Meter readers: Segways make work easy

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October 18, 2002 - The Union Leader -By ROGER AMSDEN- GILFORD — Zipping along at a brisk 12 miles an hour clip, Public Service Co. of New Hampshire meter reader Bill Smith was all smiles as he made his rounds here yesterday morning on a Segway Human Transporter. Full Article (http://www.theunionleader.com/articles_show.html?article=15005)

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quote:
Meter readers: Segways
make work easy
By ROGER AMSDEN
Union Leader Correspondent

GILFORD — Zipping along at a brisk 12 miles an hour clip, Public Service Co. of New Hampshire meter reader Bill Smith was all smiles as he made his rounds here yesterday morning on a Segway Human Transporter.

“It’s great,” said Smith as he turned in and out of driveways and was even able to read some of the meters on his route in the Ridgewood Avenue area without ever having to dismount.

Smith is one of 10 PSNH meter readers around the state who have been taking part in a three-month test of the revolutionary device to see how well it works in the field.

He said he moves around much faster than he used to when driving a truck and making frequent stops, which required him to go back to the truck and move it to a new location.

And the Segway also brings him into closer contact with customers.

“When people see me on this they like to get close to it and ask questions about it,” said Smith, who carries postcard-size information sheets he hands out to those who are curious about the Segway.

Developed by Manchester inventor and entrepreneur Dean Kamen and Segway LLC, the Segway HT uses an assembly of five gyroscope sensors and two tilt sensors that emulate human balance. The sensors detect when the rider leans forward or backward, moving almost effortlessly.

Weighing only 95 pounds, the Segway HT is both economically and environmentally friendly, using only 40 watts of energy for a range of about 17 miles on a battery pack that can be recharged through any conventional 110 volt wall socket.

“It even charges itself back up when it’s going downhill,” said Smith, who said that he underwent two days of training this summer to learn how to operate the device.

“It was a little tricky at first. The instincts that you have for driving sort of work against it. Once you see it’s just an extension of yourself and responds to your own movements it’s really easy to operate,” said Smith.

PSNH is the first utility in the nation to test the business viability of the Segway HT for meter reading. Also testing out the Segways through the month of October are the Boston Police Department, the National Park Service and the U.S. Postal Service.

“The partnership between Segway and PSNH is a great opportunity to demonstrate our company’s support for those New Hampshire businesses that are pioneers in high technology,” said Pat McDermott, PSNH’s economic and community development manager.

He said the company expects to realize savings as routes are consolidated due to faster meter-read times as well as through a reduction in motor vehicle accidents and decreased costs for vehicles and maintenance.