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- cjtenny, on 10/10/2007, -10/+48Thanks for putting this on Digg... but I already did!
http://digg.com/design/The_DIY_Segway_Scooter
(I'm the guy in orange in the picture, by the way.) - chubbybubba, on 10/10/2007, -6/+19in my opinion 2 wheeled vehicles are extremely inefficient and unsteady. The amount of added technology needed for balance seems wasteful when a third or fourth wheel would certainly cost less and be much more stable.
- stealthrocket, on 10/10/2007, -2/+12Why do most fat chicks think the skin-tight-hair-in-a-bun look is a good one? Then again, does it really matter?
Yes, I'm an *****. - darny, on 10/10/2007, -0/+9did anyone else notice those saddle bags?
- Otto, on 10/10/2007, -0/+8The added technology to do it is actually not all that large or complicated, as these guys proved. But the reason two wheels is, in theory, better than three is that it's a much more intuitive user interface. With three wheels, you need another control for changing speed. You need an extra control to move at all, in fact. With only two wheels, the motion is intuitive. To move forward, you lean forward slightly. When you're actually riding the thing, it becomes second nature. You want to go forward and you more or less automatically do. Simple learned behaviorism. And you can't do that with a third wheel.
- killerofkiller, on 10/10/2007, -0/+7team 97 eh? im from team 180 myself
- beelz, on 10/10/2007, -0/+7cool stuff man good work
- cjtenny, on 10/10/2007, -0/+5Well either way, publicity's publicity.
So I guess this article is the one to digg, forget the other one.
It's also on Gizmodo / MAKE / Scifi as of now. Hopefully more to come. - Dougcope, on 10/10/2007, -2/+7I think that annoying woman should get off her Segway and try walking a bit.
- patrickray, on 10/10/2007, -4/+8looks like that fat cow should ditch the segway and do a little walking to me.
- Zoshchenko, on 10/10/2007, -1/+4Couldn't find a better spot for the photo than in front of a portable toilet?
- superkendall, on 10/10/2007, -4/+7Third wheels actually detract from stability though - haven't you ever been on a three-wheeler (basically an ATV with three wheels). They tip like hell. Yes keeping a two-wheeled object upright is harder but having ridden on a segway, it feels way more stable than any other three wheeled device I have ridden. Four wheels are better but of course take up way more space.
If three whees are so great, when do you see so many motorcycles on the road with only two wheels and no training wheel?
The Segway is still a good idea, it's just rather expensive. This video though showing a rather stripped down Segway clone for "under a thousand" shows just why the Segway costs as much as it does, to keep you safe when failure modes are pretty catastrophic. - Samtheman007, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2Nice to see FIRST people on Digg. I knew I saw that picture on cheifdelphi.
Team 177 btw - Samtheman007, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2Also don't forget Segway's have zero turning radius, making it much better for tricky maneuvering and crowded areas.
- Neelix, on 10/10/2007, -1/+3Why is it when we see Segway clones, no one ever asks, "Yes, but, how far can it go?"
This thing might be able to keep up with a Segway, but I seriously doubt that it will be able to travel 20 miles on a single charge. - russianmike, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2They should put some chrome spinners on it. And maybe a checkered flag sticker
- smackhero, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2it's not meant to be a commercial competitor. the fact that these kids came up with something that matches the Segway's basic functionality as demonstrated in the video is pretty impressive. these kids didn't have hundreds of thousands of dollars to start up their own company, order custom-built high end parts, and develop several prototypes before going into production. who the hell cares if it can't go as far as the Segway on a single charge.
- orca94, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2Nice clone. Especially since they documented how they did it. But this isn't the first time it's been copied. This guy's has been around for a while(he even has a self balancing unicycle version):
http://www.tlb.org/scooter2.html
Though my personal favorite is this one-wheeled, skateboard variant:
http://www.ben.jellybaby.net/ - alamandrax, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2When I saw the title, I thought it was this one:
http://news.rpiscrews.us/update.do?artcenterkey=1670&setappvar=page(1)
This was done last year by a few undergrads from RPI using National Instruments' Real-time module. - nonsequitor, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2You guys should release the schematics under a creative commons license. And if you want to make some money on the side sell DIY kits through Make magazine.
- josegutz, on 10/10/2007, -1/+3Yeah... Hmmmm.. It blows how you didn't get your story up with more diggs. Looks like the more diggers you know the more of a chance your story gets front page...You rock dude! looks like I am digging YOUR story as well...
- superkendall, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2Because you can stand upright at a human walking speed, making Segways usable on sidewalks along with pedestrian traffic - something you can't do easily on a bike Electric or no). Segways are also nice because a natural reaction to obstacles suddenly appearing (drawing back) will slow and stop and even reverse the Segway, unlike an electric bike motor which will happily carry you forward to disaster while you reach for the brakes.
- Beaver6813, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1The idea is that you don't have to excercise!
- rowlodge, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1this is kinda what i expected to see, with mower wheels.
- evanbro, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1It's MIT, just not the main part of campus. It's up north, by the MIT power plant and the Brain & Cog building
- superkendall, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1They have been great in some niches though. They are used a lot in warehouses for people like supervisors that have to go over a large area throughout the day. They use them at Walk Disney World for the same reason.
I would use one to get to work and back - I wouldn't need a shower, unlike using a bike. The cost is still a little high for that though. - jeffeb3, on 10/10/2007, -1/+2That's cute, except that a lot of people do know what an FET is.
Secondly, it's not the balancing that's unique it's the control via the balancing that makes the movement so similar to human balancing. The third wheel is not nearly as cool as the balancing, and while I agree that it might not be the most efficient, it is a step toward better base platforms for biped robots. - josegutz, on 10/10/2007, -1/+2Have a carrot...
- gordeaoux, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1Uh, hi. Bikes.
"In both biological and mechanical terms, the bicycle is extraordinarily efficient. In terms of the amount of energy a person must expend to travel a given distance, investigators have calculated it to be the most efficient self-powered means of transportation."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bicycle#Performance
PWNED! - Evilstanley, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1You're an idiot. The fact that these high school students took the time to do this is pretty cool. Obviously you have no clue as to what a FIRST Robotics team even is. Yes, they were very lazy for building an imitation Segway. That doesn't even make sense, you're an idiot (again).
- alamandrax, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1http://zone.ni.com/devzone/cda/tut/p/id/4386
The complete description of the project. - slapded, on 10/10/2007, -1/+2segway is better
- smackhero, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1the 2-wheel design gives it a zero turning radius, which is crucial for navigating and is why the segway has superior mobility to other transportation devices. and have you ridden a segway before? the device is not unsteady and is very easy for anyone to operate. it's harder for a beginner to ride a bike for the first time than to learn how to operate a segway.
- wwwdot1jesdotus, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1I'd like to see them switch riders and see if it still holds up.
- superkendall, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1Now THAT (skateboard) looks damn cool, though substantially less safe than a Segway. Great idea though!
- jordanross, on 10/10/2007, -1/+2Already done by Trevor Blackwell. Balancing unicycle... Not to be arogant but it took a team of high school and college students to pull this off.
- d3dm, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1Hey is that McLovin wearing the Montauk shirt in the pic?
- desistere, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1These people may have a future in China.
- superkendall, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1Actually it requires some degree of effort to use a Segway, since you are standing the whole time and shifting your balance back and forth - not as much as walking or riding obviously, but it's not like you're on a couch either.
- cjtenny, on 10/10/2007, -0/+0Actually if you read our site I think we say the girl on the commercial segway was just there. She didn't build it with us.
However, myself (orange shirt) and the guy in the Montauk shirt did. Along with 6 or 7 other people. - mscalisi, on 10/10/2007, -0/+0been done.
http://www.tlb.org/eunicycle.html - mmpkidz, on 10/10/2007, -3/+3Hey, great news--soon we'll only have to pay $1,000 for a useless piece of crap!
- in2deep, on 10/10/2007, -1/+1Cool!
- Swarmie, on 10/10/2007, -1/+1The idea failed, it keeps girls like her fat.
- MWeather, on 10/10/2007, -1/+1It's only cheap if your time is worthless.
- VioletArrows, on 10/10/2007, -2/+2If you didn't intend to be mean, then what good did you think would be done by making that remark? Do you really think that just because she helped build the goddamn thing and tested it for *5 minutes* that she did it so she could be even 'lazier'? Did you even pay attention to the video, or did you only see a fat girl and the need to say something nasty automatically kick in?
*waits for digg down to oblivion for using logic on an unpopular opnion* - alricsca, on 10/10/2007, -1/+1You know I have always wanted them to build in some sort of exercise function for these. Like a bike, where you can still get from point A to point B faster but it requires some work. I imagine a stair climber like function that generates power while the computer and capacitor keep balance and constant forward speed. That way you get the best of both worlds. You can get farther, there is much less wear on your joints, and you get some exercise.
- chingy1788, on 10/10/2007, -1/+1BAM!
http://www.thebestpageintheuniverse.net/images/segsuck2.jpg -
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