Segway Can't Balance?

[Projeto]

I am a pround owner of the XT model, but I am tired of people pointing out to me that my $5,000.00 dynamic stabilization machine can not balance on its own. I would have loved to be in meeting when they were discussing what the segway should do when someone steps off and lets go, or jumps off quickly (like police officer may do)or when someone just wants to check their mail or maybe switch riders....lets see...mmmm.... maybe it should just drift forward and fall on its face six feet later....how about, it just stop and balance itself...no that would be to obvious....lets have it fall over, or have them find a tree or a wall to lean it against..or better yet, lets sale a portable hitching post the rider can carry around with them so they always have something to lean the segway on...
I am missing something here, what harm could come by having it balance its self for a few mins then it can fall on its face. At least I could change riders or open a door or just stand there and have quick conversation without have to baby sit the handle bar trying to keep the thing level.
As you can tell I am not happy about this decision, and I am aware of the e-stand option only on commercial use, which has been discontinued. It would be a simple software fix to have the thing tilt handle bar backwards a few degrees then it could balance its self, then when someone steps on platform it can go back to level. This would not require any special training. In fact I think it is what you would expect this thing to do...is stand on its own!

David Reeb

[cmonkey]

Without proper trining the e-stand feature can be quite tricky. If you ever get the chance to see an estand when it's 'mishandled' you'll easily see where liability issues come into play.
Personally I'd love to have the e-stand on my seg, but it's one of those features that when activated in public, you can not take your eyes off the machine for a second, as there's always some impolite moron who will want to touch it. When over-handled in estand mode the unit can go wild trying to correct itself, and can knock your feet right out from under you. So, for commercial environments (away from the general public) it may be a good thing, but in the real world, we're all going to be left wanting.

Hopefully when there's enough of them out there, Segway will reintroduce the e-stand feature.
Dave S

I love my magic carpet!

[Dragan]

There are a number of safety issues with e stand, and it was discontinued for, I think, very good reasons. It was fine if the surface was flat, the rider properly trained, and you left it somewhere no one could touch it.

As was pointed out, there's always a fool around, who will walk up and grab at it, and when in estand mode, it can start oscillating quite quickly and rather severely. The no weight "lay down, shut down" function is far safer for the public and although the estand is a "fun" feature, it had greater potential for injury. If you REALLY have to show off how the machine will balance all on it's own, roll the XT up so one wheel rests against a rock, branch, curb, etc. and let go of the bars. It'll stand there by itself, just as nice as can be, and prove that it will in fact balance on it's own. the low pressure tires will quite often find enough resistance in tallish grass to simulate an estand.
Wayne

Segway of Alberta - Calgary
www.mysegway.ca

[sgeyer]

Yes, but the e-stand mode could be implemented with the addition of
lets say a brake or someway to lock the wheels electronically once a rider steps off and there is no weight on any of the four sensors. Then the unit could balance by keeping the platform level. Once the wheels are locked it would be easy for the machine to balance the platform. Then
when use step back on the platform, the wheels would unlock and you would be in normal balance mode again. I think something on this approach would be fairly simple to implement on the segway.

SWG

[sholloway]

I agree 100%. Unless the e stand is used in a facility surrounded by people that know how to touch it or know Not to touch it, the e stand is just a big problem waiting to happen. Almost every time I get off my machine someone touches it, sometimes they try to step on it. With the e stand, even if they only want to touch it, it will react quickly and lay down on its back. I think it was very smart to discontinue the e stand.

[Projeto]

Sounds like to me that e stand just was not programmed properly, I have seen many two wheeled robots that do not go out of control when touched...In fact I have made a counter weight that lets me step off of my segway and it will just sit there. If you touch it, it just moves in the direction it was touched then stops again. This is not a hard problem to solve, it can still be safe and stand in one place.

David Reeb

[SegwayUtah]

Also, "no rider balance mode" doesn't exist on the e-stand model. So you have to take extra time to get it up and down curbs, etc. On flat warehouse floors and in controlled environments, yeah, it can be pretty cool.

Also also, the reason the e-stand was possible in the first place is because the e-series had those side bags standard, so it had enough weight on it to stand up on its own. The i-series and p-series (and GT and XT) models just don't have a high enough center of gravity to pull off that party trick.

Chris

[terryp]

Chris is right. The center of gravity is just too close to the axles without bag(s) attached, even with the handlebars up all the way.

I found fault with a few details when I was a new owner too. But after getting a chance to talk with the designers I quickly realized that they had thought through those details a LOT more thoroughly than I had. ;)

Segway - What's holding you up?