GM and Segway unveil new two-wheeled urban vehicle

[goof2]

Originally Posted by Flexin

I think this technology could be adapted to wheel chairs. It would make an electric wheelchair more compact. Turning in its own foot print would make it easier in small stores.

James

The technology for the Segway and this new thing were adapted from an electric wheelchair. That is how the Segway's inventor Dean Kamen originally made his money. The wheelchair climbs stairs using a very unique method. Any attempt by me to describe the process would not do it justice. I'm sure there are videos on the internet showing it. You might want to do a search because that thing is actually pretty cool. It isn't that I don't like the technology and don't believe there are uses for it. I just don't think its application in the Segway or this thing are particularly useful or potentially very profitable.

[Amber Lamps]

Originally Posted by goof2

The technology for the Segway and this new thing were adapted from an electric wheelchair. That is how the Segway's inventor Dean Kamen originally made his money. The wheelchair climbs stairs using a very unique method. Any attempt by me to describe the process would not do it justice. I'm sure there are videos on the internet showing it. You might want to do a search because that thing is actually pretty cool. It isn't that I don't like the technology and don't believe there are uses for it. I just don't think its application in the Segway or this thing are particularly useful or potentially very profitable.

I thought so...so basically,this guy "stood on the backs of giants",inventors who really wanted to make something beneficial to the human race,and turned it into a rich man's toy. Sweet.

[goof2]

Originally Posted by TIGGER

I thought so...so basically,this guy "stood on the backs of giants",inventors who really wanted to make something beneficial to the human race,and turned it into a rich man's toy. Sweet.

No, it was the same guy, Dean Kamen, who carried the technology over from the wheelchair he invented and used it in the Segway. He was his own giant so to speak.

[goof2]

Originally Posted by Homeslice

So then maybe they will sell it here instead of in poor places like India. You guys keep saying there's no market for this, well maybe not now but things change. Whether that "change" is forced by Obama or not, or if it's just a cultural change, that's not the point.....things change. If some big cities actually designed dedicated traffic lanes for vehicles like this, it could work. Hell there are plenty of cities already like Denver that have downtown plazas with a free shuttle bus that goes back and forth along the strip. It's the same idea except more individual. Hell they even have horse-drawn carriages, and bicycle taxis there. Some people don't want to walk three quarters of a mile going from one end of the strip to the other.

I covered my feelings on that in the second paragraph. In cities here you still have no place to park it where it can be charged. I suppose they could make the battery removable so it could be taken inside for charging, but who wants to lug a hundred plus pound battery around every day. I know some cities like London have public charging stations, and maybe that would happen here, but it would probably be harder to find one of those spots than a hundred dollar bill on the ground.