[Icannon]

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

what do you think? i get all kinds of neat ideas thinking about this thing (like jousting). it is no less than what i expected, either.

[12345]

i was expecting something that can hover, or a software that could instantly kill email spammers.

[FatPenguin]

useless piece of junk

[Zorglub]

Eh it's not useless I guess but it's not that revolutionary either... It's not a breakthrough, is what I'm saying, but just an interesting combination of existing technologies.

[Steelwind]

It's just a scooter that you don't have to push. I admit the no-falling technology is amazing (a freind of mine got to see a demonstration of it in a wheelchair that climbs stairs and doesn't fall) but just because the technology is amazing doesn't mean the item housing it is.

Steelwind

[Lemur-X]

This thing actually has pretty good potential in large cities. Which is where it would sell.

Areas of the world where people live in a microcosm contained within a few city blocks.

It won't replace the car. The technologoy may, eventually be implemented, but this item won't.

I almost forgot the mail-carrier uses.

[ December 03, 2001: Message edited by: Lemur-X ]

[Awetopsy]

I think its cool.. if somebody handed me one.. I wouldnt turn it down.

[Red Leader]

I am buying one the day it becomes comercially available. "It" would be perfect for me, since I Iive downtown....
[edit: typed too fast]

[ December 03, 2001: Message edited by: Red Leader ]

[Zorglub]

Hmmm so you'd pay $3000 for an artificial sense of balance. You got that for free from your parents when you were born. There are electric scooters available for $200 that go faster, have a greater range...oh but they're not controlled by the movemets of your body. Sure the Segway is probably really fun to drive, but I doubt it is going to revolutionize the way we build cities or whatever.
The inventor's mind is in the right place though...Cleaning up the environment and nature-friendly vehicles are what this world needs right now. I predict a multitude of energy and environment conservation energy sources in the future.

[FatPenguin]

I guess i have to agree that it would be a very very fun toy, but Red Leader, do you really thing it would be much more useful than a bycicle?

[12345]

penguin, hell fucking yea. Have you ever riden a bicycle before?

[synj]

haven't read any replies, just have one of my own that i'm pretty set on.

WELCOME OBESITY!! Now we can sit at our computers all day at work, sit as we drive home, then go for a 'walk' on our segways. We don't have to move a single muscle since it even balances for us.

what a piece of it, welcome to fatworld

[ December 03, 2001: Message edited by: synj ]

[Red Leader]

Ah well, it looks fun.
I get enough exercise allready going to the gym and all...it would be easier to go get groceries and other not-too cumbersome items with this thing. Better than the bus or a car for jetting around town.

[Icannon]

i wouldnt welcome fatworld quite yet. i merely see this machine as an addition to the bus, bike, rollerblades or car. it couldn't REPLACE a car- not by any means, really, because there's no room for storage. cities would still need streets for hauling shipments and garbage around. how i see it, is that something has been invented that eliminates a fair amount of pollution and lessens the cost of transportation. i'll bet people will start taking them apart and boosting their speed up a few notches, as well. i would just want it for entertainment, tho (zip to 7-11 for a slurpy). it's too cold up here for poor ginger.

[12345]

too bad not gonna be out until next years, plus, its gonna cost 3000$ american, which is around 9000 canadian.

[Pat]

I'm not buying one until it comes with a large drink holder and racing stripes.

-Pat

[greenmode]

wasn't this thing supposed to float a few inches above ground? where are the flying cars already

hmm... have to ride that to know if its any good at all.

[Ninja]

I don't get *IT*, city councils prohibit skateboarding, inlines, scooters and bikes on footpaths and shopping malls, what makes these things so special? You pretty much have the same control and similar weight to steer. I don't see much potential in these things, the only place they could catch on is with the kids for their coolness factor.

Just wait till the old farts start complaining about head on collisions at the grocerty store.

[the_monkey]

man...it will be so wicked when they turn "it" into an extreme sport.

i cant wait.

[MeatyCheesyBoy]

While, I think that this thing is definately cool, I was wondering how easy is it to throw it out of alignment? With all its advanced computer equipment and balancing mechanisms, how sturdy is it? If you crash into something at its top speed a few times, will it still work correctly? It just seems like it would be pretty delicate.

Also, with all of their advanced mechanisms and such, what if people do take them apart to try to tweak them to go faster as Icannon suggested? They'd probably just screw up the balancing on them I'd think.

[ December 07, 2001: Message edited by: MeatyCheesyBoy ]

[aquamire]

I agree with Synj, eheh.. people are getting way to lazy, and technology is just making them lazier. God forbid you should WALK to work. No, we have to get there faster, 12mph to be exact! All this talk of Kurzwiel saying technology will enslave us? Well, this and cellphones are a good example. People think since machines have no morale, they couldnt enslave us, but the thing is, we're getting so fat and lazy, we'll probably gladly hand over our souls just to be lazier and more 'efficient'.

It is a cool little vehicle, I admit, the technology is very nice, the wheels wont pop, they go over ice, snow, and anything else other than pure air. It might be good for handicapped people, but most of all I think it would be suited better for Asian markets, places like Japan and China rely more on small units of transportation such as bicycles, than large cars which are much more expensive. Get the price of this thing down and market it towards Asia, and Kamen will become more rediciously rich than he already is.

Some interesting things on the inventor.. this is the guy who invented the first Infused Drug Pump, and Insulin Pump for diabetics. He also invented the first wheelchair to climb stairs. He was a college drop out, and you'll like this, the son of a comic book illustrator. He taught himself physics, and after making bundles of money on this medical inventions, bought his own island which he claims to be a sovereign state.. yes, it has a currency. Based on Pi. What a nerd.. a cool nerd albeit.

[Icannon]

i'd seen a thing on him a year ago where they'd mentioned most of that stuff, but the self-taught physics is incredible. he's quite a character; his house even sports a secret book-shelf-door leading to a spiral staircase. and he listens to starwars on the way to work in his helicopter. inspiring\creepy! :]