5 ms·
I don't understand who this is for. To be able to remain balanced on a small patch of ground that can zip around in any direction under your feet with no handho
by SiVal 11y ago
I don't understand who this is for. To be able to remain balanced on a small patch of ground that can zip around in any direction under your feet with no handholds requires MORE balance than ordinary walking. That means that almost anyone who could safely use this would have to be healthy enough to walk normally. Walking is almost as fast, vastly more flexible, convenient, reliable, cheap....
Yes, it's more tiring, but someone who could safely use one of these could also safely cruise around on a scooter with larger wheels and a handle for much higher speed, much lower cost, more stability, no fear of running out of power, better handling over uneven surfaces, etc.
The people who need powered transportation on walkways tend to be those with limited personal mobility, and most of them would be at great risk balanced on one of these things. They need something stable to sit on, not something unstable to stand on.
The best market I can think of for these things is relatively young, healthy workers gliding around the smooth floor of a very large warehouse all day long carrying small objects. But that's not how they seem to be positioning this thing, and most of those jobs will be robotized, because the little warehouse scooter doesn't really need the person.
- mirimir 11y agoYes, as netcan says, make it large enough to sit on. But kneeling is safer than lotus position, because it's easy to transition from there to walking. And it's a standard Japanese seat style.[0] [0] https://fewrightautonomy.files.wordpress.com/2012/03/87caa309.jpg https://fewrightautonomy.files.wordpress.com/2012/03/87caa30...
- jusben1369 11y agoAt lower speeds would it be much different to a moving walkway? As for use cases these would be unlimited! I imagine 10km/ph is as fast as a taxi would average in a busy downtown
- dmitriy_ko 11y agoOn moving walkway, you can still walk so you speed is moving_walkway_speed + your_speed. Here it's just walkcar_speed.
- pavel_lishin 11y agoYou can put your legs in a wider stance on a moving walkway. Furthermore, if the walkway happens to stutter, the rest of the walkway's speed isn't significantly different from the speed of the patch you're standing on.
- tagawa 11y agoA couple of occasions I'd love one of these is 1) CES (or any other large exhibition), 2) Ikea.
- lmm 11y ago10kph is twice as fast as typical walking speed. I can see using one of these to go to and from the train station on my commute - you can't take a scooter on the train, but something that fits in a backpack is would be fine.