It's really amazing to see all of the new technologies and industries that were enabled by the invention and commodification of the lithium ion battery. Electric vehicles, drones, smartphones, all...
It's really amazing to see all of the new technologies and industries that were enabled by the invention and commodification of the lithium ion battery. Electric vehicles, drones, smartphones, all this stuff didn't really exist twenty years ago, not because the technology wasn't there, but because energy storage was prohibitively expensive when nickel cadmium was king. I can't wait to see what comes about when we move to even better chemistries, like lithium metal or sodium cells.
They predate ICE cars actually! But I think the reason they didn't become dominant is more to do with the limits of battery and materials tech back then. It took until the 1990's for cars to...
They predate ICE cars actually! But I think the reason they didn't become dominant is more to do with the limits of battery and materials tech back then. It took until the 1990's for cars to become lightweight and aerodynamic enough for lead acid cells to be able to achieve a range longer than a few tens of kilometers, and even then charge times were hellish. Modern electric cars can go hundreds of kilometers on a charge and recharge in half an hour, that's why they're getting popular again.
I don't. Devices change the way people interact with the world, but don't have much, if any, real impact on large-scale problems. If it simply changed the last few words to "it just might have",...
I don't. Devices change the way people interact with the world, but don't have much, if any, real impact on large-scale problems.
If it simply changed the last few words to "it just might have", It would work, but the way it is written makes you expect that they are doing something great in scale.
The title is terrible because it doesn't describe the article very well. Segway isn't changing the world in any way; they are just following current trends. The article wants Segway to be a hero, when really they are essentially a Chinese company who bought the name and patents so they could market their scooters more effectively.
The whole article came across as strangely conceited. Especially the quote put in the last aside. While the Segway PT was a fairly ingenious invention, it was simply not what people wanted. And there were plenty of reasons for it; It was too big and forced pedestrians off the sidewalks, it wasn't fast or safe enough to be used on streets, and it was small enough to be stolen if you didn't lock it up whenever you went inside. When those problems started to get fixed, the inverted pendulum scooter finally became popular again, albeit as a fad.
There may be a personal mobility "revolution" happening right now (though I honestly don't see it), but Segway is not the one leading the charge.
It's really amazing to see all of the new technologies and industries that were enabled by the invention and commodification of the lithium ion battery. Electric vehicles, drones, smartphones, all this stuff didn't really exist twenty years ago, not because the technology wasn't there, but because energy storage was prohibitively expensive when nickel cadmium was king. I can't wait to see what comes about when we move to even better chemistries, like lithium metal or sodium cells.
Electric vehicles have existed in the 20s and 30s, were even quite popular, before the war came and threw us all back decades and decades.
They predate ICE cars actually! But I think the reason they didn't become dominant is more to do with the limits of battery and materials tech back then. It took until the 1990's for cars to become lightweight and aerodynamic enough for lead acid cells to be able to achieve a range longer than a few tens of kilometers, and even then charge times were hellish. Modern electric cars can go hundreds of kilometers on a charge and recharge in half an hour, that's why they're getting popular again.
I feel like Segway was the Google Glass of transportation.
This title was terrible. I was reading through the whole thing expecting to hear of this revolutionary new Segway device they were announcing.
I don't. Devices change the way people interact with the world, but don't have much, if any, real impact on large-scale problems.
If it simply changed the last few words to "it just might have", It would work, but the way it is written makes you expect that they are doing something great in scale.
The title is terrible because it doesn't describe the article very well. Segway isn't changing the world in any way; they are just following current trends. The article wants Segway to be a hero, when really they are essentially a Chinese company who bought the name and patents so they could market their scooters more effectively.
The whole article came across as strangely conceited. Especially the quote put in the last aside. While the Segway PT was a fairly ingenious invention, it was simply not what people wanted. And there were plenty of reasons for it; It was too big and forced pedestrians off the sidewalks, it wasn't fast or safe enough to be used on streets, and it was small enough to be stolen if you didn't lock it up whenever you went inside. When those problems started to get fixed, the inverted pendulum scooter finally became popular again, albeit as a fad.
There may be a personal mobility "revolution" happening right now (though I honestly don't see it), but Segway is not the one leading the charge.