Segway was also the most hyped tech product of the early 21st century.

Alternately codenamed “Ginger” (after actor and Fred Astaire dance partner Ginger Rogers) and “IT” during the secretive development period prior to it launch, the device engendered serious conversations among tech leaders and futurists about the ways in which it would transform our cities.

Thomas Edison’esque inventor and company founder Dean Kamen believed that it would completely revolutionise transportation. "I believe the Segway HT will do for walking what the calculator did for pad and pencil," Kamen said in 2001, the year he unveiled it on the ABC News morning program Good Morning America.

Kamen was already a famous inventor. His innovations greatly impacted the medical profession. Inspired by his "IBOT" wheelchair, a six-wheel machine that goes up and down stairs, he claimed that his next product would be transformational. So without any information other than Kamen’s track record as a genius, the hype train began.

Segway had some heavyweight investors and supporters who were beating the same drum. Apple co-founder Steve Jobs predicted that it would become as big as the PC. And Amazon founder Jeff Bezos called it "one of the most famous and anticipated product introductions of all time" before the product first went on sale to the public — naturally on Amazon.com. Legendary Silicon Valley venture capitalist John Doerr speculated that it would be more important than the Internet.

The satirical animated TV show South Park devoted an episode to making fun of the hype before the product was released. Watch a clip of that HERE.

Needless to say, Segway didn’t conquer the world. While the vehicle became a fixture in law enforcement and tourism, it did not gain widespread traction among the wider public. It wouldn’t be the first time a much hyped product or technology failed to cut through and make sense to the man or woman on the street (or in this case rather … on the footpath).

Segway Inc. was acquired by British businessman Jimi Heselden from Kamen in December 2009. Tragically, and ironically, he died a year later after plunging from a cliff into the River Wharfe while riding his Segway and walking his dog. He was reportedly giving way to a fellow dog walker.

In 2015 Segway Inc. was acquired by Ninebot, a Chinese robotics company, and the brand's product line was expanded to include electric scooters and other personal transport devices. In 2020 Ninebot ceased production of Segway, and laid off 21 employees at its New Hampshire plant who were working on the project.

Depending on who you ask, the Segway is either a cautionary tale about the tech hype cycle or an innovative product that was just too much for this world. Whatever the case, it certainly left its mark.

Story Idea: Bob Carey
______________________

References

wikipedia.org/wiki/Segway
npr.org/2020/06/23/882536320/after-nearly-two-bumpy-decades-the-original-segway-will-be-retired-in-july
bbc.com/news/uk-england-14167868
techcrunch.com/2020/06/23/say-so-long-to-the-original-segway/
time.com/archive/6905012/reinventing-the-wheel-3/

Images

1. Dean Kamen (left) and Jeff Bezos aboard their Segways. Photo credit: Mario Tama for Getty Images.
2. Segway patent, 16 October 2001
3. Dean Kamen. Credit: DEKA Research.
4. Video: A New Way to Travel That Will Change Everything, South Park Studios, Season 5, Episode 11, 2001
5. Uluru Segway Tours, Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park, Northern Territory, Australia
6. Segway police in Stockholm, Sweden. Photo credit: Adville.