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Tai Chi Scooter Promises Fun and Falls

Posted by ScuttleMonkey on from the thinning-the-herd dept.

In a bold move for natural selection, a mechanical engineer at Purdue University has created a new take on the Segway. Removing pesky confusing handlebars, the new "Tai Chi Scooter" has an optical encoder that monitors the angular displacement of the electric motor, requiring you to manipulate your center of balance to drive the scooter. Unfortunately you will not be able to purchase this and begin breaking your own limbs anytime soon as the creator says he has no plans to market the scooter. Someone buy the rights to this and mass produce it quickly so we can thin the herd.

30 comments

  1. tai chi? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    tai chi is a martial art about as much as you are getting frist psot. which is to say...it isn't.

    1. Re:tai chi? by somersault · · Score: 2, Insightful

      With nothing to wrap your hands around, riding the scooter requires focusing your mind and maintaining awareness of your center of balance -- two fundamental elements of tai chi.

      Or, you know, learning to walk or perform any other task where you move around while not holding onto anything.. Tai Chi my ass..

      --
      which is totally what she said
    2. Re:tai chi? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No, the article mistook the inventor's reference. I was not tai chi, it was chai tea.

    3. Re:tai chi? by dunkelfalke · · Score: 1

      depends on a school. some schools teach taijiquan as some kind of dance to meditative music.
      some schools teach it as a kung fu style it is (and it hurts).

      i mean, some people think baguazhang is only about walking in circles where in fact it has got quite a lot of common with aikido.

      --
      "It's such a fine line between stupid and clever" -- David St. Hubbins, Spinal Tap
    4. Re:tai chi? by Russ+Nelson · · Score: 1

      Bagua, hmph. Makes me dizzy, all that walking around in circles.

      --
      Don't piss off The Angry Economist
  2. Isn't price the issue. by jellomizer · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I think the main issue with the segway wasn't the handle bar or its size. But the fact that it was 10k Too expensive for the average Joe for what you get from it. I think they should but engineering into making it cheaper Sub 1k and run well.

    --
    If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
    1. Re:Isn't price the issue. by CannonballHead · · Score: 1

      I agree the price is ridiculous... but I would like to say: bikes work pretty well, too. :)

    2. Re:Isn't price the issue. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

      But if you lower the price, how can rich people roll by with smug "I'm too wealthy to walk" grins on their faces?

    3. Re:Isn't price the issue. by alevy · · Score: 0, Redundant

      Price is one issue, the other main one I see is that it's a pretty useless device. It's a big toy with no practical application. It is relatively slow (cars are better), energy inefficient (bikes don't require batteries), offers no exercise (walking or biking both do), and unless you're doing it with someone else who has one, it's a boring activity after the novelty wears off. The wheelchair that came before this was great. The toy...not so great.

    4. Re:Isn't price the issue. by sakdoctor · · Score: 1

      I think the main, insurmountable issue, is that you look like a cock riding one.

      Now hoefully there won't be too many segway owners on /. modding me down.

    5. Re:Isn't price the issue. by v1 · · Score: 1

      10k Too expensive for the average Joe

      But was that due to the cost of R&D, the materials and construction, or the inventors wanting too high of a profit margin?

      --
      I work for the Department of Redundancy Department.
    6. Re:Isn't price the issue. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Well, if you throw in some hoes, I'm sure they won't.

    7. Re:Isn't price the issue. by gad_zuki! · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Theyre not 10k. I was looking at a used one for under 3k and a new one for 4k recently.

      The problem is they are just a bad product with no real market for them outside of lazy meter maids.

      Theyre not comfortable to ride. My feet were achy after a few hours on one because youre standing up the whole time. There's a reason why no one built a standing scooter before with conventional technology. Its just too slow for the street and way too fast for the sidewalk at full throttle. It has a hard time with anything that isnt an almost perfectly smooth surface. You cant just quick charge it at the gas station, so you need to plan out your riding well in advance and have locations where they'll let you charge it for several hours. etc

      Its a neat piece of technology, but its not serving any demand. Its a top down decree with no market. Its in the category of mini-hovercrafts and tricycles for adults.

    8. Re:Isn't price the issue. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Plus you have all the exposure to the elements like a walker or biker with none of the speed and comfort benefits of a driver or exercise like a walker.

    9. Re:Isn't price the issue. by incripshin · · Score: 1

      You ever watch Arrested Development? Hilarious.

    10. Re:Isn't price the issue. by Engine · · Score: 1

      The security guards in the Westwood Mall (Durban, South Africa), uses them. I guess they are excellent for patrolling the mall and the parking lots.

    11. Re:Isn't price the issue. by tabrnaker · · Score: 1
      Your discomfort has nothing to do with the product, just your inability to stand up for hours. Don't blame the product if you have a shitty body that you don't take care of.

      All your other complaints are pretty valid :)

  3. But the real question is by Onaga · · Score: 0

    Will it blend?

  4. I visited Purdue once... by Thelasko · · Score: 4, Funny

    while I was walking down the street a guy came out of a building, hopped on a unicycle, and rode away. I found the whole experience random and strange. I turns out there is a whole club for jugglers and unicyclists. This machine might be a real hit at one of their meetings.

    --
    One of our competitors trademarked the term "hypothesis". From now on, we will call them "boneheaded ideas".
  5. Re:First... by v1 · · Score: 1

    Can it do any sweet jumps?

    Looks a little heavy to do a good Ollie

    --
    I work for the Department of Redundancy Department.
  6. Excellent for AIG Execs . . . by PolygamousRanchKid+ · · Score: 0, Troll

    . . . is it too late to put a rider on the AIG Exec bonus tax bill? Make the bastards ride to work on these things.

    Or would that be "cruel and unusual punishment?"

    Fuck'em, that's what they deserve.

    --
    Schroedinger's Brexit: The UK is both in and out of the EU at the same time!
    1. Re:Excellent for AIG Execs . . . by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      How is this a troll? I agree with the guy.

  7. This isn't good enough. by stonedcat · · Score: 0

    Call me when it's a hoverboard.

    --
    You can't take the sky from me.
  8. Maintaining balance by troll8901 · · Score: 1

    Yeah, but most people face the front instead of the side (TFA photo) when on the Segway.

    Therefore, to maintain balance on the modified Segway (assuming you're not used to it), you'll need to adjust your center of gravity continuously, by shifting it forwards and backwards repeatedly.

    Not a good prospect, doing it in a crowded place.

  9. Cheap competition by jbeaupre · · Score: 1

    There is also lots of cheap competition using an older but well tested balancing method. For example: http://urbanscooters.com/

    --
    The world is made by those who show up for the job.
  10. Meh. by idontgno · · Score: 1

    Joyboard on wheels. Kinda hard to Guru Meditate if you have to watch where you're going.

    --
    Welcome to the Panopticon. Used to be a prison, now it's your home.
  11. old by rusl · · Score: 1

    There's been stuff like this around for years. I think this is a fairly standard university robotics/programming group assignment. When I saw it years ago it was named as a variation on a skateboard using segway parts. Naming it Tai Chi isn't exactly innovative.

    --
    Stupidity is its own reward.
  12. Add leg-powered generator to it by S3D · · Score: 1

    And it may have some market. Range would increase and travel would make some exercise. Could be used by people who don't ride bicycle for some reason.

  13. kind of like... by speedtux · · Score: 1

    So... it's kind of like a skateboard or snowboard?