Slashdot Mirror
Recall of Segway Announced by CPSC
mshiltonj writes "The Consumer Product Safety Commission has announced a voluntary recall of the Segway human transporter. The hazard is that under certain operating conditions, particularly when the batteries are near the end of charge, some Segway HTs may not deliver enough power, allowing the rider to fall. This can happen if the rider speeds up abruptly, encounters an obstacle, or continues to ride after receiving a low-battery alert."
some Segway HTs may not deliver enough power, allowing the rider to fall. This can happen if the rider speeds up abruptly, encounters an obstacle, or continues to ride after receiving a low-battery alert.
or if the rider is fresh from a tennis match with Poppy, rushing to an appointment to bomb some unsuspecting nation back to the stone age.
I'm much funnier now that I'm a subscriber.
It looks like there's going to be 3 very dissapointed people out there.
Does this have anything to do with the size of the rider? If you continually fall off your Segway, maybe it's just a sign to GET OFF AND WALK for awhile.
There is no reasonable defense against an idiot with an agenda
:wq
I am a fisherman, and I fish out in the North Sea, near oil-rigs. I mainly fish for crabs but generally sell anything I catch. On my small boat is a laptop with Linux installed, which is running open source software for controlling the electronical fishing rods, which hauntingly swing and sway above the cold blue surface of the sea.
While I find being able to administer my fiashing rods from the powerful BASH shell both efficient, safe and empowering, this software has a bug which causes a huge 20 farad capacitor in the rod to discharge into the ocean at random intervals. The voltage induced is so large that it causes various potentially hazardous metals to be come electroplated to the hull of my ship. Often by the time I reach harbour my ship is so laden with electrolysed metal that it is barely bouyant, and occasionally I am not allowed entry.
This is killing my buisnes. While I love the ideals of Linux, the inherent instability is not tolerable. So I am asking, are there any quality fishing-rod control programs available for Windows or Apple operating systems?
Thanks in advance... sorry for the OT-ness...
I love the imagery involved in this..
*VROOM* *VROOM* *put* *put* *put* *creeeeek* *thump* OW!
Heh
For every problem, there is at least one solution that is simple, neat, and wrong.
Damn. Nobody ever recalled a poor boy's bicycle because it fall sideways when the riders energy runs out.
Battery Not Found.
philcrissman.com.
If reading a dipstick is a "battle of friggin' wits" you may want to start wearing a helmet when you walk.
I'm just suggesting this for your own safety.
Toyota recalled all cars manafactured since the start of the company. Under certain circumstances, when speeding up, ignoring a warning about a cliff and not braking, the car might fall down from a great heigth and kill the occupants. According to Hiyasuka Miamoto, official Toyota spokesperson, the recall will be effective immediately and no new cars will be produced "untill people stop being so fucking stupid!".
Moral of the story; warnings are called warnings for a reason.
Hate me!
In other news, bicycles around the world have been voluntarily recalled. It seems that if the rider stops moving their feet, the bike could potentially tip over. A minor flaying of the skin has also been reported to occur during such accidents.
Oops, damn, there goes another pedestrian....
Making trouble today for a better tomorrow...
Caution is advised whenever you must make contact with any floor. The recomended uses of a floor now include laying and sitting. The safety of crawling on a floor is being studied at this time.
In other news the Dihydrogen Monoxide Research Division is recommending that the government Ban Dihydrogen Monoxide.
Your friend and well-wisher
m0smithslash
http://www.ferociousflirting.com
Yes, I think we can put off 'redesigning our cities' for a bit, untill they sell a few more of them.
If construction was anything like programming, an incorrectly fitted lock would bring down the entire building...
It wasn't my fault honey come backkk :'(
An Indian-American Hindu committed to non-violent thought/speech/action alarmed by the global explosion of radical Islam
or consider mocking the President or laugh when someone else mocks the President or even think of laughing when someone else mocks the President, then the terrorists win. You're giving aid and comfort to America's enemies. Now just step away from the computer and wait for your Guantanamo relocation expert who will be there shortly.
The decision we made when we designed the thing was based on the idea that people would stop riding it when the battery low light came on. Since then we've realized a few things:
1) People treat battery low as "still works under all conditions" as they might if it were a gas tank. But the battery is unable to deliver the instantaneous power needed to go over certian obstacles when partially discharged.
2) The battery low signal is set too low, since even a mild partial discharge will not supply enough instantaneous power for critical maneuvers.
3) Li-Ion batteries are dieing in a pattern which we did not expect. The processor needs to assume there is less power available than what it was previously calculating.
Upshot: The software "upgrade" will give you about 10 minutes of ride time on a full charge before turning on the low battery light, then the alarm. Shortly thereafter the unit will stop in place and use its remaining power simply to stay upright.
Internal memo: Design an "upgrade" battery pack that doubles the range to 20 minutes! We'll make a killing!
-Adam
"I'm much funnier now that I'm a subscriber."
Having just read your post, I can say, unequivocally, that are either not funnier or you were about as funny as an old lady with AIDS having a heart attack in a coma.
Do all the Segway owners with atrophied leg muscles and rotund asses get a loaner unit while their unit is in for repair?
It would be simply cruel to expect them to transport themselves under their own muscle power due to a defect in the Segway.
John Ashcroft will personally be by in a few minutes to take you to Guantanamo.
I agree. Using analogies on Slashdot is like comparing apples and oranges.
I become unstable and fall over.
1) Will I be recalled soon?
2) Is there a software upgrade available that will prevent this from happening in the future?
Personally, it sounds like Darwin in action to me. People that have more money than sense buy a toy, fall off, and potentially relieve the gene pool of the affliction.
The truth about Scientology, Xenu, and you: Operation Clambake
Just hook the thing up to one of the TZero's Range extending trailers and the problem's solved. Hell, you might even get the thing up above 15mph! ;-)
Go permanent? In your dreams and my worst nightmares.