Whatever Happened To Segway - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: jonovid
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 14, 2023, 12:04:48 pm
content: was a time when any two-wheeled self-balancing personal transporter was desirable.even Boston Dynamics had a two-wheeled self-balancing unit dubbed Handle.did cheap hoverboards give them an unfavorable reputation? or was the two-wheeled design too inefficient?compared to robotic walking legs. will electric motorcycles ever become self-balancing parallel wheeled like a Segway.or is speed a limiting factor. poor braking distance.

author: xrunner
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 14, 2023, 12:10:10 pm
content: Whatever happened to them?Nothing:https://www.segway.com/

author: wraper
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: June 14, 2023, 12:11:30 pm
content: It's bulky, slow, expensive and overall not very good. For general public there are electric scooters now which are easier and safer to use, take less space and are much cheaper. For someone who wants something more extreme and self balancing, there are EUC, Onewheel, hoverboards.

author: wraper
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: June 14, 2023, 12:15:08 pm
content: Quote from: xrunner on June 14, 2023, 12:10:10 pmCompany itself remains only in name, it's actually a Chinese Ninebot now. But it's not the question that was asked.

author: Psi
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 14, 2023, 12:18:59 pm
content: 2 wheel balance robots have their place.But the goal is a humanoid robot that can replace workers doing all the boring repetitive tasks that current robots just can't do because they require too much hand dexterity and hand eye co-ordination .

author: tom66
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 14, 2023, 12:42:02 pm
content: They're making e-scooters for a lot of the rental e-scooter companies around here, going by the labels on the devices. Seems like a good market to be in: you want a durable, long range product (short range means more frequent trips back to base to charge it) with good anti-theft functions. That means it won't be total race to the bottom on price.

author: Andy Watson
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 14, 2023, 12:54:12 pm
content: Didn't the relatively new owner of the company demonstrate how dangerous they could be by collecting a Darwin award a few years back?

author: CatalinaWOW
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 14, 2023, 01:25:40 pm
content: While it was hyped as a solution for all personal transportation, it wasn't. It wasn't legal in the streets, and wasn't safe for those who didn't care about the law, so it was limited to routes without steps or curbs were viable. It cost too much to leave casually by a door when shopping or working. You couldn't carry large or heavy items. And it was unpleasant at best in foul weather. If it had ever been adopted by a significant portion of the population it would have required dedicated roads just like automobiles (admittedly narrower). So it combined the bad features of public transportation with those of private transport with few advantages.It was a neat idea, but once the WOW factor wore off it just didn't fit anyone's urgent needs, and was so expensive that only a few could buy it for fun.

author: MK14
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 14, 2023, 02:20:10 pm
content: Quote from: Andy Watson on June 14, 2023, 12:54:12 pmHere we go:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimi_Heselden

author: AndyBeez
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 14, 2023, 02:55:42 pm
content: They're all in France. You know when you're in the French speaking world as there's always a tourist, gendarme or suited bureaucrat tottering along on a Segway. Popular too is the lighter 'on pavement'Gyropode. Crash helmets are obligatory, especially if you are six feet tall, are rolling under a low subway, and fail to realise thatfaible hauteur libremeans duck!Segways: If it looks wrong, it probably is. Except if you're French.

author: TimFox
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 14, 2023, 03:48:11 pm
content: Segway tours are popular in Chicago and many other cities.https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractions-g35805-Activities-c42-t178-Chicago_Illinois.html

author: Bryn
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: July 02, 2023, 10:01:54 am
content: Only ever seen a Segway once in my life, when a shopping centre employee was moving around on one. That was like ten years ago...Nowadays, at least in the UK, people prefer to look "hip" on those e-scooters...

author: mendip_discovery
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 02, 2023, 10:25:59 am
content: I think they fell off a cliff after a PR disaster with the CEO.

author: coppercone2
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 02, 2023, 04:58:48 pm
content: sales people use it

author: ebastler
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 02, 2023, 06:22:15 pm
content: Quote from: mendip_discovery on July 02, 2023, 10:25:59 amIt was not just a PR desaster -- Jim Heselden,who had taken over Segway a year earlier, literally drove his Segway off a cliff in a 2010 accident.Not sure whether that triggered Segway's decline. To me it always felt like an over-engineered product, which made its users look a bit dorky. While I don't like the electric scooters either, they seem like a much more pragmatic solution for local transportation. Feels a bit like a repeat of what happened in the PDA market, with the Newton coming early and with an over-engineered and expensive solution, and then Palm taking ocer the market with a pragmatic "good enough" product.

author: mendip_discovery
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 02, 2023, 07:03:40 pm
content: Quote from: ebastler on July 02, 2023, 06:22:15 pmYup, that was my dark sense of humor.QuoteI felt they were a bit of a novelty. They spent well on pr, giving them to the police etc.. It was somthing to do on a holiday trip. If they were new today then I think they would have a lot of success as the mega money investors spend could mean the things being on every street in town as rentals like those scooters.

author: wraper
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: July 02, 2023, 07:24:48 pm
content: Segway did cost $5000+, quite an investment for something like that. For that you can get 5 really good electric scooters, 10 decent, or 20-30 entry level. Economically Segways make little sense. Nor they can be used without training, which really hurts ride-sharing.

author: mairo
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: July 03, 2023, 11:10:19 am
content: Someone (Ninebot) bought them and then they closed - a large auction happened around 2020-21. Lots of new segways and ninebots went virtually for free, but the important bits were the quite modern production, compliance and RnD test gear

author: G7PSK
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 03, 2023, 01:56:43 pm
content: This company in New Zealand uses Segway base for its wheel chair they even sell a kit to convert the Segway that has put you in a wheel chair.https://omeotechnology.com/

author: SiliconWizard
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 03, 2023, 09:54:14 pm
content: Quote from: G7PSK on July 03, 2023, 01:56:43 pmThat's a clever way of recycling what would otherwise end up in the trash. Kudos.

author: james_s
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 03, 2023, 10:20:37 pm
content: They were a gimmick right from the start. The self balancing aspect was a neat technological achievement but didn't really solve any actual problem, and they cost thousands of dollars, more than a fairly nice used car at the time. A more conventional scooter or e-bike was more practical and a lot cheaper.

author: Black Phoenix
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 10, 2023, 11:24:08 am
content: Quote from: mairo on July 03, 2023, 11:10:19 amNinebot still exists and still sells products in Mainland China, including a small EV powered kart car:They also have EV Piaggio like motorcycles, who are one of the best ones being sold in the market in terms of build construction and design, without the cut corners that is common in most brands being sold in China, with prices to match that quality (one of the more expensive options).

author: MarkS
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: July 10, 2023, 07:34:29 pm
content: It was an overhyped massive disappointment. The novelty quickly wore off and they were sold to a Chinese company.

author: Black Phoenix
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 11, 2023, 02:25:24 am
content: Quote from: MarkS on July 10, 2023, 07:34:29 pmAlthough I had the chance to use one back in 2008, it was a novelty at best. Not a city transport as they wanted, not a small terrain crawler as the TT version they sold.It's best use was really for shopping centre security patrols and police patrols in city centres- PSP in Lisbon use them in the tourist part of the city, close to the river and Shenzhen Police also on the Huaqiangbei district, on the electronics supermarkets avenue - or for big warehouses or company headquarters where you have a big area with tons of warehouses and labs and want a fast way to go from point A to B.But the price of it was the biggest no-no, specially with other transportation methods as the typical bicycle or even by foot.Basically a solution looking for a problem.

author: Bud
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 11, 2023, 03:56:42 am
content: I am pretty sure I saw a security guard strolling around on one in a restricted area near the White House.

author: mairo
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: July 11, 2023, 11:37:27 pm
content: Quote from: Black Phoenix on July 10, 2023, 11:24:08 amSorry, I meant to say that the USA based Segway part only was auctioned.