[quote=“Machine_Elf, post:5, topic:741728”]
After watching a few videos, I see the inherent flaw in the device. For illustrative purposes, let’s compare a Segway PT with a Hoverboard. Both are self-balancing machines, but with an important difference that manifests when you start to fall backward:
[ul][li]Segway: when you start to fall unexpectedly backward, your instinctive reaction is to pull the handlebars back with you. This tilts the Segway backward, and the automatic self-balancing system will then accelerate the scooter backward, pushing it back under you. Assuming you’re on smooth ground with good traction, and never let go of the handlebars, it’s virtually impossible to fall backwards off of a Segway.[/li]
[li]Hoverboard: when you start to fall unexpectedly backward, you don’t have anything to grab with your hands. Your instinctive reaction is to push off with your feet, to try to get your feet back under you. This means you extend your feet/point your toes. This tilts the hoverboard forward, and the machine’s response is to accelerate forward, scooting it out from under you. The more it scoots out from under you, the more you panic and point your toes to try to push your legs back under you, and in a heartbeat this positive-feedback cycle results in the hoverboard literally pulling your feet out from under you and dumping you violently on your ass. This can happen in a linear, straight-back fashion, or in a rapid spin if you only have one foot extending/pointing.[/ul] Watch a few hoverboard crash videos, and pay attention to victims’ feet. You can wear a helmet and elbow/knee pads, but unless the manufacturer advises people to wear a leather motorcycle racing suit with a full suite of impact-resistant body armor, people are going to fuck up their spines and hips when these hoverboards suddenly spin them off or jet out from under them.[/li][/QUOTE]
The difference between negative and positive feedback, in other words. Right on.