Segway personal transportation technology and design

Segway personal transportation device is a significant improvement to other types of devices that attempt to do the same thing, i.e. safely and quickly transport the human body on short distances where a car is simply to much of a bother or unnecessarily harmful to the environment but where simply walking is out of the question for time and energy purposes. There is actually no comparable device, as the Segway allows the individual to remain standing, while riding and does not expend so much energy that it needs charged at every stop, slowing progress and losing gains. The Segway also allows those who need to be agile and those who are somehow impaired to quickly bridge distances for the purpose of security or simple movement from one place to another. The Segway is popular among security and law enforcement populations as well as golfers and also people who are disabled and unable to walk long distances but still able to stand. The former population would have in the past been offered only a wheelchair, even though they have the strength and ability to stand. Its speed and ease of use allows street patrol officers or those who provide security in large areas to rapidly respond to problems, transfer some goods and simply get where they need to go in as rapid a state possible, almost anywhere, that walking is the only available option due to space the Segway is an option. ("Technology Innovations," 2008, NP) in Short the Segway demonstrates a remarkable increase in human transportation options.

The success of the Segway PT has demonstrated that Segway Smart Motion technology not only provides unparalleled maneuverability and freedom of movement, but is also reliable, safe, and practical," said Doug Field, Segway Inc.'s vice president of product development. "Our technical team has developed a unique knowledge base that integrates controls engineering, embedded systems, advanced energy systems and sensor technologies. This knowledge can now be quickly applied to entirely new applications and product categories by leveraging Segway Smart Motion technology." ("Use Our technology" 2008, NP)

History of Segway and Dean Kamen:

Segway's inventor has a long history of electronic and engineering marvels, who took significant risks to gain acceptance in developing his ideas. One of his most remarkable feats was at the age of 16 landing a boring job building light boxes for a demonstrator, he gained access to the New York Museum of Natural History and secretly built them a new light box system for their planetarium, after already having been turned down when he requested the job. Once his creation was complete, a creation he completed using $80 dollars in parts he purchased from Radio Shack, his only remaining wages from the boring job he had just quite, he strong armed the director of the museum into coming and taking a look at what he had done. The director, after being impressed by the display asked him for a quote as to how much it would cost to outfit three more museums in the same fashion and Kamen gave a quote of $2,000, resulting in a total payment of $8,000 and the beginning of a lucrative and self-made career in innovation.(Kemper, 2003, pp. 10-11) After making significant money building lightboards all over his regional area he put himself through college, and developed a company called Autosyringe (at 20 years old) that made the first wearable injection device, he holds 440 U.S. And foreign pattons and has continued to innovate. When he sold Autosyringe for $30 million, ten years after its development and he developed yet another company (still in existence) DEKA (named for himself) and founded the organization FIRST (for Inspirations and Recognition of Science and Technology) which had the goal of "motivating the next generation to understand, use and enjoy science and technology." ("DEKA: Dean Kamen" 2001, NP) One of DEKA's most innovative devices is a wheelchair device called Ibot, which allows the user to actually stand, utilizing the machine to bring the body to an upright position while the user is still safely a part of it. DEKA continues to innovate in the medical industry as well, with many labor saving devices for personal use by patients as well as for use in surgery and other medical support systems. Kamen's goal in the development of all his devices, has been to make lived better. He or his talented staff at DEKA finds a problem, and then creates a device to solve it in a new and innovative manner. ("DEKA: Dean Kamen" 2001, NP) Making many smart business decisions along the way and developing many innovative products, which he rarely fails to patent, have made him a renaissance man for the modern world. To some degree he could be called the Leonardo Davinci of modern science and technology.

Segway Technology:

The technology of the Segway is dependant upon its ability to balance itself, in much the same way the human body does, using technology that its makers call Dynamic Stabilization. This advance makes the Segway nearly impossible to overturn, while in use, making it extremely safe and practical for use. It also boasts a battery system utilizing lithium ion batteries that hold a charge long enough for an individual to travel up to 24 miles between charges. This advance creates a device that can be used for an entire day or even longer by some people with only very limited downtime for recharging. Carts and battery operated scooters of other kinds have not developed to this level and utilize much more energy carrying the weight of the device than the Segway does. The Segway guidance system is also significantly different than other devices, that use steering wheel or joystick controls. The Segway in comparison is guided by the movement of the body, when the body leans the device a certain direction the Segway responds turning in that manner remaining in balance the entire time. ("The Science of Segway," 2008, NP)

The Segway PT is controlled by an intelligent network of sensors, mechanical assemblies, propulsion, and control systems. The second you step on, five micro-machined gyroscopic sensors and two accelerometers sense the changing terrain and your body position at 100 times per second - faster than the brain can think." ("The Science of Segway," 2008, NP) the description fot the technology of the device is as follows. Segway PTs use a special solid-state angular rate sensor constructed using silicon.