Editor's note: The following information was distrubited in a medaia kit from the Segway web site. I have not seen the Segway in person, but I have requested to interview Dean Kamen, and photograph the device in person.

What is the Segway ™ Human Transporter (HT)?

The Segway™ Human Transporter (HT) is the first self-balancing, electric-powered transportation device. With dimensions no larger than the average adult body and the ability to emulate human balance, the Segway HT uses the same space as a pedestrian, and can go wherever a person can walk. The Segway HT will allow people at home and at work to go farther, move more quickly, and increase the amount they can carry anywhere they currently walk.

How does the Segway™ HT work?

Our team developed a breakthrough technology we termed Dynamic Stabilization, which is the essence of the Segway Human Transporter (HT). Dynamic Stabilization enables Segway HT to work seamlessly with the body’s movements. Gyroscopes and tilt sensors in Segway HT monitor a user’s center of gravity at about 100 times a second. When a person leans slightly forward, Segway HT moves forward. When leaning back, Segway HT moves back.

What kind of machine is the Segway HT?

Segway HT is a technological breakthrough and creates a new product category – the human transporter. Segway allows people to increase their mobility without separating them from their everyday walking environment.

What will the Segway HT allow people to do?

Simply put, the Segway HT allows you to travel farther, move quicker and carry more anywhere you can walk. The Segway HT will be used in a multitude of commercial settings. It is ideally suited for large scale manufacturing plants and warehousing operations, travel and tourism, public safety, corporate and campus transportation, as well as mail, package and product delivery.
Segway Company will soon begin evaluation of its human transporter machines with some of the world’s leading corporations and service organizations including the U.S. Postal Service, Amazon.com, National Park Service, the City of Atlanta’s Ambassador program, Michelin, GE Plastics, and Delphi Automotive Systems.

How fast can the Segway HT travel?

Segway HT can be set to a top speed of up to 12.5 mph (20 km/h), about three times faster than a quick walker.

Why do you call the Human Transporter ‘Segway?’

Our inspiration came from the word segue, which is defined as, “to transition smoothly from one state to another.” A Segway Human Transporter (HT) transforms a person into an empowered pedestrian, allowing him/her to go farther, move more quickly and carry more than could ever be achievable walking. On a broader level, the Segway HT has the potential to help communities transition to more livable environments and business enterprises to transition to more productive entities.

Will I be able to purchase a Segway HT?

We anticipate consumer availability by late 2002. Initial evaluations with our key commercial customers will begin immediately. The objective of these evaluations is to give customers an initial “real world” experience with the Segway HT. Broader evaluations and sales efforts will begin in early 2002. Widespread business application availability will begin soon after. Because our product is a serious productivity enhancement device, we are beginning sales efforts with business applications.

What is the background of Segway?

Segway LLC, based in Manchester, N.H., was founded by inventor and entrepreneur, Dean Kamen, to transform the way people work and live. The Segway Human Transporter (HT) is the result of years of research and development led by Kamen with the goal of building something that would
make a unique and lasting contribution to society. Segway received funding from Credit Suisse First Boston Private Equity, Kleiner Perkins Caulfield & Byers and a number of individual investors.

What other companies were involved in the development of the Segway HT?

Segway brought together a group of industry leading suppliers in the technology and transportation fields:

o Delphi Automotive Systems assisted in the development of the Segway HT’s integrated circuit boards and user interface components, which are key electronic system elements used to control the human transporter.

o GE Plastics provided us with a host of durable and environmentally friendly materials for our human transporter. Segway HT is the first commercial application for GE’s SOLLX TM polymer, a weather resistant film that offers an alternative to paint.

o Michelin worked with us to develop tires that had the proper compound, tread, rolling resistance, and construction to work with this new form of personal transportation.

o Pacific Scientific, a Danaher Motion company, specially designed Segway HT’s compact, brushless, electric servo motor.

o Saft helped us develop smart-charging, self-contained NiCd and NiMH batteries that require no external charger.

o Silicon Sensing Systems collaborated with Segway to develop and perfect our gyroscopes and tilt sensor systems.

Where will the Segway HT be manufactured?

Currently, Segway HT’s are assembled eight miles from our engineering headquarters in a new facility in Bedford, NH. We expect to build similar facilities throughout the world.

How will the Segway HT transform the way people live?

The benefits of widespread usage of the Segway HT are far-reaching, including the creation of more livable communities. We believe that, in time, the Segway HT will lead to a reconfiguration of the way communities are built by significantly extending people’s walking zones, thereby enabling better use of space and the transportation infrastructure. The Segway HT will enable people to: make better use of their time, interact with people more easily and ultimately live better lives.

Speed: 12.5 mph (20 kmh)

Segway HT must be quick enough to compress time and space without disturbing the pedestrian environment, so we gave it the ability to travel about three times faster than the average walker.

Range: up to 17 miles (28 km)on a single charge

When most transportation companies talk about range, they reference it under optimal conditions — no wind, flat terrain, and so forth. While Segway HT’s optimal range is 17 miles (28 km), we expect you’ll be able to travel about 11 miles (17 km) on a single battery charge — accounting for variations in terrain and other factors. This is far more than the distance we expect the average user will travel on a Segway HT in one day.

Turning Radius: zero

One characteristic of a pedestrian is the ability to turn in place without impacting any nearby person or object, something no vehicle can do. By balancing on a single axle, Segway HT users act no differently than pedestrians. The wheels have the ability to rotate in opposite directions, which enables the machine to turn in place.

Payload:
Passenger: 250 lbs (110 kg) Cargo: 75 lbs (34 kg)
Future Off Board Cargo Module: over 300 lbs (135 kg)
In order for Segway HT to be the optimal local travel solution, it has to have carrying capacity for users,
packages,and cargo.

Space:

Platform Height: 8 inches (20 cm)
Footprint: 19 x 25 inches (48 x 63.5 cm)

We designed Segway HT to take up no more space than the average person. It’s no wider than a person’s
shoulders and raises you only 8 inches off the ground.

Weight:80 lbs (36 kg)

Portability was a key design objective.That is why we made Segway HT light enough to handle, small enough for two in the trunk of a midsize sedan, and collapsible enough to fit in tight spaces.

Intelligent Key

Segway HT comes with Intelligent Keys that work like electronic keys, storing a unique 128-bit encrypted keycode that is required for the machine to start. Each Intelligent Key also stores performance attributes like those affecting speed and steering control. Eventually, fleet managers will be able to custom configure these keys to allow companies to make fleet-wide decisions. In the future, you’ll also have the opportunity to purchase self-programmable Intelligent Keys, allowing you to customize a wide range of performance and operating variables.

Chassis

The die-cast aluminum chassis serves as a user platform and as a protective, space-efficient housing for the motors, batteries, transmissions, and all electronic components. Lightweight aluminum acts as a heat sink for the motors and all moving parts, avoiding the need for cooling fans that would add weight, cost,and complexity.

Motors

Each wheel is independently driven by dual redundant, high-speed electric motors that produce no emissions and have been tested to power levels of two horsepower. Each motor is wound as two separate electrical circuits capable of independent operation, while acting as one mechanical entity. They were designed and built by Pacific Scientific, a maker of motors and electronic drives for medical, fitness, robotics, semiconductor, and other precision automation applications.This brushless design is maintenance-free and more efficient and durable than a conventional brushed design. Because Segway HT’s motors use reverse torque instead of friction for braking, they convert the energy of your motion into energy that replenishes battery power.

Inertial Sensor Assembly

This is a critical component of Segway HT’s balancing,and we developed it with British Aerospace Enterprises, a leading supplier of guidance systems and navigation electronics for many of the world’s most advanced commercial and military air, land, and sea vehicles. Five gyroscopes and two tilt sensors work together to determine orientation of the machine relative to the direction of gravity. Three-axis measurements compensate for variable terrain and are communicated to the controller boards to keep you balanced and moving safely. For redundancy purposes,we installed a total of five gyroscopes, each oriented in such a way that any angular motion of the machine will be sensed by at least two gyroscopes. These components have been tested by exposing them to extreme temperature variations, water, and shock.

More Info: http://www.segway.com