It's something that any hard-nosed entrepreneur likely deals with when their invention / startup is on the edge of fail: should they simply throw in the towel, or forge ahead like no one's looking? The father of the
Segway, Dean Kamen, is also wrestling with that question. In a recent interview, he stated: "You end up lying there saying, 'I'm not stopping. It would be an act of shallow cowardice. Or you decide to quit and you say, 'This is one of those ideas that just isn't going to work.' " He also noted that "it's not nearly as glamorous as people think to keep working on something and to keep hitting roadblocks and to keep going." On one hand, we could definitely see the rug being pulled from the two-wheeled transporter that never revolutionized public movement, but considering
all the days in which it has
lifted our spirits, do we really want it to?
[Image courtesy of
SimplyMoving]
posted Jan 12th 2009 5:51PM
Then what is the Woz going to use?
I was expecting to buy a Segway for my parents when they start having difficulty walking. I hope these things are still available when I need to get one.
Kamen's interview wasn't about quitting the Segway, it was about being an entrepeneur and knowing when it was time to quit an idea, as a generality.
RTFA again, Murph.
To me mobility for those that don't have it comes to mind as well. I think of the guy (he was in his 20's or 30's) at the baseball game who didn't have any legs. A specially modified Segway served as his legs. He would have certainly been confined to a wheelchair without his Segway. Then there was the young man I met who had multiple sclerosis who used his Segway to get around. Sure, he had his good days when he wouldn't need his Segway to get around. On the bad days however the Segway was huge. Seeing the Segway used for these types of applications it's hard to imagine the Segway would just go away. I would think that production on some level would be maintained by Kamen or another outfit that would buy him out. At the same time however I could also see the prices creep up as the diseconomies of scale come into play.
Woz would probably buy the rights and somehow make it profitable, that man LOVES his segways!
-Taylor
talk about misunderstanding an interview. sheesh. you can sink a stock with an mis-reported article like this. hey engadget, how about a sickly steve jobs article next?
Seeing how the Segway, you know the same IT that people were going to design cities around, has not been a smashing hit, well, Kamen might have not come out and said it, but really, this has got to be what he's thinking about the Segway.
Who gives a damn?
Um, shouldn't you be on a bridge somewhere?
@ iEye (I know it's you!)
I see what you did thar!
And it's not funny.
call it the iSegway and iEye would buy a dozen of them
Either it's not iEye or he's sunk down to replying to his own posts because I've seen him post and iEye reply.
Speaking of Segway, nice weather today huh?
No, I'm not a troll (well, I'm not iEye!), and no, I don't give a shit about this.
Segways are pretty cool, all things considered.
The problem is that everyone realized walking was still cheaper.
Absolutely. I believe the Segway would have seen a lot more use if it just weren't so expensive.
Segways are cool but not desirable when you can get a motorcycle or used car for the same price. Mr. Kamen would sell tens of thousands more per year if the MSRP were under a grand.
I guess he thought segways will make you buy them the moment they were released no matter what the price is.
Life's tough...
"Walking is cheaper"
Yes, and a bicycle or moped are more practical. Segway is a great solution to a problem that doesn't exist. I hope his new water purification machine does better.
Segways they really are perfect for Washington D.C. you'll sell these things everywhere and if you have ever spent time there, you'll certainly understand why.
He needs to farm out production to Asia and get a consumer version out that's $599...
Which will be able to carry one person to 50Kg for about 2 minutes down the hill before it breaks along with the rider's legs, spine and skull.
China Quality certified...
And by all means, DO NOT forget to put the Lead in the paint!!!! And plenty of Melanine in the food "to go please"
Screw China, no standards or environmental care at all!!
Will it be made of pig shit and mercury?
The US has the same quality shit China does. We buy more of their crap than they buy from us, after all.
@loocas
And if it really breaks that fast, it won't sell then, and Chinese people don't want that. They are the world's most skillful manufacturers, their skills mostly are not for quality but for it's notorious ability to strip down resources & materials yet still make the final product usable, well, kind of. It won't break down right away, that's for sure.
@lanejasper69
This is too extreme, it's like laughing at your younger brother because he is shorter than you.
Decades ago, Americans made toxic food much much more that Chinese did today, and a lot of Americans died because of that.
And by the way, it's MELAMINE.
@ Like_A_Glove:
Oh, good, now I'm much more confident...
I think the answer is simple:
Build the Segway Centaur.
That would freaking rock!
-Taylor
Taylor, you are a tool for still putting a signature under a comment on here.
To: Taylor, Yes Taylor
-Taylor
I too do not like people signing their comments when their name is shown clearly anyway.
-Taylor
Honestly I always secretly wanted one of these, I just could never sink that kinda money into this type of thing.
Exactly my feelings!
I always wanted one but, I'm too embarrassed to be seen on it.
Just use a bike or a car! Or for god sakes use your own two legs.
That is so low-tech!
Not all of us have the use of both legs I wanted a segway instead of a big ass wheelchair, not only can you stand on it but you can get a custom seat for it also. the perfect wheelchair.
Hilarious. This guy cons malls and college campuses into spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on these things, and then pulls the plug? Great idea, buddy; can't wait to see how many people put faith into your next invention.
Of course; he should keep on until he's broke, then he should beg for food with one hand whilst making new Segways and repairing broken ones with the other, until the very last ounce of life is gone. Then I'm sure most people will have a lifelong faith in his next lif... uh, project.
If I was one of those people that lived and worked and shopped and drank and went out downtown (Austin) then I would have a segway. As it is, I work 17 miles from work. A mile from my gym, 2 miles from the grocery store, 1.5 miles from the nearest gas station.... I just have no use for it.
Oh... I don't know, maybe Dean Kamen could....
LOWER THE DAMN PRICE!!
It's been 8 years already. Why does this plastic scooter still cost more than $1,000?
I bet the gyro's are working over-time to compensate for his pen collection!
I own one, an i167. If they were $1500 new, I would have four of them, but at $4900 It's just never going to get the momentum needed from the masses to be a pervasive as Mr. Kamen envisioned.
It may have been ahead of its time on Dec. 2, 2001, but it's not ahead of its time now. DSPs and FPGAs are now cheap and are commonly-used for motor and motion control now. And Lithium ion battery pack prices have also dropped dramatically.
Sorry folks, this product is not ahead of its time. It's just simply WAY overpiced. Not unlike other vehicles these days, actually, whose makers are also experiencing anxiety.
If doing so makes the segway affordable (aka cost a lot less) then I say by all means
I poured over the patents. I talked it up. I hoped for a local distributor. I wondered if the laws would shift to allow it. I saw the price and said one day. I joined the newsletter. Each one waiting for one of the cool designs in the patent. Wondering if the price would drop.
...I stopped reading the newsletter. I gave up on a price drop. I looked in at the web site once a year. I realized he never stood a chance, too small. If you are not already a giant multi national forget it and get a job.
Ideas had become a privelege not a right.
Lower. The. Price.
Problem solved.
At the extreme prices that are still being asked for this, it's no wonder no one wants to buy them. Apart from Mr. Kamen himself and Adam Savage from Mythbusters, I've never seen anyone on these things.
Dont forget Gob from Arrested Developement!
If you have never seen the show, so yourself a favor and watch it. It is absolutely hysterical. Leave it to the Fox execs to not be able to keep a great show.
If only Darren Murph (OP) had read the article he would have understood that Kamen was speaking in generalizations about being an entrepreneur and did not mention the Segway specifically.