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Strategies & Market Trends : VOLTAIRE'S PORCH-MODERATED -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: BirdDog who wrote (44666)	12/4/2001 4:07:14 AM
From: Dealer	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 65232

Mysterious 'IT' Invention Motor Scooter, Says Time Updated: Mon, Dec 03 10:49 AM EST By Andy Sullivan WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The ultra-secret "IT" invention that has kept the high-tech world abuzz for nearly a year is a self-balancing, motorized scooter that costs less that 5 cents a day to operate, Time Magazine reported in its Monday edition. Inventor Dean Kamen believes the machine, code-named It but officially known as Segway, will eventually replace cars in crowded downtown areas by enabling users to zip around at virtually no cost and no harm to the environment. The two-wheeled device uses a complex array of gyroscopes and computers to mimic the human body's sense of balance, Time said. Users lean forward to move forward, lean back to reverse course and turn by twisting a handle. Falling over is impossible, the article said, and the Segway can handle ice, snow and stairs with ease. "The big idea is to put a human being into a system where the machine acts as an extension of your body," Kamen told Time. Over the course of his career, the 50-year-old inventor has developed several medical devices including the first portable insulin pump, a briefcase-sized dialysis machine and a wheelchair that can climb stairs. With a range of roughly 17 miles and a top speed of 17 miles per hour, Kamen and other officials at the privately held Segway Co. do not see the scooter as a practical replacement for the automobile on long-distance trips. Rather, they see the machine as a handy way to get around congested downtown areas where driving is inconvenient or impossible, or as a practical people mover in developing nations like China. A YEAR OF SPECULATION Company officials have met with city planners and federal safety regulators to ensure that Segways will be allowed to share sidewalks with pedestrians, Time said. The U.S. Postal Service plans to test the device for its letter carriers, and Amazon.com Inc. will run trials for use in its warehouses, the article said. The company expects to introduce a consumer model for $3,000 within a year, and has built a factory near its headquarters in Manchester, New Hampshire, that will be able to make 40,000 Segways per month, Time said. Time's article, along with a planned appearance by Kamen Monday morning on ABC's "Good Morning America," caps a year of frenzied speculation about what exactly "IT" could be. Spurred by an initial leak on media Web site Inside.com in January, and boosted by endorsements from a range of high-tech mavens including Apple Computer Inc. co-founder Steve Jobs and Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos, Web sites have buzzed with rumors about the device, also known as Ginger. The IT question (http://theITquestion.com) posts links to patent applications filed by Kamen, while Ginger-Chat (http://www.ginger-chat.com) featured a clock counting down the hours until Monday morning. Users on the sites theorize It could be a hydrogen-powered hovercraft, a toilet that produces no waste, or, more accurately, "George Jetson's car in a briefcase."