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A Killer App For Segway
cameronk writes "The NYT reports that Segway is developing a growing popularity with people who are mobility-impaired. My 94 year-old grandfather is too proud to use a wheelchair, yet too fragile to walk. The Segway seems like an ideal way for him to maneuver about."
The dynamic-balancing technology was licensed (by DEKA) to Johnson & Johnson first, for use on the iBot and any other medical applications.
J&J retains the rights to *all* medical applications.
So Segway has to specifically market it as a non-medical device and never seek FDA approval of any kind because then J&J could step in and make a ruckus.
In fact, if it can be shown that the Segway is largely used by disabled/mobility-impaired people, bad things could happen to Segway LLC.
I keep seeing people chastising Segway for not persuing the disabled market, but these are the facts. Even if they wanted to go through the lengthy and expensive medical review process, they simply can not because of their business arrangement.
That issue has been fixed.
Clicky.
Then click the link from there.
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Not too elderly friend of mine (he's 64) and his wife rented Segways in DC. Now, just so you know he's not a complete klutz, he and his wife go dancing several nights a week. So, he's on this thing for less than 15 minutes, drops his left wheel off the curb, and is thrown a good four feet into the street. Helmet on, otherwise would have smashed his skull against the pavement. As it was, narrowly avoided being run over by a car, had a dandy and debilitating bruise over much of his left hip, and has no interest in ever getting on one again.
Like anything else, even a failsafe can fail. It's possible that a chip went bad, or a battery internally shorted near the low limit of the safe charge level, or any number of other problems.
Besides, the progenitor to the Segway is a four-wheel ATV model that was designed to be a smarter stair climbing wheelchair. If they get them approved as medical devices, with all four wheels on the ground it's likely to be as safe as any other electric wheelchair.
modified with larger, and more stable, gyroscopes
g y/maney/2003-06-17-segway_x.htm
My understanding is that there are no mechanical gyroscopes in a Segway. The Segway is balanced dynamically; the computer senses forward or backward motion, acceleration, center of gravity, etc., and maintains verticality by rapidly and almost imperceptibly turning the wheels to counteract tipping forces.
GWB tried to get on when the thing was not turned on. See http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/technolo
Send lawyers, guns, and money. Dad, get me out of this.
Don't forget, the gyroscope-stabilization tech used in the Segway was originally developed for the iBot, an electric wheelchair. The iBot is nice because it raises you to a height where you're at eye level (trust me, you don't miss it 'till it's gone) and is able to climb stairs and curbs. The downside? It costs around $30,000 - and, as I mentioned in the parent, getting a car that it (or any other wheelchair) can be loaded in without help in is incredibly expensive.
Accidents, injuries, and deaths arising from this new mobility product are inevitable. At Davis, Saperstein & Salomon, P.C., we stay at the forefront of new litigation. Our personal injury lawyers are prepared to handle any case that may arise as a result of a Segway accident.
You can read the rest here
They even have a picture of the Segway on the page and details about how the Segway works. Their "motto" is We stay at the forefront of New Litigation."
http://www.busyweather.com/
A person's inability to balance was one of the driving reasons behind the Segway. The technology in the Segway started in the Ibot, nicked Fred Upstairs (after Fred Astaire, hence "Ginger") that was a 4 wheel, self-balancing device for people that would replace wheelchairs. It was able to climb up and downstairs, which is something otherwise chair-bound folk could not do. It had potnetial for people with all sorts of mobility limitations.
From the Segway site:
"One day Dean Kamen saw a young man in a wheelchair struggling to get over a curb. He thought about it, and realized that the problem wasn't ineffective wheelchairs, it was that the world was built for people who could balance. So he and his team created the Independence IBOT (TM) Mobility System, a self-balancing mobility device that enables users to climb stairs and negotiate sand, rocks, and curbs. But restoring balance also accomplished something even more dramatic--it elevated them on two wheels, so they could see the world at eye level. If balancing technology could provide such benefits to people who couldn't walk, what could it do for people with full mobility?"
So, at least the company started out with good intentions (and they may still have them) but funny how you don't see a lot of disabled people using them.
R(k)
Until he falls and breaks his hip. If you can't do the shuffle, don't do the hustle.
--
make install -not war
Yes, it requires balance.
I've ridden a Segway, and it requires subtle balance and reflexes, which is what the elderly tend to not have. The Segway eliminates gross motor skills - so you don't need to be strong - but you do need to make very subtle adjustments frequently, and having poor balance would be disastrous.
Anyone tried a Segway after a few (good) beers - that should be a decent test, actually.
Well, this is contrary to the article in this month's SciAm, which goes into some detail about the cells of the eye lens being somewhat special in that they are nucleated when you are young, but eventually the nucleons die, but the cell itself doesn't. As the cells age, the goo inside the cell changes and gets cloudy and more rigid. But there is not new cell growth or replacement in the eye lens.
I guess the 5 minute segway ride is equivalent to the /. lack of reading articles -- it makes you an instant expert.
At $4.5K a shot, Segways are already ridiculously priced. Imagine the markup on them once the insurance industry labels them as "medical equipment." I paid just over $2K for my last wheelchair (ultra light, but not a sports model), for which insurance paid just slightly more than half. I would hate to think of the elderly or moderately disabled paying $6-8K for a Segway while we foot the bill through increased medical insurance premiums and higher Medicare costs.
Competition for space on sidewalks will continue to be an issue while there is a perception that riding anything (including bicycles) in the streets in urban areas is dangerous.
I have mitochondrial myopathy (see MDA and UMDF) and started using a three-wheel electric scooter in January 2000 after a major setback from catching the flu. My equipment has a dial that you can set for maximum speed, so it is much easier to match the pace of pedestrian traffic than if you ride a bike. Does anyone know of you can do the same with a Segway?
Speaking as someone who has has physical contact with a car making a right turn on red in a crosswalk, the extra height would be a distinct advantage over motorized wheelchairs for visibility.
Any time something gets labeled "medical equipment" the price tag goes way up. Being able to adapt regular consumer goods would seem to be a plus as well.
I've seen the disabled woman who rides the DC Metrorail who used a Segway until it was banned, which I think is sad.