Originally posted by Clear Paper:
<strong>That's a bloody amazing invention. Once the production costs come down I'll be damned if I don't get one.
How heavy is the unit?
From your judgement, is the torque generated by the motor strong?
Does it move forward quickly if you tilt it forward without standing on it?
If so, does it require more force per weight to move as compared to standing on it? (as would an inverted pendulum) Or is the tilting just a trigger like a joystick-controlled wheelchair?
The makers should release it early to private consumers, they are more open to fresh ideas/contraptions than institutions. Plus they don't need a fekking committee to agree spending corporate money on it without a binder full of justifications and projected returns in productivity. I would buy it just for the fun factor. Hasn't that been the real appeal to it when you attended the demo? Rather than considering how much time/energy you could save and allocate to other important tasks? Entertainment is the big bucks, man.</strong><hr></blockquote>
It weighs in at about 85lbs. It has a lot of torque, you can move as quick as you want and you are up to max speed almost immediatley if wanted (it all depends on how much you lean into it.) We were only allowed on the 6mph key. There are three different keys, one is maxed at 6MPH, another at 9 and the last at 12.5. The guy demoing the scooter used the 12.5 mph key, the thing was moving fast.... and was up to speed right off the line.
Turning is handled via a grip like a motorcycle accelerator. Left turns you left, right... etc... It is very intuitive and feels very natural once you are on it. A slight shift in weight forward and you move off slowly, turn the grip and you move to the left with the machines zero turn radius, it is kind of exciting to zag on it, it really is so smooth.
It will not move forward until the unit s balanced. If you lean on it it will not move unless you turn the Balance off. For moving it up stairs or whatever, you can turn off the Balance and it will assist you by slowly following behind you as you pull it up the stairs.
Likewise, if you hit something with it, or run into a person, as long as the unit is balanced it will roll with the person putting force on it. You won't be running anyone down on one of these.
The Balance is controlled by 5 CPUs and many giroscopes. There is an LCD panel with a Mac like face on it. When it is smiling you are balanced, frowning un balanced. There are a few other read outs, but I didn't get to see them all very closely.
The unit will drive for about 20 miles on one charge, he demoed it all after noon start and stop and it was still fully charged. It plugs into a regular outlet and charges its NiMH batteries in about 5 hours. In about a year they are planning to have a battery upgrade for double the distance (about 40 miles on one charge, not bad).
Right now they have sold nearly a 1000 units to companies like Disney, Paramount, The US Post Office, etc... They will begin testing in the private sector over the next few months... Unfortunetly not in LA, since they will not be legal on the sidewalks here until March 2003. However, they are planning to sell these to consumers by May of next year, and less then the corporate models out now (I still see them around $3000).
It is deffinetly a toy, a great fun device to ride around on. Most everyone would agree with you that saw it today. I hope they can get the price down, it would make a great summer ATV. Just that you could go up hills, stop midway, look around, then continue up impressed me, it is really like an extension of the rider.
No wonder they said the Army has bought quite a few and are doing mission based training with them. They are very quiet and really fast....
-Nick
