Photo: Segway
For nearly 20 years now, a company by the name of Segway has challenged the traditional way of describing personal mobility with the introduction of never-before-seen technologies. Segway started with the now widespread two-wheeled personal transporter, and will soon expand its reach into the realm of scooters, mopeds, and, yes, moving chairs for lazy people.
Next week, the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) kicks off in Las Vegas, and we are already beginning to see the first glimpses of the wonders that will be on the floor of the city’s Convention Center. Among them, the Segway S-Pod.
Described by Segway as “a first-class smart transporting pod,” the machine has been created with airports, theme parks and malls in mind. That is the exact market segment in which the original Segway made a name for itself.
Just like its predecessor, the S-Pod is self-balancing, keeping the people riding in it upright at speeds of up to 24 mph. It can spin and rotate to change direction, and as a tribute to all things lazy, there is not even the need for the rider to physically lean forward and back to accelerate or slow down, like you would normally do in a Segway. Instead, a knob is used for this task.
Segway says there is no way in freezing hell the S-Pod will tip over, as braking is done solely by shifting the center of gravity.
The company says the machine is inspired by the gyrospheres depicted in Jurassic World, but to some of us they seem more like the chairs that moved fat people around in the ginormous Axiom spaceship in Wall-E.
Regardless, the S-Pod is here, and will become the first step in Segway’s quest to come up with a true alternative transport means for crowded cities.
“We are changing the way people move from place to place,” said in a statement Luke Gao, CEO of Segway-Ninebot.
“With an eye towards the future of how cities will evolve, as well as the mobility needs in the off-road space, we are notching up our offerings heading into 2020 so that they will fulfill the mobility needs and expectations of the world of tomorrow.”
Described by Segway as “a first-class smart transporting pod,” the machine has been created with airports, theme parks and malls in mind. That is the exact market segment in which the original Segway made a name for itself.
Just like its predecessor, the S-Pod is self-balancing, keeping the people riding in it upright at speeds of up to 24 mph. It can spin and rotate to change direction, and as a tribute to all things lazy, there is not even the need for the rider to physically lean forward and back to accelerate or slow down, like you would normally do in a Segway. Instead, a knob is used for this task.
Segway says there is no way in freezing hell the S-Pod will tip over, as braking is done solely by shifting the center of gravity.
The company says the machine is inspired by the gyrospheres depicted in Jurassic World, but to some of us they seem more like the chairs that moved fat people around in the ginormous Axiom spaceship in Wall-E.
Regardless, the S-Pod is here, and will become the first step in Segway’s quest to come up with a true alternative transport means for crowded cities.
“We are changing the way people move from place to place,” said in a statement Luke Gao, CEO of Segway-Ninebot.
“With an eye towards the future of how cities will evolve, as well as the mobility needs in the off-road space, we are notching up our offerings heading into 2020 so that they will fulfill the mobility needs and expectations of the world of tomorrow.”
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