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Segway by Honda
- deleted 16y ago[deleted]
- dazzawazza 16y agoA part of me thinks that Honda has solved the problem of walking. Something evolution solved a long time ago. The evolved solution also allows us to go up steps! While it's cool it seems like there is a long way to go before it's useful/cost effective. None of the above undermines the technology btw, just the application.
- IgorPartola 16y agoAnother thing about this particular execution is that it is still not cool. It's even worse than the conventional segway: you necessarily sit shorter than everyone around you which will make an impact. We as a species favor tall individuals on a subconscious level (think of US presidents). Whatever alternate mode of locomotion is to be created, it needs to be cool. Think jetpacks.
- dieterrams 16y agoI actually think that it's better than the Segway for making you slightly shorter. One of the problems with the Segway is that the increased height (and width) makes you so conspicuous as to practically be flaunting your use of it, and how independent you are from the lowly ambulating masses. Whereas someone riding a Vespa can still come off as cool. (Though they'll immediately look silly next to someone on a Harley.)
- IgorPartola 16y agoWell, yes. Someone sitting lower than others around him/her is not necessarily bad: think driving a Ferrari vs walking down the street. But this thing does not look cool. It looks more like you are somehow incapacitated (I think some other comments mention knee injuries). Even a hover chair from the Austin Powers movies would be better. Jetpacks would be ideal.
- dieterrams 16y agoI agree with you. I don't think this thing is going to take off as a mainstream transportation device. I just think it's less awkward than the Segway.
- grsites 16y agoYes, it seems like it won't go as fast as a Segway, so it will just make you look lazy. "Do you have a knee injury?"
- WiseWeasel 16y agoI could see a device with two "legs" like this being optimal for some tasks. It could ideally walk up stairs, or skate along flat surfaces.
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- IgorPartola 16y agoIn the mall near me all the security personnel rides around on "conventional" segways, presumably to get to whatever issue arises faster. Mind you the mall is a two story mall with stairs and escalators. What exactly happens if the security office is on the bottom floor and the issue that needs immediate attention is on the top floor? I imagine ditching the segway would be a bad idea.
- bugmenot 16y agoWell I guess it would be fairly easy to build security in: an rfid card, or a bluetooth app on a phone.
- Kilimanjaro 16y agoPower wheelchairs are better, comfortable and ergonomic. But then you'll look like a crippled. So take a La-z-boy and add power wheels to it. Then sell it for $999.
- JoeAltmaier 16y agoThis is infinitely more maneuverable, especially in the house e.g. the kitchen. A house has to be made wheelchair-compatible. This avoids that cost. And makes you look more human.
- ck2 16y agoAccidental acceleration will have a whole new set of consequences. No-one has topped motor assist on a bicycle yet. It's fun and useful to be able to move 20+ mph all day without being a top-notch athlete (or while wearing business clothes).
- shin_lao 16y agoI see this and I think about the fat people in Wall-E. What's wrong with using your legs?
- foomarks 16y agoI think Honda and Toyota are designing these devices for their growing elderly population in Japan.
- aneesh 16y agoIt looks like it may be difficult to mount & balance yourself on this if your mobility is limited. See the few seconds starting at 1:13 in the video.
- olaf 16y agoMany elderly suffer from amyotrophia, I doubt this being usefull device, except for people which are disabled.
- shin_lao 16y agoDoes it look like a device convenient to use for an elder or someone disabled?
- patio11 16y agoWhile Honda, Toyota, and many companies in the Japanese robotics space do devote quite a lot of resources to thinking about the elderly population, a significant amount of the R&D work done is not done with the intent of being immediately productizable, but rather to do basic R&D and to fly the company flag. (See Asimo or, indeed, any robot which looks remotely like a human. Or the gigantic eight-legged spider robot who existed to wave a large fan at people that my tech incubator made, which existed to say "Look at us, we're capable of making a gigantic semi-autonomous eight legged robot with one functional limb which you could mount all sorts of things that are not cooling devices on.")
- Retric 16y agoI think honda is targeting old people and using young people to demo how it works. PS: If your legs actually work then clearly you should be using these 24/7. http://www.gizmag.com/powerbocking/12337/ http://www.gizmag.com/powerbocking/12337/
- JoeAltmaier 16y agoLooks like you have to stoop forward constantly to stay in motion. Not useful as a vehicle, not even for a short while. Maybe useful as an office-chair replacement?
- SandB0x 16y agoBut this is kind of what you do when you walk. Walking is effectively controlled falling. People moving on this device are probably just thinking "move forward" rather than "lean forward", in the same way as we turn left or right by (subconsciously) leaning slightly on a bicycle.
- Zaak 16y agoOffice chair was the first thing I thought of when I saw them sliding sideways. I wonder how hard it would be to stay still enough to type accurately.
- JoeAltmaier 16y agoJust talked to a friend who runs a kitchen, thinks it would be ideal for a commercial cook.
- jvdh 16y agoLike Paul Graham said in July 2009[1] The trouble with the Segway is that it makes you look smug. This thing will make you look even more so. [1]: http://www.paulgraham.com/segway.html http://www.paulgraham.com/segway.html
- noonespecial 16y agoThey pretty much always make me think of Dr Seuss. Perhaps once the technology is perfected, I can finally ride around on something fit for a Who.
- metachris 16y agoi guess that's why such technologies take a while to get broadly adopted. i think in 10 or 20 years almost everybody might use those, and segway will look kinda old-school.
- kirvyteo 16y agoI think this has more practical use whereas Segway is like an expensive car. Show this to any caretaker looking after people with stroke, disabilities etc. I am sure they will find it useful. Think about how many falls this can prevent indoors? They probably need to cap the max speed for old people to their walking speed. A back rest will be nice.
- dieterrams 16y agoReally? I think it makes you look less smug. It doesn't make you effectively taller the way Segway does, and sitting is a more casual position. I think the people in this video look smug, for various reasons unrelated to the U3-X itself.
- irrelative 16y agoAdditionally, your arms are free which is a big win, and at least in the video, it didn't require wearing a helmet. I think they've made leaps and bounds over the smug issue. It looks like this only targets indoor super smooth surfaces, but I think it could definitely find a niche.
- DannoHung 16y agoStupid for humans, maybe, but that'd be a cool mobility platform for robots.
- damienfir 16y agoI think this is the right way to approach this kind of technology.
- DannoHung 16y agoActually, I just remembered something along the same lines from a few months ago: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bI06lujiD7E http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bI06lujiD7E
- what 16y agoI was hoping to see Asimo riding it.
- albertcardona 16y agoAll examples of use are indoors. Rough outdoor floors may prove too much. In any case an impressive device.
- daveyb100 16y agoI'd love to see the off-road version!
- WiseWeasel 16y agoI hope it comes with the ability to dodge trees on its own. I'm guessing an outdoor model would have to be very smart, almost self-guiding.
- olaf 16y agoI think, for more or less healthy people (being able to walk) it's the opposite what would be usefull, not sitting/being passive when we were once moving/using our muscles, but running/using muscles when we were once just sitting (more or less passively), I remember a standing desk with a running treadmill underneath as a nice example.
- mikecane 16y agoOnly practical -- if that! -- during dry days. I wouldn't want to see the state of my pants after using this on a wet pavement or street.
- pohl 16y agoNote how they didn't let us hear how it sounds, but they visually suggested that one could tour an art gallery. I'm guessing it sounds almost as menacing as Big Dog.
- shadowsun7 16y agoI'm not particularly impressed by the chair (references to both pg's Segway essay and the fat people in Wall.E come to mind), but I'm very interested in the omniwheel technology. Imagine a wheelchair with one omnidirectional wheel instead of four. That'd make a world of difference for disabled people!
- og1 16y agoThey didn't invent the omni wheel, been around for a while. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omni_wheel http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omni_wheel I'm sure Honda tuned it up a bit though. Also, there have been some wheelchairs made with omni-directional wheels, although I'm not sure if they are only a prototypes. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mecanum_wheel http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mecanum_wheel
- Sidnicious 16y agoAre you sure? This omniwheel is novel because the rollers are powered. This is the first device I've seen that can move in any direction with a single wheel.
- tel 16y agoThat's actually a pretty cool wheel design.
- bonsaitree 16y agoUm...Wow. Aside from Mr. Garrison's gyro-thingie ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Entity_%28South_Park%29 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Entity_%28South_Park%29 ), that's the most emasculating mode of travel I've ever seen.
- samueladam 16y agoThere is also this device: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0S_SL8IWObY http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0S_SL8IWObY
- hieronymusN 16y agoThey will need vastly more rugged versions for your average American. I say this being from Texas.
- norswap 16y agoThey haven't learn anything from Segway, you look utterly ridiculous riding one of those things (even worse than someone riding a Segway).
- wheaties 16y agoWhat a waste. I want one. I'm so conflicted. Does wanting to buy consumer oriented yet entirely unnecessary products make me more American, dumb or both?
- WiseWeasel 16y agoIt's not socially acceptable to want one until someone uses it to put her life in jeopardy before a worldwide audience.
- jgg 16y agoFor those who haven't seen it: http://tlb.org/eunicycle.html http://tlb.org/eunicycle.html
- armandososa 16y agoI kinda expected to be invented by some girl named Eunice.
- pkulak 16y agoSlightly faster than walking, without all the messy dignity.
- AGorilla 16y agoThere's no back support! They need to make this into a recliner.
- lvecsey 16y agoNeed a monster version built out of top fuel dragster components.
- calcnerd256 16y agoSegway is Dean Kamen's company, not the product. The product is the Human Transporter (or HT). They make other things, too, including the Segway Centaur.