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Special Needs, Mobility and Disabled Use Information and discussion for those with special needs interested in the Segway.

Old 08-29-2002, 04:14 PM   #1
Spliff
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Default My views on the Segway HT mobility device

I think it will be a very helpful invention for people with Parkinson's Disease and other disabilities which make it difficult to walk or balance well, even if you can stand up. I also think it will be very useful to the elderly that cannot walk at the pace of younger healthy people. The Segway HT is another wonderful invention by Dean Kamen, a man with a kind heart, who trys to help other people live a better life. Thanks.

Strength and Honor!
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Old 08-29-2002, 05:19 PM   #2
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Hi spliff, good to see you here.

Obviously I agree that the Segway will be a help to some people with disabilities. I don't remember the "mobility device" as part of it's name, but perhaps I missed that. I do remember it being referred to that way before.

I also believe Segway will have many applications as an alternative transportation device. Taking the place of cars and other such vehicles for a lot of short trip applications. Eventually, if/when the Stirling engine is adapted to it to keep the battery charged, it should also be able to perform well on trips around cities and local areas, where the travel may be in excess of the current limited milage. At that time it's range should be limited only by the amount of fuel onboard.

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Old 08-29-2002, 05:53 PM   #3
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My take on the Segway-HT as a medical device is this...

Yes, the patent definitely mention Parkinson's disease. But I think Kamen was working on the Ibot and the problem of getting the wheelchair to go up stairs. He got the idea to utilize "self-balancing" technology and began to build prototypes to get it working. Since he was concerned with getting the Ibot to work in 2-wheeled mode, he created 2-wheeled prototypes. He didn't create them intending to market them as human transporters. He just created those prototypes because they were simpler than the Ibot - a common denominator if you will - containing the essentials to test and perfect Dynamic Stabilization.

Now, as he gets DS working in the 2-wheeled prototype - he probably wakes up one morning and says - hmmm, I wonder if this could be developed into a consumer product? Well, he shelves that idea and finishes work on the Ibot. Afterall, that's how he and his engineers will be putting bread on the table.. getting Johnson & Johnson to sell these.

After DS is perfected and the Ibot is finished... He turns his attention back to that 2-wheeled prototype and wonders if it can be turned into a consumer product. Then he probably has a brain fart or something and realizes that he's created a solution to one of the world's pressing problems - clean, low noise and low pollution, intercity transportation. So he begins to perfect this prototype - now called Ginger, Fred's partner - more like sister, and develops the Segway-HT.

That's my take on it...


Regards,

Frank A. Tropea
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Old 08-29-2002, 08:07 PM   #4
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Way to go, Spliff. SegwayChat's first poster! WooooooHooooooo(in the best possible way).

My take on the Segway, as is, is that it is intended to be much more than a medical device. I can readily see its usefulness to all manner of service employees (postal, security, meter readers and meter maids, police, facility workers, airport workers....basically any job that requires lots of walking and covering lots of ground).

Beyond that the market is a bit murkier, for me. The price point hasn't yet been established, as far as I can figure. I hear $3000, I hear $8000, and I hear from Dupa that Bridge has mentioned they are aiming to get the price down to $1300.

Where it ends up, in the short and medium term, will dictate the extent it is embraced by the public. At $8000, I can't see what I would consider a broad acceptence. At $3000, the market broadens considerably. In the cities, especially ones where people actually live downtown, and near it, I could see them being adopted by urban professionals, at the $3000 price point. Also, at that price, I could see them being popular among the monied, especially those with property measured in acres.

At $1300, all bets are off, and I believe that the Segway personal model, as is, would be a huge hit, and start to give some credence to some (I say SOME) of the financial flights of fancy contained in the book proposal.

At any of the above price points, I do believe they would be popular among the retired in communities (my folks live in a place in AZ where the majority of people own golf carts, although there is no golf course. I would think the Segway will give the golf course as a community vehicle a serious run for its money). They would be popular with a wide variety of people who have trouble ambulating. Amputees, aged, people with motor skill issues, etc.
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Old 08-29-2002, 08:44 PM   #5
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The Jim Lehrer news hour on PBS just had a report on India. They say it's economy may exceed that of Europe very soon, I think they said about 3 years.

To the point, the report showed Delhi traffic. It is a combination of a few cars, and many threewheel and two wheel conveyances of all description. This is where I see huge markets for Segway. There is already a large acceptance of American products, and they showed store signs for all kinds of our merchandise.

And IF they get the Stirling engine ready for prime time, I think it will be "Katy bar the door". Billions of customers in a fast growing marketplace.

Frank
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Old 08-31-2002, 02:50 PM   #6
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Quote:
quote:Spliff has it right. There are a lot of older people out there who could benefit from the increased mobility but don't want to sit in a 'wheel-chair' like device. The stigma keeps them from using one. Older people are the growing demographic with the most money.
Ziggy, who has ridden it made a good argument on TIQ that the elderly might not have the agility and reflexes to be able to handle a Segway. But then if Kamen & co. believe that people with parkinsons might be able to use them, he must have special versions in mind that might be even easier to use then the models we have seen so far.

Bricklin, who has also ridden it and seems to have done his homework thinks that that this group will be a primary target group:

Quote:
quote:This will be a very big hit with the 45 and over crowd. If somebody bumps into Grandpa with it, it will be Grandma, and she votes. For younger people, the Segway opens up new areas that are now within "walking distance", for older people it restores old areas that are missed. People with all sorts of disabilities (MS, Parkinson's, knee injuries, etc.) are begging the Segway company for units. They know it will change their lives, restoring some normalcy.
http://www.bricklin.com/segwayride2.htm

I think it is still a little early to speculate as to who will be the largest users of Segways. It depends on what models will be introduced in the years ahead.
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Old 08-31-2002, 04:03 PM   #7
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Quote:
quote:Originally posted by Lawrence

Quote:
quote:Spliff has it right. There are a lot of older people out there who could benefit from the increased mobility but don't want to sit in a 'wheel-chair' like device. The stigma keeps them from using one. Older people are the growing demographic with the most money.
Ziggy, who has ridden it made a good argument on TIQ that the elderly might not have the agility and reflexes to be able to handle a Segway. But then if Kamen & co. believe that people with parkinsons might be able to use them, he must have special versions in mind that might be even easier to use then the models we have seen so far.

Bricklin, who has also ridden it and seems to have done his homework thinks that that this group will be a primary target group:

Quote:
quote:This will be a very big hit with the 45 and over crowd. If somebody bumps into Grandpa with it, it will be Grandma, and she votes. For younger people, the Segway opens up new areas that are now within "walking distance", for older people it restores old areas that are missed. People with all sorts of disabilities (MS, Parkinson's, knee injuries, etc.) are begging the Segway company for units. They know it will change their lives, restoring some normalcy.
http://www.bricklin.com/segwayride2.htm

I think it is still a little early to speculate as to who will be the largest users of Segways. It depends on what models will be introduced in the years ahead.
The software of a Segway that would accomodate people with motor-ability-affecting diseases such as parkinson's would have to be altered. In the present version, the unconscious movements (tremors, etc.) of the person could and will be translated by the gyroscopes as the intent to move forward and/or backwards when the person really just wants to stay still. That could have dire consequences. For the elderly, they still need to have the same reflexes and reaction time of their younger counterparts into order to use these safely 'as intended'. Additionally the elderly would have to be able to easily step up and down 8" and stand for the extended periods of time necessary to get where they are going. and be able to turn the hand grip effectively for movement as well as obstacle avoidance. not great for arthritic people.

So modifications would certainly have to be made to the current design in order to accomodate these, and other, groups of people. which would, btw, add to it's cost since Segway would have to add, not remove, functionality.

The Zigman
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Old 08-31-2002, 04:17 PM   #8
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I don't remember when - or from who - but I either read or heard (I didn't imagine it) that there was something to "tuning" the code for personal taste... making the lean/action response more or less sensitive. If I can find those brain cells containing the info in my head, I'll post it to this thread!

Regards,

Frank A. Tropea
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Old 08-04-2003, 11:29 AM   #9
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Wow, re-reading this old post... How naiive we were!

Not only were our assumptions completely wrong about Parkinson's and the HT, but we completely missed that one of the MAIN adoption groups would be the elderly, who take to the Segway like a duck to water!

Again showing how wrong first impressions can be!

-Bruce Wright

Segway: Vehicle of Dream
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