Is IT A Giant Leap For Mankind, or A Scooter?

[Laurel]

Maybe it's just my technolust gland working overtime, but I want one of these.

http://www.segway.com/

It kind of looks like one of those old manual lawnmowers that my grandfather used to have in his garage.

 

[Siren]

i saw this on TV

 

[seXieleXie]

hehe... i would hurt myself on one of those...
they're nifty looking though

 

[Phoenyx]

Loosk good but waht about when it rains, or winter, or when its cold. Its only good for heloing you get to places faster than you walk...




I want one too.

 

[TonyG]

I also see a lot of lawsuits. There is a balance issue for seniors and youth.

I don't see it being a big item in today's or tomorrow's marketplace.

I don't want one. Give me walking anyday.

 

[Siren]

Yep Tony.......and what about the hot dogger scooter people that

 

[modest mouse]

IT is rather dissapointing after all the hype.

 

[Gnufi Poppets]

It is the crazy assed rolling scary scooter with a motor thing that I will not the being risking the health of the huge cock I am always the having by the riding on it!

 

[Amused]

Ahem.......

http://forum.literotica.com/showthread.php?threadid=56936

 

[Phoenyx]

Its is a motorized scooter. these guys have to hype it cause of all the money they have sunk into IT. IT is gonna flop big time.

 

[Laurel]

From what I've read, it actually has no balance problems whatsoever. Unlike regular scooters, it's built to not fall over. Also, its movement is intuitive.

Here's an excellent article on IT:

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1101011210-186640,00.html

This week the guessing game comes to an end as Kamen unveils his baby under its official name: Segway. Given the buildup, some are bound to be disappointed. ("It won't beam you to Mars or turn lead into gold," shrugs Kamen. "So sue me.") But there is no denying that the Segway is an engineering marvel. Developed at a cost of more than $100 million, Kamen's vehicle is a complex bundle of hardware and software that mimics the human body's ability to maintain its balance. Not only does it have no brakes, it also has no engine, no throttle, no gearshift and no steering wheel. And it can carry the average rider for a full day, nonstop, on only five cents' worth of electricity.

One thing it mentions is that the controls on IT are in rebus image form, not in English, which means that they're planning on pushing this to a worldwide market. There are many places in the world where it will be embraced for its easy & economy of use. Will it become standard in the US? Outside of cities like NYC and San Fran where scooters are popular modes of transportation, I doubt it. But who knows?

 

[Gilly Bean]

Well, as i am a mother of 2 and 4/5ths, I would say they are not overly practical for everyone. Can't strap the kids in. Can't get groceries in one. Can't keep the mess on my floor in one... that may be a good thing.


How different is it from a bike, other then a bike can go faster, a bike is cheaper, a bike promotes physical activity...

well damn, I think if it were me, I would go bike.

 

[christo]

From what I saw on CNN, it's hard to fall off the thing. The more you lean, the more the internal gyroscopes compensate to keep you upright. The guy from Time magazine said if you're tooling along and bump into someone, the sensors detect it automatically and bring you to a stop, and even roll you back a bit to compensate. That's the amazing thing about it, there's no throttle, no brakes, it's all controlled with tiny bits of body lean. And the sensors check 100 times a second to see what's going on around it, so it's very responsive to sudden changes.

It looks pretty cool. For people with problems walking (elderly, handicapped, etc) it would be a godsend. I can see where it would be a big help to people like mailmen, people who have to walk a lot at work and walking takes up much of their time. It would be a neat gizmo to have if you live in a big city and need to toodle over to the grocery store for a quart of milk. In countries like China, where so many people ride bikes everywhere, it would be fantastic.

Think about how big those dammned Razor scooters were last Christmas. True, this thing costs like 30 times as much, but it's more than 30 times cooler and useful. It'll sell. Tho it would have done much better with technogeeks before the dot.com bubble went kablooey.

Is this a giant leap for mankind? I think of something like cold fusion as a giant leap. Or supraluminal transportation. Or an aphrodisiac that works, dammit. This thing is just really, really cool. And don't we need more really, really cool things in the world? You betcha.

 

[Laurel]

Re: Ahem.......

http://forum.literotica.com/showthread.php?threadid=56936

Damn! I searched the forum for mentions of it, but I missed that thread...lol...

 

[Siren]

Well Laurelito...my question is.......

 

[Todd]

http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,186660,00.html




http://www.nytimes.com/2001/12/03/technology/03THIN.html

 

[Luke's Angel]

Hmmmmmm. Maybe a giant leap forward for scooterkind?

It is a fascinating machine. I don't see it being much use outside real "city Like" cities like the ones you mentioned Laurel. I do admire the engineering of "segway" though.

Hopefully this will lead to other more practical vehicles.

 

[p_p_man]

IT is rather dissapointing after all the hype.

That has just got to be the understatement of the year!!

 

[Spinaroonie]

The real giant leap comes, not with the scooter, but when we take the lean system, the gyros and the tilt sensors and apply them to other things, Cars, etc. That's where it really comes into use.

 

[Luke's Angel]

Body responsive control inputs for cars?

Hmmmmmmm That sounds too appropriate given the nature of the site.


I'm not sure how well the gyros would improve a four-wheeled vehicle. I imagine some sort of advanced suspension system might be devised using some of the gyro technology.

But the control input ideas might make the steering wheel unnecessary now. Well assuming someone actually finds a way to hook up the body responsive input devices to the steering mechanism.

 

[scylis]

now, i'm probably one of the laziest people around this here BB, but you guys can keep these stupid-ass things. i'm just going to fuckin' WALK! it's why we have legs and feet, for fuck's sake!!

and what about chasing somebody with it? "hey, that punk snatched my purse on his thingy! you there! you have one! creep along incredably slow after him!" any MST3K fans here? it'll be like the damn chase scene from Space Mutiny!!

("yeah, this scene has been compared with the chariot race in Ben Hur. basically they say that Ben Hur was really really cool, and this one just sucks")

 

[Spinaroonie]

Re: Body responsive control inputs for cars?

Hmmmmmmm That sounds too appropriate given the nature of the site.


I'm not sure how well the gyros would improve a four-wheeled vehicle. I imagine some sort of advanced suspension system might be devised using some of the gyro technology.

But the control input ideas might make the steering wheel unnecessary now. Well assuming someone actually finds a way to hook up the body responsive input devices to the steering mechanism.

Wouldn't it be all to easy to put them in the seat? Make the seat resistant yet wobbly. Then add gyros, tilt sensors and viola

 

[Young Knave]

Ugh. Americans are too out of shape as it is.

 

[Tribbin]

What ever happened to a

bike? When i was a kid i remember having a bike and that was the perfect means to get around. I had energy to burn and it also made it so i couldn't get too too far away from my house, after all i didn't want to bike that far, i was a kid.

But really, the only problem i can see with it so far, after only looking at their website for a couple minutes, is that it will take a lot of getting used to. One part in peticular. The way you make it move forward and backward. You have to lean. You will have to rely on the machine to keep you from falling on your face, in public. I have trouble walking with my own feet sometimes when I know that people are watching me.

Still, I want one. Not just one, but the first one. I want it before the president of the company gets one. The first one off the line. I think all guys want it too. Why? Cause guys need gizmos. I don't care if i can use it the way it's supposed to be used. I don't care if it sits in my garage. I just want to know that I have it and I can fiddle with it whenever i want.

 

[Tribbin]

Yeah, there was a

SouthPark episode about this. It was called the "IT".

God that was a funny episode. I hope that they play it again.