Posted on 4/12/2001

Scooter Future

NEW YORK, December 3, 2001 – Emerging from months of hype and speculation
today, an accomplished inventor unveiled a one-person, battery-powered
scooter that he claims will revolutionize transportation. Inventor Dean
Kamen and his backers say the agile Segway Human Transporter will change
the face of the transportation world, bumping cars from ubiquity and
leading to a realigned, people-friendly cityscape.

The Segway, until now known only by its codenames "IT" and "Ginger," "will
be to the car what the car was to the horse and buggy," Kamen boasted to
Time magazine for today's edition. "Cars are great for going long
distances. But it makes no sense at all for people in cities to use a
4,000-pound piece of metal to haul their 150-lb. asses around town." Kamen
unveiled the scooter on ABC's Good Morning America today. Kamen holds
roughly 100 U.S. patents. His other inventions include the heart stent used
by Vice President Dick Cheney and a wheelchair that can climb stairs.

The two-wheeled Segway, which looks like a cross between an old rotary lawn
mower and a Razor scooter, travels at a top speed of about 17 miles per
hour. According to the Time piece, 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."
Kamen's Manchester, N.H.-based firm DEKA Research and Development will
oversee production of the machine. According to those who have ridden it,
the scooter is difficult to fall from or knock over due to gyroscopes that
work to keep it upright and discern where the rider wants to go. Speed and
direction are controlled by the rider's shifting weight. Riders stand
upright, facing forward over the invention's single axle, navigating with a
bicycle-like handlebar. A single battery charge can propel the scooter 17
miles over level ground, with each hour of charge providing power for two
hours' use, Time reported.

The U.S. Postal Service, General Electric and National Parks Service will
be the first customers to purchase them, buying 80-pound heavy-duty models
for $US8,000 apiece, according to the magazine. The Postal Service plans to
test 20 Segways on mail routes in Concord, N.H., and Fort Myers, Fla.,
starting in January, in hopes of enabling carriers to cover more ground,
according to a report on The New York Times' Web site. The City of Atlanta
plans to use several dozen starting in February in an effort to reduce
emissions and traffic congestion, the Times said. A 65-pound, $US3,000
consumer model won't be available for at least a year. Kamen, who said he
withheld information on the Segway until he had finished filing related
patents, is an accomplished inventor and recipient last year of the
National Medal of Technology, awarded by then President Clinton.

Kamen's previous inventions also include the first portable kidney dialysis
machine.