride this to work, but that they ride it during work--from cubicle to cubicle, factory to office, inside to outside, etc.

Widespread use of Segway is neccesary before gov'ts can seriously implement laws and city planning in its favor; the big catch is that each is a prerequisite for the other. So it is going to take a city and culture with foresight to jump into this; my guess is it will definitely not be in the US--probably Japan. I think this is where a lot of people's criticisims are off-base; look past how much the Segway weighs and costs now and look past the layout of your own city right now. There are lots of viewpoints to evaluate this from; looking towards the future and also looking from the perspective of other cultures and cities is important.

That's my general arguement, here are some specifics:

-the Segway should never have to be lifted as dead weight (not under normal circumstances.) Ramps can be used for loading into car trunks. It has a "follow mode" that assists in climbing stairs or ramps to minimize physical exertion. When it becomes popular I'm sure it will weigh significantly less than 80 lbs.

-from everything I've seen it's clear the Segway is easier to control than the a scooter at all speeds. Stability in a scooter is difficult at low speeds, so people ride them fast or not at all. I also don't think Segways will join sidewalk traffic unless they go walking speed.

-I'll bet the Segway can double that scooters top speed. Well not any old Segway since they have built in limits, but you saw Dean's reaction when they asked if they had faster models. This is only a matter of how much speed they feel is safe for riding and for the balancing system. Those brushless motors ("tested to 2HP") at 90% efficiency could beat the drill motors and FPs combined.

-the SLA batteries will have a longer charging period and will last for less cycles than the NiMHs in Segway and the lack of regenerative braking on the scooter will decrease the overall efficiency and range

I kind of used a definitive and preachy tone in this post but that's only for ease of writing and persuasion; pretend there was a "in my humble opinion" before every sentence because no one is any good at predicting the future and I'm no expert on this stuff.

Dan

PS Kurt, I was glad to hear you're doing better..are you still in CMU? I'm a sophomore Mech. major
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