The Segway is being retired. Will mall cops ever be the same?
The Segway PT made a splash in December 3, 2001 when it was unveiled on Good Morning America. Inventor Dean Kamen said that an urban transportation revolution was coming and cars would be obsolete. Kamen felt it was absurd to use 4,000-pound cars and trucks for short trips.
The problem has always been that they are too big and fast for sidewalks and too slow and vulnerable for roads.
I took a Segway tour of Washington, DC several years ago, and to be honest, it was a blast. As uncool as their image had become, I’m actually sorry to see them go — to me they’re a fantastic way to get around cities.
I wonder how different the Segway’s fate would’ve been had Kamen not to aggressively and hyperbolically over-hyped it when it released?
Kamen also felt that bicycles don’t exist.