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Politics : Formerly About Applied Materials -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: StanX Long who wrote (56843)	12/4/2001 3:03:15 AM
From: StanX Long	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 70976

Check out the picture of It. It does look cool with a single axle. news.bbc.co.uk Monday, 3 December, 2001, 12:06 GMT 'IT' is finally unveiled The scooter already has its first orders "IT" is here. IT generated a huge amount of hype and speculation in January this year when news of its existence first emerged. All the knowledge that went into knowing how to walk goes into this machine Dean Kamen, inventor The IT in question is the invention of US engineer Dean Kamen and was finally unveiled today on American TV. IT is a scooter. But not just any scooter. It might look like an old-fashioned lawn mower, but the one-person, two-wheeled, battery-powered scooter is packed with technology that reportedly makes it easy to ride and hard to fall off. Traffic jams The Segway Human Transporter has gyroscopes to keep it upright and a sensitive steering mechanism that starts the scooter moving when its rider leans forward. Kamen holds over 100 patents The machine has a top speed of 27 kilometres per hour (17 miles per hour), and one charge of its battery holds enough juice for a 27-km (17-mile) trip. Dean Kamen, the inventor of the Segway, expects it to be a huge hit in cities where traffic congestion clogs the roads. Details of the scooter were unveiled on ABC Television's Good Morning America breakfast show. On the show, inventor Kamen said using the Segway was like putting on a pair of "magic sneakers". Stirling speculation "All the knowledge that went into knowing how to walk goes into this machine," said Mr Kamen. "It kind of walks for you." Even before launch, the contraption has its first customers. The US Postal Service, General Electric and the US National Parks have reportedly agreed to buy many heavy-duty models for $8,000 (£5,609) each. But consumer versions costing $3000 (£2,100) will not be available for a year. m