I was at the New York International Auto Show when this was unveiled. I saw it first hand…
http://www.segway.com/puma/
this is so freakin cool
Leave it to Mr. Kamen to squish the SMART car concept even smaller. Looks pretty awesome for urban environments. There would need to be a cultural adjustment before they can be used though; drivers are already fairly complacent about bikers on the road. It seems like anything that’s small and slower than a ‘normal’ car is likely to get run off the road.
Go-Karts enter the 21st century! :ahh:
That would be sooo much fun. Easy to get sued too probably. :rolleyes:
I could have sworn this was unveiled 1-2 years ago…
I thought so, too… 
I believe it was announced in April of 2009.
That thing looks slightly warmer than a bicycle and just about as crashworthy.
You are unlikely to get me into vehicle lanes in one. The roads around me are littered with debris from busted head/taillights, bumpers and grills. I see an accident aftermath at least once a week.
I can imagine the stain that would be created if a current “real” car drove over the top of two people in one of these.
Incrementally introducing these doesn’t sound like a viable strategy.
Blake
sigh
As much as I respect Dean as an inventor and as incredibly cool as his inventions are, it seems to me that the Segway and this mini-car suffer from the same problem: they solve a problem that doesn’t exist.
It must be significantly better than legs, affordable, not subject to massive liability issues wrt transportation safety, etc…
OR significantly better than a car, affordable, not subject to massive liability issues wrt transportation safety, etc…
And as the Segway replaces legs in a rather cool but non-cost-effective way, this seems to replace legs + umbrella + backpack in a rather cool non-cost-effective way.
yes i know it was unveiled in 2009. i was there when it was unveiled. but the thing is, it is still in developement, because of it’s complexity. when i was at the unveiling, they showed an animation that depicted special sidewalks/roads that were adjacent to the streets that would be made specifically for the PUMA. also, compared to the segway and other similar vehicles, this is quite fast: top speed of 35 mph. plus you can have 2 passengers
http://www.segway.com/puma/images/deddens_paris_map-light-box.jpg
The problem very much exists in urban areas - when you want to be able to travel greater than 1 mile but less than 10 miles where roads and sidewalks are too congested to make a car practical, not to mention the environmental impact of a car.
20k it’s not that impressive for an electric vehicle
Is this designed to go on the road? :eek:
Seems like a serious safety hazard to me.
Perhaps if cities were redesigned to accomodate personal transport vehicles such as these, they might be a viable alternative… But for now and the forseeable future, we’re stuck with either sidewalks or the road.
Oh! Well, that’s a different story - I can see that happening quickly, cheaply and widely - 
hey its faster than walking
plus its not meant for going really fast. its basically a multi passanger, slightly faster, longer lasting, and concept version of a modified segway using the same technology
well as i said before, special roads adjacent to the sidewalks would be made for this vehicle
my bicycle is faster, can take me farther, it dosen’t need a special sidewalk and i charge it by eating.
nevertheless, its still pretty cool
It’s very neat, it’s just a solution in search of a problem.
I would love to use that but I’m not sure where… 
I’m also wondering where we draw the line for needing a drivers license.
Ummmm, what?
I routinely walk more than a mile in an urban setting without any issue, and when I need to go substantially further than that I take public transit with ease. The only things this would really aid me in is bringing around groceries (anything much larger than that it wouldn’t be able to fit) and travelling late at night (when public transit options aren’t as frequent).
I fail to see this “problem.”