Loomo, the Robot Segway, Now on Sale on Indiegogo

A lot better, apparently. Because now Segway is not just a human transporter, but a robot sidekick (official designation), powered by an artificial intelligence system that talks back to you.

The new Segway is called Loomo, and doubles as a personal assistant. Aside from carrying lazy people from place to place, it now comes complete with video capture, touch, voice and gesture control.

That means that you can now record people while riding along or even spy on them using a feature that allows users to see the world through Loomo’s cameras. One must be careful though not to activate the auto-follow function while on spying missions, as the robot would lead the target right back to the wannabe-spy.

The Loomo has been in development for quite some time, having been presented in production ready form at the 2018 CES. But only earlier this month its manufacturer, Segway Robotics, announced the launch of an Indiegogo campaign with the goal to raise $100,000.

Since the campaign’s launch on March 6 and to the day we are writing this, that goal has been reached four times over. Usually, the Loomo would cost $1,799, but you can have it with limited early bird pricing starting at $1,299. Shipping of the Loomo would begin in May 2018.

“For many, Loomo is a reflection of our movie fantasies growing up… it embodies our vision of how mobile personal robots can become a part of our everyday lives,” said Li Pu, Segway Robotics’ president.

The machine is capable of riding at speeds of up to 11 mph, for a distance of up to 22 miles on a single charge.