If you’re the kind of person who’s sick of those routine walk to the bus stop, train station, or parking lot when all you want is to transport yourself home with minimal effort, you sound about ready to join the human cast of WALL-E aboard the Axion ship. Or if you’re not ready for such intergalactic experience, perhaps the Solowheel could do the trick on land.
Spotted at the Toy Fair 2013 convention at Jacob Javits Center in New York this week, Inventist showed off more toys from its “People Mover” line of … well, people movers, including its flagship products: The Solowheel, Orbitwheel, and a third unnamed vehicle that looks like a Segway without the steering pole.
Limited information was given at the show about this third product except that it’s been around for “about two days” and that it uses a gyroscope to sense forward and backward motion control. This means the user can just hop on, lean slightly forward and back to get the wheels running. Pretty thrilling, considering regular Segways with a pole and handle are hard enough to retain balance. It may or may not reduce the awkward accidents that often happen during those silly Segway tours across major cities.
If this third product is anything like the Solowheel, then it should bare similar or comparable specs: A max speed of 10 mph, a range of 15 to 20 miles, and a charge time of about two hours. The product is also highly maneuverable, allowing for easy turns and shifts as long as the controller can master the weight balance between his or her two feet. The vehicle also good for use on most common terrains, such as grass, cobblestone, concrete (at the Toy Fair, it was demonstrated on carpet with minimal slippage).
We’ll keep you posted when we hear more about its name, pricing information, and availability but for now let’s discuss: Would you want to play with this minimalistic Segway, or is a Segway dangerous enough as it is with a steering pole and handle? Whatever your opinions are, we’ll leave you with this hilarious Segway fail compilation video to ponder its existence.
Note: An earlier version of this article said the “inventor” of Segways died. We have since corrected the mistake, and apologize for any confusion.
