
Segway by Honda - samueladam
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cuIJRsAuCHQ
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shin_lao
I see this and I think about the fat people in Wall-E.

What's wrong with using your legs?

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foomarks
I think Honda and Toyota are designing these devices for their growing elderly
population in Japan.

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patio11
While 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.")

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DannoHung
Stupid for humans, maybe, but that'd be a cool mobility platform for robots.

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DannoHung
Actually, I just remembered something along the same lines from a few months
ago: <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bI06lujiD7E>

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jvdh
Like 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>

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dieterrams
Really? 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.

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irrelative
Additionally, 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.

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dazzawazza
A 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.

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IgorPartola
Another 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.

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dieterrams
I 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.)

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IgorPartola
Well, 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.

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dieterrams
I 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.

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jgg
For those who haven't seen it:

<http://tlb.org/eunicycle.html>

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armandososa
I kinda expected to be invented by some girl named Eunice.

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ck2
Accidental 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).

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wheaties
What 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?

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WiseWeasel
It's not socially acceptable to want one until someone uses it to put her life
in jeopardy before a worldwide audience.

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samueladam
There is also this device:

<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0S_SL8IWObY>

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hieronymusN
They will need vastly more rugged versions for your average American. I say
this being from Texas.

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IgorPartola
In 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.

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Kilimanjaro
Power 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.

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JoeAltmaier
This 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.

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olaf
I 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.

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tel
That's actually a pretty cool wheel design.

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shadowsun7
I'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!

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og1
They didn't invent the omni wheel, been around for a while.
<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>

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Sidnicious
Are 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.

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bonsaitree
Um...Wow.

Aside from Mr. Garrison's gyro-thingie (
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Entity_%28South_Park%29> ), that's the most
emasculating mode of travel I've ever seen.

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lvecsey
Need a monster version built out of top fuel dragster components.

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calcnerd256
Segway 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.

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JoeAltmaier
Looks 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?

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Zaak
Office 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.

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JoeAltmaier
Just talked to a friend who runs a kitchen, thinks it would be ideal for a
commercial cook.

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mikecane
Only 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.

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daveyb100
I'd love to see the off-road version!

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WiseWeasel
I 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.

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pkulak
Slightly faster than walking, without all the messy dignity.

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albertcardona
All examples of use are indoors. Rough outdoor floors may prove too much. In
any case an impressive device.

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norswap
They haven't learn anything from Segway, you look utterly ridiculous riding
one of those things (even worse than someone riding a Segway).

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pohl
Note 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.

