Can The Segway Balance Itself As A Platform, Not A Product?

from the plan-Z dept

Tue, Sep 5th 2006 3:41pm — Mike Masnick

Remember back in 2001 when there was all that hype (yes, us included) about some crazy new secret project from an inventor that would change the way people traveled? In the end, it just turned out to be a lot of hype for what became the Segway scooter. The balancing act was cool, but the usefulness (especially at thousands of dollars) was widely questioned. As many suspected, massive sales never materialized. In the meantime, the company went through a lot more top executives than product enhancements, leading many to wonder if the company would ever amount to anything. A few months ago, the company began exploring an IPO (which didn't make sense, given how little they have to show on the financial side) and for at least the second time explored the idea of selling the Segway more like a car, with dealerships and leasing plans. However, it seems that the company has finally come to terms with the fact that the original idea that the Segway would change the way people travel was way oversold -- and what's really innovative wasn't the Segway itself, but the concept of using the technology to build self-balancing devices. The latest CEO is now trying to push the company towards using its basic balancing technology as a platform to be used in other vehicles, including the very cars it was supposed to replace, rather than being focused on building the end-product themselves. It's finally realizing that, while the technology was cool, perhaps the specific application of it didn't really fill a need. It seems like a step in the right direction, but after everything Segway's been through, it's going to take a lot of work to get this new vision moving.

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16 Comments

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®idiculous ©rap, 5 Sep 2006 @ 3:57pm

ahh, the taste of disappointment
I remember the hype about the revolutionary new invention that will change the world. I was genuinely very curious. Until I heard the details, at which point I couldn't care less. Whoop-de-frickin-doo. The next worthwhile thing that company does will be the first. Look for some saavy investors to buy the technology at firesale prices in the near future.

frist stop!
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Gregg Hesling, 5 Sep 2006 @ 4:23pm

Home-grown
The technology is actually quite simple, as this guy discovered when he built his own:
http://www.tlb.org/scooter.html

The real question is why Segway priced it so far out of the market.

If they were big enough to hold luggage, though, I'd rent one at the airport instead of the "smarte cart." Does Segway's new business model include leasing by the hour?
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Myself, 5 Sep 2006 @ 4:24pm

There's no substance here, either.
So wait, the article says the company might have new life because they could put their electric motors into cars?

Alright, sure, they got a pretty impressive power-to-weight ratio out of those motors. But that's not the most important factor, unless you're a university building a solar car where every gram counts.

If the Segway ran on hype, then electric vehicles run on reputation. And to build a good reputation, they need bulletproof reliability, even if it costs a few extra kilos of copper and steel. Now, Segways aren't noted for motor failures, so maybe Kamen and company are indeed onto something.

But still, a highly refined motor for electric cars is a long way from "the segway platform". Please.
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Anonymous Coward, 5 Sep 2006 @ 5:19pm

"It's finally realizing that, while the technology was cool, perhaps the specific application of it didn't really fill a need."

The technology filled a need, of sorts. The only reason everyone isn't using one is because it costs 3000 fraking dollars.
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Rockdoc, 5 Sep 2006 @ 5:41pm

Segway
After all the hype, the real product fell short of expectations. As a geologist, I wanted something like the Segway but that did not touch the ground; A machine that would be like a helicopter for my feet. Something that would extend the useful life of old geologists.
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Dan the barbarian, 5 Sep 2006 @ 5:47pm

This scooter thing is whacked.
Look, all I want is a one or two seat car that will drive itself forty miles to where my job is, and then drive me back when my working day is done .
Nothing fancy. radio and ac would be nice since, well, yes, I get bored easily, and I live in a part of the world where the heat and humidity gets brutal.
And, please while your at it, make it burn U.S. coal (or biodiesle) instead of middle eastern oil.
Thats all I want....Thats all.... O.K. anytime now.
Oh well. Maby tomorrow.
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dorpus, 5 Sep 2006 @ 5:48pm

Worthy of Canada
Maybe they should take it up North, call it a "Canadian invention", and sell it to Canadians who are too poor to buy gas. Then Canadians can whiz around on their 2-wheelers like so many cockroaches, and call themselves "better than Americans".
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Noni, 5 Sep 2006 @ 5:52pm

I think the segway is a really great piece of technology, and I think that it would have really done well if it had not been priced so high.

I think if they priced it at a loss until manufacturing enough of them brings costs low enough to bring a profit would lose less money than they are losing now (if that makes sense)
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Sam, 5 Sep 2006 @ 6:01pm

The Segway could have filled a market if the cost wasn't so outrageous. I could easily have seen it becoming part of the urban landscape to help ease the congestion of a city's traffic.

Beyond that, the new design with its more intuitive control scheme (Specifically the turning) looks like just a whole lot of fun. The kind of thing the local a--hole rides by in making racecar noises.
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hoeppner, 5 Sep 2006 @ 6:15pm

useless in winter. well until all the walks get shoveled.
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Grandfather Time, 5 Sep 2006 @ 6:20pm

Who are you kidding, it's as useless as the new coke, way back in the 80's.....

Why, in the first place, would a corporation want to employ the use of these in their facilities. Let the people walk, they're there to work, not be lazy and zip around on a two wheeled gyro-kabob all day.....

I remember being woken up by my Brother's voice cawing over and over, like a raven in a piece of Poe literature,...."LOOK LOOK LOOK LOOK LOOK!". Then the awful silence, and him uttering, "That's it?", after waking me up at 6 am to see what this great invention was....

Yes, the pillow flew, he ducked, the lucky bastard......

What were we typing about again? Oh, yes, we had an onion tied to our belts, which was the style at the time.......
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Backwardsfish, 5 Sep 2006 @ 6:55pm

Re: Worthy of Canada
Canada produces more oil/energy than it consumes. We sell most of it to the US/China making a nifty profit.
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charlie potatoes, 5 Sep 2006 @ 7:23pm

Re: Re: Worthy of Canada
Well all I can tell you is you're damned lucky you're not brown...when America needs to feel good about itself we go bomb some brown people.. and if they happen to have oi ,too...hey....viva haliburton.
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charlie potatoes, 5 Sep 2006 @ 7:25pm

OIL not OI..damn.. and btw you got whales, too, right? those sneaky little sons of nippon will come over and eat them if you don't watch out.
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dorpus, 5 Sep 2006 @ 7:59pm

Re: Re: Re: Worthy of Canada
Funny, if we were really after oil, there are oil-rich countries full of little brown people like Venezuela that are a lot easier to invade.

But then, the average American is a lot browner than the average Canadian. Maybe we should go after white meat next?
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Ron Topic, 6 Sep 2006 @ 9:57am

Segway platform for robotics
There has been a lot of interest in using Segways as platforms for mobile robotics, an idea initially championed by Darpa/IPTO. They are a great platform for getting your camera/computers up at a greater height, more stably, and with more maneuverability, than traditional mobile platforms. Some info is at
http://www.nosc.mil/robots/land/SegwayRMP/SegwayRMP.html
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