The rainy bits were shot on a Phantom, by the way. I know how you guys love those.

[thanks for the tip, Mike]

Are Segways dangerous? Personally, it all depends on the driver; whether or not they’re skilled, intoxicated or texting can have a lot to do with the safety of said transporter. But that no longer matters for riders in the UK because just a few days ago a UK judge ruled the Segway unsafe for sidewalks. So where is the Woz supposed to ride?

In court, the judge had to decide whether a Segway can be described as “a mechanically propelled vehicle intended or adapted for use on roads.” To that the judge concurs and it’s now law. No Segways on sidewalk, instead they can ride in the street. But, Segways are already banned in the streets because they aren’t up to safety regulations. So the only place to ride would be private ground (golf courses, shopping malls, etc.). It’s a bloody mess.

This whole thing got started when Segway rider, Phillip Coats, got ticketed for riding a Segway on a sidewalk. After the verdict was announced, he is considering an appeal. If successful, Segways could be brought back onto sidewalk and the roads, assuming some mechanical improvements.

So is the law just being an ass? Could this be because of no taxes taken in by UK government from the eco-friendly transporter? Either way, we hope that Coats appeals. That, or start walking.

It was only so long before the knock-offs hit; it’s testament to the Segway’s legitimately innovative design that it took until now for something like this to hit. Or maybe it’s just that no one thought it worthwhile.

The Ewee-PT (don’t ask me) is a Segway knock-off just the way Chinese iClones are: ape the functionality, mimic the look, and reduce the cost. In this case, the functionality isn’t really complete: while it does balance on its own and you lean to accelerate or decelerate, you control steering with a joystick. The look is present, and I actually prefer it over the SkyMall-chic of the original. This one looks like they put it together in shop class, and it lends it a form of authenticity. Those little wheels might not be sufficient for off-roading, though.

And the cost is certainly reduced. It’s selling for €799, or around $1039 — a fraction of the cost of a new Segway. You can use the money you saved to buy some friends, nerd!

[via Engadget]

What do you think, camera guys? Would this work? Seemed to go well for this guy.

[via Doobybrain]

There’s certainly no shortage of so-called mobility robots, but major Japanese robot maker tmsuk‘s offering seems to be quite cool. In fact, the RODEM (short for “Robot De Enjoy Mobility”) is being pitched as a mix between robot, wheelchair and ultra-small vehicle (or “Universal Vehicle” [JP, PDF], in tmsuk’s marketing language).

The RODEM has been around for a couple of months, but tmsuk recently let a member of Japan’s Lower House in Tokyo (pictured above) drive around in the newest version (finding ways to cope with the nation’s rapidly graying population is one of the hottest topics in Japanese politics today, which means advances in medical technology are sure to get attention even from high-profile politicians).

The vehicle is designed to be used indoors, mainly by older or physically handicapped people. Much like the Segway, the RODEM can be controlled by body movement (but there’s also joystick control).

Sized at 1220×690×1170mm, the robot, which is powered by a lead storage battery, weighs just 100kg. It can reach a top speed of 6km/h, features a turning cycle of just 850mm, and it can be equipped with GPS, voice recognition, vital data sensors and other extras.

tmsuk hopes to commercialize the RODEM with a price tag between $5,500 and $7,800 (depending on the number of extras).

Here’s a video showing RODEM in action:

This video shows how riders can sit in the vehicle:

Via Robonable [JP]

Remember the U3-X Mobility Robot from Honda we blogged about last year? Well, the auto-unicycle is still a prototype, but Honda has just released a new (and pretty interesting) promo video on its official YouTube channel. The company says the U3-X can run continuously for one hour on a single (lithium-ion) battery charge and can be recharged via a conventional 120-volt power outlet.

The prototype weighs just 22 pounds, can stand by itself and features a foldable seat and retractable footrests. But its main bullet point is the omni-directional driving wheel system, which, according to Honda, is the only one of its kind. It allows U3-X drivers not only to move forward and back but also sideways and diagonally, setting it apart from vaguely similar products like the Segway or Toyota’s Winglet (which is also still just a prototype).

Here’s the promo video (in English, 3:39 min):

Here’s a U3-X video (made by CNN) from last year:
Embedded video from CNN Video

I know of only one person who would be able to build this thing – my buddy Paul – but I would totally grab a beer and watch him solder everything together and then ride around on this thing like a little freak. Heck, if you try to build this, tell me and we’ll come by and film you riding it. Seriously.

The instructions are pretty complex and you need quite a few parts, including a powerful motor and a go kart wheel.

It uses an Arduino board and an motor controller to handle the self-righting systems and requires a pretty heavy motor and battery. The self balancing circuit is right here

Segway’s post indicates that the company is now owned by a UK-based firm backed by an investor in Segway U.K., which is independently owned.

Segway Inc. is pleased to announce that in connection with a merger that occurred on December 24, 2009, Segway was acquired by a company that is based in the United Kingdom.  The acquiring company is backed by Jimi Heselden, a prominent U.K. businessman and the Chairman of Hesco Bastion.  Mr. Heselden is also an investor in the independently owned Segway U.K. distributorship.
Additionally, Segway also received funding that will be used to support the continued growth of the company.

Segway is the brainchild of renowned inventor Dean Kamen, who first unveiled the Segway PT in late 2001 (it went on sale in 2002). At launch, the hype behind the “Personal Transporter” was absolutely massive, and Segways continue to turn heads nearly a decade after their debut. Unfortunately, that attention has never translated into widespread demand from consumers, and Segways are still novelties to most people. That said, it looks like they’re getting some adoption from businesses — for one, I’ve noticed some mall patrols using them.

We have one at the TechCrunch office, and it’s certainly fun to zip around downtown Palo Alto. But it’s pretty clear that it isn’t the future of personal transportation.

Although the site doesn’t provide step-by-step build instructions, it does provide enough nitty-gritty to get any motivated maker into gear to assemble their own two wheel balancing scooter. I suspect riding around on a homemade scooter will earn you way more geek cred than riding around on its expensive commercial cousin.

Before you run off to make one of these things for yourself, though, you should read this warning from the creator of this balancing scooter:

The commercial one has a lot of safety features, redundancy and fool-proofing. Mine has none whatsoever (Well, it does have a kill switch so it doesn’t go zooming away if I fall off, and it does shut down if it finds itself tipped more than 45 degrees.) Those details are kind of important, and you should think about them carefully before considering building such a thing yourself.

And if you think two wheels are for sissies, be sure to check out the DIY electric unicycle! “You lean forward to accelerate, lean backwards to brake, and gyrate your arms wildly to turn.” Perfect!

The Legway is like a Universe Cycle (whatever that means) with a handlebar. I haven’t ridden one, and I don’t particularly want to (this type of thing was never my bag — I’m a bike guy), but it looks like a fun project if you wanted to put together something crazy for your kid.

I like that the maker has a “collection of dangerous toys” for his kids. That’s amazing.

Here’s a quick video I took on my BlackBerry of the PUMA in action. To recap – the PUMA is a two-wheeled Segway that can drive up to 35 miles on a single charge (35 cents per charge) and is capable of going up to 35MPH. Oh, I just overheard one of the higher ups say that PUMA will have a beefed up suspension to handle rough terrain like NYC’s pothole riddled streets. Check back later for a video of our very own test drive. I fear for my life. Heh.

It was a bit windy earlier so you might want to turn down your speakers. The second video has some commentary from the Segway rep, though.

And here’s the official video from Segway.

Oh, and a gallery!

[PSGallery=51wjig0rjc]

Well, I’m at the IAC building on the West Side of Manhattan, but GM already announced Project PUMA and I feel stupid for having trekked all this way for it.

10:17 AM – And here we go.

10:20 AM – GM and Segway have been working on PUMA for the last 18 months.
10:21 AM – Battery operated, capable of going 35MPH up to 35 miles on a single charge.
10:27 AM – The CEO of GM just mentioned Facebook and social networking. PUMA can detect if pedestrians are too close and stops so you don’t hit them!
10:31 AM – And we’re out. Here are some concepts for PUMA.
11:27 AM – We’ll be going for a test drive in a few minutes. Check back later for video of me riding in one of these badboys.

UPDATE: Check out our test drive…

General Motors and Segway have teamed up on Project PUMA (Personal Urban Mobility and Accessibility), a two-wheeled city vehicle capable of reaching speeds up to 35 miles per hour, and going 35 miles on a single charge at a cost of 35 cents per charge.

Aside from the promise of nimble, inexpensive transportation, the press release says, “The vehicle also enables design creativity, fashion, fun and social networking.” Ah yes, social networking: the ultimate feature to distract the driver of a rotor-less personal street helicopter with two wheels and no doors.

Although the details of the vehicle’s connectedness haven’t been fully revealed, it’s been indicated that the PUMA will leverage GM’s OnStar system to relay the locations of your friends and family who happen to be tooling around town in their own PUMAs at the same time as you.

As for the vehicle itself:

“It combines several technologies demonstrated by GM and Segway, including electric drive and batteries; dynamic stabilization (two-wheel balancing); all-electronic acceleration, steering and braking; vehicle-to-vehicle communications; and autonomous driving and parking. Those technologies integrate in Project P.U.M.A. to increase mobility freedom, while also enabling energy efficiency, zero emissions, enhanced safety, seamless connectivity and reduced congestion in cities.”

This is actually not a terrible idea for people living in cramped cities provided that the price is right and it can be driven in the winter. A rendered image shows an all-enclosed version (see below) but there’s no telling if those wheels will be able to handle snow, ice, and slush. Pricing hasn’t been revealed, either, although it’s promised to be “one-fourth to one-third the cost of what you pay to own and operate today’s automobile.”

The press release also indicates that the PUMA is “built to carry two or more pasengers.” Yes, two or more, so perhaps there will either be bigger versions or GM and Segway are giving you the green light to bring your baby along for the ride.

No word on an availability date yet, but more details will emerge when the PUMA is shown at the New York Auto Show this week.

Full press release:

GM and Segway Join Forces to Reinvent Urban Transportation

NEW YORK – General Motors Corp. and Segway today demonstrated a new type of vehicle that could change the way we move around in cities.

Dubbed Project P.U.M.A. (Personal Urban Mobility and Accessibility), GM and Segway are developing an electrically powered, two-seat prototype vehicle that has only two wheels. It could allow people to travel around cities more quickly, safely, quietly and cleanly – and at a lower total cost. The vehicle also enables design creativity, fashion, fun and social networking.

GM and Segway announced their collaboration, while demonstrating the Project P.U.M.A. prototype in New York City this morning.

“Project P.U.M.A. represents a unique solution to moving about and interacting in cities, where more than half of the world’s people live,” said Larry Burns, GM vice president of research and development, and strategic planning. “Imagine small, nimble electric vehicles that know where other moving objects are and avoid running into them. Now, connect those vehicles in an Internet-like web and you can greatly enhance the ability of people to move through cities, find places to park and connect to their social and business networks.”

Trends indicate that urbanization is growing, and with that comes increased congestion and more competition for parking. Cities around the world are actively looking for solutions to alleviate congestion and pollution. Project P.U.M.A. addresses those concerns. It combines several technologies demonstrated by GM and Segway, including electric drive and batteries; dynamic stabilization (two-wheel balancing); all-electronic acceleration, steering and braking; vehicle-to-vehicle communications; and autonomous driving and parking. Those technologies integrate in Project P.U.M.A. to increase mobility freedom, while also enabling energy efficiency, zero emissions, enhanced safety, seamless connectivity and reduced congestion in cities.

“We are excited to be working together to demonstrate a dramatically different approach to urban mobility,” said Jim Norrod, CEO of Segway Inc. “There’s an emotional connection you get when using Segway products. The Project P.U.M.A. prototype vehicle embodies this through the combination of advanced technologies that Segway and GM bring to the table to complete the connection between the rider, environment, and others.”

Project P.U.M.A. vehicles will also allow designers to create new fashion trends for cars, and to focus on the passion and emotion that people express through their vehicles while creating solutions that anticipate the future needs of urban customers.

The Project P.U.M.A. prototype vehicle integrates a lithium-ion battery, digital smart energy management, two-wheel balancing, dual electric wheel motors, and a dockable user interface that allows off-board connectivity. The result is an advanced and functional concept that demonstrates the capabilities of technology that exists today.

Built to carry two or more passengers, it can travel at speeds up to 35 miles per hour (56 kph), with a range up to 35 miles (56 km) between recharges.

Since the introduction of the Segway Personal Transporter (PT), Segway has established itself as the leader in the small electric vehicle space. Its approach to congestion and environmental challenges is balanced with a strong understanding of the functional needs of its customers, enabling them to do more with less. Segway has delivered more than 60,000 lithium-ion batteries to the market.

GM has been a leader in “connected vehicle” technologies since it introduced OnStar in 1996. Today, this on-board communications package connects six million subscribers in North America to OnStar safety and security services. GM has also pioneered vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communications systems and transponder technology. These and additional connected vehicle technologies could ultimately enable vehicles that don’t crash and drive themselves.

“Imagine moving about cities in a vehicle fashioned to your taste, that’s fun to drive and ride in, that safely takes you where you want to go, and “connects” you to friends and family, while using clean, renewable energy, producing zero vehicle tailpipe emissions, and without the stress of traffic jams,” said Burns. “And imagine doing this for one-fourth to one-third the cost of what you pay to own and operate today’s automobile. This is what Project P.U.M.A. is capable of delivering.”

[via AutoBlog]

There are some exceptions, but usually any vehicle that comes from America has a hard time in Japan. Just ask Ford or General Motors. Normally, the Japanese just love their own brands. But now Segway’s Japanese subsidiary [JP] achieved an agreement with the city of Yokohama, which might pave the way for a lot more Segways in the world’s second biggest economy.

Segway Japan and the city of Yokohama will jointly try to convince the Japanese government to allow people to use Segways on designated public roads in the city. With a population of 3.6 million, Yokohama is Japan’s second biggest city.

The move is highly unusual, but can explained by Yokohama’s efforts to boost the local economy and promote the use of environmentally friendly vehicles in the city. Japan’s road traffic law currently proscribes the use of Segways or Segway-like vehicles (such as Toyota’s Winglet). However, Segway has sold about 1,000 vehicles so far in Japan, where they are used in exhibition centers and similar public facilities.

The average price for a Segway in Japan is $10,000 (the picture above shows former Prime Minister Koizumi riding one, which was given to him as a present in 2005 by then president Bush).

This odd Segway-like carrier is called the Cajun Crawler. It’s a belegged walking system made by students at the University of Louisiana. Created by Don Tamosaitis, the system was a senior design project and uses 18V drill motors and can support heavy loads – one rider was 325 pounds.

It cost $1,200 to build and is considerably more impressive than anything I’ve ever build in college, I gay-roon-tee!

What won’t this country of maniacs think of?

via Giz

Segway by itself? Dumb. Segway with lots of big tires? Dumber. This monster BigFoot Segway has six full-sized tires and can barely turn but just think of how many cars you could crush if you could make this thing go over anything higher than a four inch curb.

Just like its American counterpart, the Winglet (odd name) is ridden in a standing position. You will be able to move forward or backward or take turns by shifting your body weight.  Three versions will be available: S (1.5 feet tall), M (2.2 feet) and L (3.7-feet). The S-Model weighs 9.9kg, while the M and L versions will be a little heavier at 12.3kg.

A full charge takes just one hour, enough for a driving range of 5km for the mini-Winglet and 10km for the bigger models. The maximum cruising speed is 6km for all Winglet versions.

Segway doesn’t have much time to react to Toyota’s new vehicle. The Japanese mega-company scheduled the start of production at 2010. Consumer testing will begin as early as this fall, in a marine resort complex in Aichi prefecture (central Japan) and at Nagoya airport. Prices and availability are unknown at this point.

Full press release in English after the jump.

Toyota Develops Personal Transport Assistance Robot ‘Winglet’
Aug 1, 2008 Tokyo — TOYOTA MOTOR CORPORATION (TMC) announced today development of the “Winglet”, a personal transport assistance robot ridden in a standing position.

The Winglet—still being refined—is one of TMC’s people-assisting Toyota Partner Robots.  Designed to contribute to society by helping people enjoy a safe and fully mobile life, the Winglet is a compact next-generation everyday transport tool that offers advanced ease of use and expands the user’s range of mobility.

The Winglet consists of a body (with a projected area the size of an A3 sheet of paper) that houses an electric motor, two wheels and internal sensors that constantly monitor the user’s position and make adjustments in power to ensure stability.  Meanwhile, a unique parallel link mechanism allows the rider to go forward, backward and turn simply by shifting body weight, making the vehicle safe and useful even in tight spaces or crowded environments.

TMC has created three models, the “L”, “M” and “S”, each having different handling features that allow consumers to select a model appropriate to their needs—from “practical” to “hands-free sporty”.

TMC plans various technical and consumer trials to gain feedback during the Winglet’s lead-up to practical use.  Practical tests of its utility as a mobility tool are planned to begin in Autumn 2008 at Central Japan International Airport (Centrair) near Nagoya, and Laguna Gamagori, a seaside marine resort complex in Aichi Prefecture.  Testing of its usefulness in crowded and other conditions, and how non-users react to the device, is to be carried out in 2009 at the Tressa Yokohama shopping complex in Yokohama City.

TMC is pursuing sustainability in research and development, manufacturing and social contribution as part of its concept to realize “sustainability in three areas” and to help contribute to the health and comfort of future society.  Toyota Partner Robot development is being carried out with this in mind and applies TMC’s approach to monozukuri (“making things”), which includes its mobility, production and other technologies.  In a related development, TMC unveiled the “MOBIRO” mobility robot, designed for use in a sitting position, in 2007.

TMC aims to realize the practical use of Toyota Partner Robots in the early 2010s by furthering its robotic development and strengthening collaboration between industry, government and academia.

The Segway, seen here in all its inelegance, was a milestone in something or other. All the more reason, then, to applaud the company’s CTO for accepting a position at Apple. Doug Field, if we’re to believe random posts on a Segway message board, will become Apple vice president of product design.

When the Segway was first introduced, it was universally teased for being, among other things, laughably silly looking. (That’s how I remember it, at least.) Steve Jobs, iLounge reminds us, was one of the many to have a problem with the device.

Let’s all roll our eyes together, in unison.

via iLounge

Did anyone know that Jackie Chan is the owner of a Segway dealership in Hong Kong? Me either. The action superstar is hoping that Segway will allow the scooters to be assembled in China to help drive down the costs, which would in turn drive sales. The Segway currently retails for $10,000 in China and that’s double what we here in the US would pay. However, Segway doesn’t want any part in it because they fear someone will steal the technology and start making knockoffs.

“They’re afraid of people stealing the technology,” the 54-year-old action star said Wednesday at a security fair in Hong Kong.

Chan and his business partner, Matt McGuire, hope to sell between 600 and 1,000 units this year in China. If you’re going to the Olympics this summer you’ll probably see staffers cruising around the venues.