Just thought that you would like to know:
I wonder how long that site has been up?
The video of this thing in action is wild! What an amazing machine.
I thought I was the only one…
IT’s better than going to the airport!
Okay, calm down Anthracite, I was talking about the people, like Duck Duck Goose, who obviously hadn’t read the whole article and were saying saying that it looked like it would only move at walking pace, things like that. I agree that the article needs to be taken with a pinch of salt, but what the writer means is that you just need to think ‘walk’, in that normally, you think ‘i’m going to walk over there’, so you lean forward in order to start to walk, and you do the same to make IT start moving. Anyone with the least bit of intelligence can understand that he means that the act of making the machine move is effortless. It is not necessarily misleading. That is journalism for you.
Okay, now your’e just being pedantic. Obviously nothing is impossible; what I mean is it is very hard to tip over by accident. If you got on it and deliberately tried to tip it over you might succeed, but it would be hard, harder than tipping over a bicycle. The point is you would have to try pretty hard to tip it over, and no one would do this under normal circumstances. ‘I’ll hazard’ is also a pretty general phrase; how do you know, you’ve never tried it?
Like it said in the article, all of the questions will be dealt with if enough people ask “How can I get one?” (paraphrased)
Well, how can I get one?
It would suit me just fine, thankyouverymuch. If I could use it with the existing public transport system, I would be set. Prague has a great xport system, and is filling up with cars too fast. This would fit the bill and solve a bunch of problems. Even in a place with as sh***y weather as Prague, I still think I’d be able to use it most days of the week during winter.
What intrigues me is that this is only the beginning. If it works as well as proposed, then it can only get better from here. Think about all of the little changes that could be made to make it more useful- rain cover, basket, baby carriage, etc. If you had a keychain transponder, then you could tell it to follow you in the supermarket while you load up. (I’m assuming that if it can keep its balance while a heavy human tilts and leans, it can move on its own quite easily). With GPS you could tell it to take you home, and with a few sensors to avoid obstacles, you’d be able to read the newspaper during the trip. It’s 65 pounds now, but that is going to go down as time goes by, maybe by half or more. AS for commercial uses- there are tons. Add a lift system and it could raise you up to higher shelves like the IBOT, or maybe be the beginning for an automatic dolly.
I feel comparing it to bicycles is unjust (well, not unjust, but maybe incorrect). You have to be going a certain speed to ride a bike; that doesn’t work in crowded situations. This can go at a crawl, then speed up, slow down, turn on its own axis, etc. Things you cannot do with a bike. Heck, this is probably more useful than roller-blades, etc. that need balance, timing and skill. Its speed will probably be increased, and if it can do that while going uphill, or over ice (over ice is a balance equation, which it corrects for over 100 times a second), then it is definitely better.
The other systems out there don’t integrate as well as this can with normal, everyday use. The sit-down modes of transport take up too much space, don’t allow you to navigate through crowds because they are so low, etc. I see this as moving into an integration with normal life, not just as an alternative to other forms of transport. And the fact that it is a clean for the environment only adds to the excitement. This thing is cool and has its uses already with postmen, warehouses, etc. Once that is done, then it will trickle into our daily lives.
$3000 now, but that will surely come down. It won’t replace a car or bike, but it will surely complement them.
-Tcat
According to the Segway site, it weighs 80 pounds, not 65.
Geez, you may as well buy a Moped. That’s heavy, guys. It’s not portable at all.
Apparently they’ve already designed storage containers for the thing. If you look here, you can see a couple of them on a city street being operated by what looks to be postal/UPS folks. Personally, I liked the $300 build it yourself car that someone posted a link to in another thread. That, at least was an all weather vehicle and could go 50 MPH or better.
From what I can figure, it’s quite an accomplishment to design a control system that can keep the thing from tipping forward or backward under a wide range of circumstances.
But why? Wouldn’t a motorized scooter, with the wheels in the front and back, not tip over that way, either? And falling over sideways seems like an easy problem to deal with on a scooter - you just put your foot out that side to catch yourself. In the event you tipped a SHT over forwards, such as running into a curb, your feet wouldn’t be able to get in front in order to catch yourself, and you’d be splattered onto the ground.
It looks like it would be fun to ride, but I can’t see that it solves any real-world transportation problems any better than a motorized scooter.
Here are some links to the most likely early uses. These are the uses that will be the target of the first years sales.
Factory floor. This will be the realm of the heavy-duty units being sold first.
Miscellaneous activities.
FedEx, courier, getting the groceries home, etc.
Lettercarrier, office mailboy, etc.
Aiming at industrial users first is smart. They’ll be more able to afford the costs, and since fewer units will go into use, there’ll be time to learn how people react to it and use it IRL. Further, there’ll be much wider group of people exposed to it that will get to use and (maybe) like it, and will be more willing to buy it after having been exposed to it.
I just saw IT on SkyNews…I WANT ONE!!!
Up grassy hills, in 3-4 inches of water, weaving in and out of tables and chairs, whizzing around warehouses, zipping along footpaths, creeping along with pedestrians, wow! Neat stuff! Totally outperforms that 80’s go-cart and can easily fit into day-to-day travels. I think we have a hit on our hands.
Tech that you have to adjust to doesn’t always work the way they are hyped. This is different. Remember that Mckinsey Consulting told Motorola to get out of the cellphone business in the 80’s because they didn’t think it would be a big thing. Too bulky, not enough demand, etc. Now look what has happened. I know more people with mobiles than personal computers. IT really looks as simple as it sounds, and more uses for it will appear as time goes by. If IT can be used in as many situations as a bicycle can, as well as many more that a bicycle can’t, then it is not hard to believe that as many people will own one (once the price comes down, granted) as do bikes.
I want one! Anyone need a Secret Santa wish to fulfill?
-Tcat
Well, I do not know if they can build a “human transporter” but they’ve built a lousy web site. In their pages with photo downloads they have linked to 1.3 MB TIFFS by mistake instead of the same 20 KB JPGs in the same directory (not to mention that the site is so slow it’s blocked).
Re: Price
Remember the first VCR’s were about the same price, and now you can pick them up for about $50…if IT ever sinks to the $300 range, I think you will have to fight to get them.
Re: Where to use it
Off the top of my head:Las Vegas Strip and those 500,000 square feet casinos; all of Manhattan; Venice Beach in California; Anywhere in SF (wonder how it does up hills like that!);Mall of America in Minneapolis and basically, anywhere you have to walk over a mile just to get where you want to be.
(I personally am a fast walker, so it will be nice if I don’t have people walking .0001 mph in front of me no matter where they use it.)
However, correct me if I am wrong, but wasn’t the scoop back then that this was all going to run on an engine that ran on water? I thought the water engine was going to be IT.
Also, wasn’t there a science fiction film years ago where you saw people moving along on something similar…Blade Runner or a film like that?
Eh. It will never replace the AmphiCar!
Hmm…
I downloaded the videos (unlike sailor’s experience, I had lightning-fast access), and watched them.
I still think the hype sucks. But it looks very, very interesting. I’ve somewhat changed my opinion of it.
I still do not see how it will be commercially successful. The Sinclair example is all-too in the front of my mind.
But I hope it is successful. I would not buy one, even for $500, but it does look cool.
Oops… never mind what I said. I don’t know what happened. For those interested in the photos you can see them here
The video at the Segway site is pretty neat…apparantly, it CAN haul stuff. They have models with front pockets, twin “saddlebags,” and one that’s connected to a big bin on wheels. I can see how that’d be useful for industrial applications – say you’re amazon.com, and you’ve got a great big warehouse, and you need your people to zip in and out of storage shelves to fill orders. Back when I was in college, we had a few university cops who patrolled on bicyles. This thing can apparantly handle grass/uneven terrain just fine, so the saddlebag model might be good replacements for those guys, since they could carry around more equipment (I’m thinking more/better first aid equipment, for instance).
I’m skeptical that it’ll be useful for the general public, but I suspect it will prove quite useful for certain businessess.
I’m hoping they’ll have a “manual mode” where you can get off of it, and tell the wheels to keep turning anyway. This will allow you to easily take it up curbs and stairs and the like.
Here’s what it will need to do to MAKE it a revolutionary product:
- Rough pavement capability.
- Sure safe, stops going DOWNHILL.
- Extreme lightness (for when you hit stairs).
- a trailer, or a second cargo remote that will follow you.
- some kind of weather bubble/screen.
If and when it does all this, I AM THERE!
But, uh… Kamen says that colliding with one is like colliding with a pedestrian, so it’s safe.
Sure. It’s just like colliding with, say, a 265 lb pedestrian, going at a full run. Get hit by this thing with a large man on it, going full tilt, and it can KILL you. This is going to be allowed on sidewalks? Can you imagine trying to step out of a store when the ‘pedestrians’ are whizzing by at 15 mph with a steel battering ram under their feet? Can you at least say broken ankles?
Then there is the risk to the rider of manoevering through tight, crowded places on a heavy machine. Ever catch your arm on some steel thing sticking out somewhere, and give yourself a good scratch? Or bump your head on a low overhang? Now imagine how much fun it will be running into something at three times walking speed, with 20 kilos of mass under your feet.
How many times is someone going to lug this thing up a flight of stairs, set it down, hop on, lean backwards by accident, and go in reverse right off the back of the stairs?
The trial lawyers are going to LOVE this thing. That is, until it gets banned from most sidewalks.
This is one of those inventions where the technology is awesome, but you have to just wonder how in hell anyone thought this thing would replace the car.
The first time you take one to work and find yourself facing a flight of stairs, or try to go into a shop that has a sign saying, “No Segways allowed”, you’re going to start having serious doubts.
Nonetheless, this is a very useful contraption, just not for pedestrians. I see a big market with the postal service, companies like Fed Ex, downtown couriers, factory workers, cops on a beat, airport workers, etc. The niche markets alone could keep this thing in production for a long time, and probably make the company some serious money. So from that standpoint, this thing really is ‘revolutionary’. I just wish we didn’t have to hear all the ‘this will eliminate the car’ hype.
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- The problem with the Sinclair was that it was hype: not much more that a motorized bicycle. If you want a motorized bicycle you can get one (in the US), and legally ride it anywhere you can an un-motorized bicycle. The electrics are said to work nice but have no endurance; the gasoline ones are noisy and dirty (usually using rather low-quality engines). There’s never more than one or two companies selling kits at the same time though, because a new motorized bicycle costs about the same as a used moped, but doesn’t work as well or last as long as a moped would.
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- The problem with the Sinclair was that it was hype: not much more that a motorized bicycle. If you want a motorized bicycle you can get one (in the US), and legally ride it anywhere you can an un-motorized bicycle. The electrics are said to work nice but have no endurance; the gasoline ones are noisy and dirty (usually using rather low-quality engines). There’s never more than one or two companies selling kits at the same time though, because a new motorized bicycle costs about the same as a used moped, but doesn’t work as well or last as long as a moped would.
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- The “IT” scooter looks neat, but years ago everyone but General Motors said that the problem with electric vehicles was the limited capacity of batteries. Now even GM admits it, and except for motorized wheelchairs I haven’t ever seen any useful electric vehicle that didn’t have at least 6 or 8 automobile-sized batteries - only kids’ toys, which is what “IT” really is. A year from now, Chinese companies will make them simpler and cheaper with 95% of the original’s capacity for a hundred bucks each, and Wal-Mart will have it on the rack with the rest of the kids’ bikes and scooters.
- Or maybe not: in the US, it’s the liability, stupid. What I see is a hazardous consumer product sold without licensing, whose use depends on a complex system of electronics to function safely. As an investor, count me out. - DougC