New Purchase

[hodgepoj]

Well, the deal on Amazon was an offer I couldn't refuse. I broke down and ordered a Segway scooter. I'll worry next year about how I'm going to pay for it.

I tried to get Seqway to lend us one last spring for us to feature in a special hands-on exhibit on the history of the wheel. But their sales department said they are innundated with such requests and they would put us on their waiting list.

So we'll feature my scooter as the 21st century culmination of the 10,000 year evolution of the wheel. For all those ages, man has used the wheel to help him do his daily chores: to transport people and freight, to change the magnitude and direction of applied forces and torques, and to accomplish tasks which would otherwise be impossible.

A few minor details I haven't worked out yet, like how to let visitors ride the scooter with no training. Will I be able to train them after I get my training from Segway?

All suggestions for demos in our wheel exhibit are welcome.


Dr. Paul O. Johnson
Senior Exhibit Developer
The Science Place
Dallas, Texas 75210

[Seeker]

quote:


A few minor details I haven't worked out yet, like how to let visitors ride the scooter with no training. Will I be able to train them after I get my training from Segway?

All suggestions for demos in our wheel exhibit are welcome.



Hi Dr. Johnson,

This exhibit you are planning sounds very interesting. You had asked for suggestions for demos and had mentioned your concern about how to let people try out the Segway, and remain safe.

I was just thinking about how my brother in law, an avid unicyclist is always trying to get me to learn to unicycle. I've often thought that what might be a good way to learn, and have confidence that you will be safe, would be to drive your unicycle between 2 mats. That way, if you fall, you fall on a soft surface.

Could something like this be done for your exhibit ? If the mats on either side of the Segway were like those used in high jump competitions (about a foot thick), this should pretty much ensure that a Segway rider would be unharmed, should he/she fall off the machine (which of course is unlikely).

Could this work for your exhibit ?

Seeker

[Blinky]

Hello hodgepoj,

I think that is it is a great idea for you to use the Segway as an attraction for your exhibit. I would see no problem for you to use the Segway during that time. I would probably worry about liability more than anything else. If there were a way from keeping you from any damages by any possible accident, then I would do it.

As for the training, there should be no problem with you showing other people how to ride the Segway. I would recommend keeping the Segway at low speeds at all time, unless you have a lot of area you can let them ride. You may need people to help you during this too.

Good luck!

[Brooster]

Hi Dr. Johnson, welcome to our little corner of the Internet. Your purchase is #8 among our group, if my count is correct. Best wishes from Chicago.



Brooster

[GlideMaster]

Congratulations Hodgepoj, you are number eight on this site to bite the bullet. Only one suggestion if I may: DO NOT CALL THE SEGWAY A SCOOTER, the King of Balance might lose your purchase order.

<center>REMEMBER:
Responsible Riders Ride Segway
and
Segway Riders Ride Responsibly

Segway, The Mind Changer</center>




quote:Originally posted by Blinky

Hello hodgepoj,

I think that is it is a great idea for you to use the Segway as an attraction for your exhibit. I would see no problem for you to use the Segway during that time. I would probably worry about liability more than anything else. If there were a way from keeping you from any damages by any possible accident, then I would do it.

As for the training, there should be no problem with you showing other people how to ride the Segway. I would recommend keeping the Segway at low speeds at all time, unless you have a lot of area you can let them ride. You may need people to help you during this too.

Good luck!

[Blinky]

#8 as far as we know anyway ;)

[hodgepoj]

Hi Dr. Johnson,

This exhibit you are planning sounds very interesting. You had asked about how to let people drive the Segway and remain safe. I thought that a good way to learn would be to drive between two thick mats. That way you would fall on a soft surface. This should pretty much ensure that a rider would be unharmed, should he/she fall off the machine (which of course is unlikely).

Seeker

That's a good idea, Seeker, but I fear it would be practical only for a reasonably short straight course. Otherwise, the cost and floorspace requirements for mats might be excessive. Ideally, I would like to let our visitors drive the machine around a closed path of 50 to 100 feet so they would get a real feel for changing speed, stopping, and turning.

I thought at first about some kind of harness hanging from an overhead track that followed the driving course, but that doesn't seem very practical either.

Of course, the major psychological impact of the Segway machine is how quickly the driver gains balance and feels secure from falling. Any kind of safety mats or harnesses would likely diminish that impact. Maybe we should require them to sign a waiver against suing us for any injuries.

Thanks for your suggestion.

Dr. Paul O. Johnson
Senior Exhibit Developer
The Science Place
Dallas, Texas 75210

[hodgepoj]

Congratulations Hodgepoj, you are number eight on this site to bite the bullet. Only one suggestion if I may: DO NOT CALL THE SEGWAY A SCOOTER, the King of Balance might lose your purchase order.

weskifm

I appreciate your suggestion. I'm still learning the polically correct terminology. I can see why it's not a scooter, but I think it really needs a generic name, not just a brand name. "Two-wheeled driving machine" is too awkward. Human Transporter, or even HT, hasn't caught on yet, and may never. What in hell do you call the thing?

Dr. Paul O. Johnson
Senior Exhibit Developer
The Science Place
Dallas, Texas 75210

[Brooster]

That's all you need to do, I would think, Dr. J. When a couple of us rode the Segway here in Chicago last June, Segway had us sign waivers.

Brooster

[Brooster]

Best to just call it the Segway, I think. :) Whatever you do, don't call it a scooter!

Brooster

[Seeker]

Hi Dr. J,

Maybe just outfitting the riders with a helmet and some fairly thick padding to wear, would take care of the safety concerns that would apply at the speeds that people would be driving at. If a thin (fairly inexpensive) padding could be used as well for the floor, that might help as well.

What do you think ?

Seeker

[BruceWright]

What to call It?

How about a dynamically stabilized vehicle?

A lateral bicycle?

Here's an old word for bicycle that I like:

A Velocipede

A hack

A chariot.

A rickshaw.

A sidewalk taxi.

A standing bike.

[4Seg]

Electric Personal Assistive Mobility Devices (EPAMD) is the classification of the Segway according to all the legislature.

If you want, go to google and enter "EPAMD" and you can find a plethora of articles.

Hope this helps.


If we could only be resellers...

Mike
http://www.stlsegway.com
Yahoo: stlsegway