What do you think of when you hear the name Segway? If you’re like many around, “tech failure” comes to mind. Dean Kamen’s creation of the Segway PT scooter was speculated to revolutionize personal transportation. The Segway was expected to usher in a new era of errand running and puttering around town.
We all know that didn’t happen. The Segway is still around and it isn’t an entirely unusual site to see someone taking a Segway out for a “drive” in the park. For a “failed” technology, that is a pretty extraordinary feat!
But just how do these two-wheeled scooters work? Electric motors hold the key.
Powering the Segway
Electric motors fueled by phosphate-based lithium batteries power the Segway. The scooters are easily charged by just plugging them into a common electrical socket. Thanks to a combination of two computers, special software, tilt sensors, and five gyroscopic sensors the Segway stays upright and doesn’t tip over.
Making the Segway Move
Users play a role in making the Segway work too. When riders need to go forward, they move a control bar away from themselves. If they want to move in reverse, they move the same control bar nearer to their body. The Segway notices a change in its balance point and adjusts the speed to keep its riders balanced. To steer, riders tilt a handlebar in the direction in which they need to move. Today’s Segway PT can move up to 12.5 miles an hour. It functions best, obviously, in communities that feature a good amount of sidewalks and other areas where the Segway can properly motor.
Lowered Expectations
Experts touted that the Segway would be a bigger deal that Internet. Plainly the device did not meet that level of hype!
Unfortunately, once the Segway was released many thought it looked weird and you looked bizarre riding one. Others thought it looked hazardous. Regardless, the downsides were enough to prevent the Segway from reaching its promised potential.
