| 12/03/2001 | After months of secretcy the Segway Human Transport was unveiled by its inventor Dean Kamen. The Segway HT was nicknamed "Ginger" and "IT" last year under much anticipation. Some early viewers of the invention hyped it as being the biggest thing since the Internet and that it would be to the car what the car was to the horse and buggy.
The Segway HT is best described as a scooter. Unlike a traditional scooter that has its wheels front and back the Segway has its two wheels side by side. The wheels are gyroscope-stabilized making it difficult to fall from or knock over because of gyroscopes that work to keep it upright. Speed and direction are controlled by the rider's shifting weight.
The rider stands upright over the single axle, navigating with a bicycle-like handlebar. A single battery charge can propel the scooter 15 miles over level ground at a maximum speed of 12mph. The Segway requires about 10 cents' worth of electricity for a six-hour charge.
The first customers of the Segway will be the Postal Service and the City of Atlanta that will be buying an 80-pound heavy-duty model for $8,000 apiece. The Postal Service plans to test 20 Segways on mail routes in Concord, N.H., and Tampa and Fort Myers, Fla., starting in January. Atlanta's visitor's bureau employees will begin using the scooters to patrol the tourist district, Chapman said.
A 65-pound, $3,000 consumer model won't be available for at least a year.
To view the Segway in action click here
dailynews.yahoo.com
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