Segway wheelchair video

[ArielRae]

Here is a video of a person using a segway wheelchair.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iv_SfonG4w4

 

[minie_meese]

I wonder if this would be considered a Segway or an electric wheelchair - I am guessing it would be considered a wheelchair.

As a bit of history, the inventor of the Segway (Dean Kamen) actually invented a wheelchair based on the same technology as he eventually used in the Segway. The wheelchair is called an iBOT http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JnqXquKHaEU&NR=1

The iBOT can climb stairs, go though rough terrain and allows the use to elevate up on 2 wheels so they can talk with a person face to face. One of the things that inspired Dean to develop the iBOT was seeing a person in a wheelchair struggle to get over a curb. When the iBOT operates on 2 wheels it looks a lot like a Segway but the person is sitting up a lot higher than the chair in Ariel Rae's post. I am sure the modified Segway wheel chair cost a lot less to build than the iBot ($26k) and you need a prescription to get an iBOT. I've never seen an iBOT in a Disney park either but I'd bet others have.

 

[Madi100]

Here is a video of a person using a segway wheelchair.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iv_SfonG4w4

What a great link. It is wonderful for those arguing against allowing the Segway into the Disney parks. Because Disney can't ask for proof of disability, anyone would be allowed to use one. Anyone would include the people in the clips that come up as being related to the clip of the wheelchair segway on youtube. They aren't all that easy to use, to begin with.

 

[Dale-Not-Chip]

Do a search on utube for segway crash. Not all of them are people being stupid. But it does show how they can get away from you. And in general whether at Disney or not they really need a Wheelchair they should reconsider a device that can be unstable. At least with a wheelchair you might hit something but you don't get thrown from the device.

 

[ArielRae]

I looked at a few of them. Wow some are pretty nasty.

 

[rayjess]

My kids would have a ball on that.

 

[UrsulasShadow]

Looks to me to be a significant difference between the adapted Segway and the iBot. The iBot is specifically designed to meet the needs of handicapped people looking for a greater range of motion and freedom from constraints of their disability. The Segway, being an adaptation from something designed for people with full ability to balance, doesn't meet those needs and will in many cases put a person in danger of falling and harming himself. Also, you will notice that the iBot isn't meant to go very fast (when operated on 2 wheels), but is meant to be agile and adaptive. The Segway is designed to go at a good clip of speed, and cannot navigate high curbs or stairs, so is in no way as useful to a person with limited mobility issues.

 

[SueM in MN]

Bumping this up because it came up to me looking like a current thread,
plus a lawsuit to be able to use Segways as mobility devices in the parks was just re-activated.

Looks to me to be a significant difference between the adapted Segway and the iBot. The iBot is specifically designed to meet the needs of handicapped people looking for a greater range of motion and freedom from constraints of their disability. The Segway, being an adaptation from something designed for people with full ability to balance, doesn't meet those needs and will in many cases put a person in danger of falling and harming himself.

Adding a seat to a Segway doesn't make it a wheelchair.

The iBot wheelchair has a lot of safety features and redundant systems so that if something goes wrong when it is balancing on 2 wheels, it won't fail and cause any problems. The company had to do a lot of testing to prove that even if one system failed, there were other systems to take over and safely stop the wheelchair and lower it to the ground. It will not tip over in any direction, even if the power stopped abruptly.

The Segway doesn't have the same kind/level of safety features.

That Segway wheelchair is a regular Segway that had some modifications, including adding a seat. Adding the seat bypasses some of the safety features of the Segway. The mat on the 'floor' of the Segway has 4 sensors that detect that the rider has both feet planted on the mat. That is important in keeping the Segway from moving forward out of control. The seat that was added to the Segway 'fools' the sensors in the mat into thinking someone is standing securely on the mat. Without 'fooling' the sensors, the Segway with a seat would not go.

Here are some things from the Segway site. These are from the "Getting Started" manual
Always wear a helmet when riding. Use an approved bicycle or
skateboard helmet that fits properly with the chin strap in place, and provides protection for the back of your head.

The SegwayPT has four sensors located beneath the Mats. Rider Detect Sensors detect the presence or absence of a rider while the
SegwayPT is powered on. When your feet are properly positioned on the Mats, all four Rider Detect sensors depress, allowing the SegwayPT to operate normally in Balance Mode.
If fewer than three Rider Detect sensors are depressed while riding, the Segway PT reduces the top speed limit regardless of whether
Beginner Setting is enabled or not. Once your feet are properly positioned again, the SegwayPT regains full performance.

Never place anything on the Mats, except your feet. Doing so
could interfere with the Rider Detection system and allow the SegwayPT to travel on its own, risking running into a person or property, and causing injury or damage.

You are responsible for maintaining side-to-side balance by leaning into turns. If you fail to actively maintain this side-to-side balance, the
SegwayPT can tip sideways and fall.

When a Safety Shutdown occurs, the SegwayPT automatically reduces its speed, gives the Stick Shake Warning (shakes the Handlebar and makes growling noises), flashes the Balance Indicator lights, emits a warning tone, and the InfoKey Controller displays an unhappy face.
You have approximately 10 seconds from the start of a Safety Shutdown to come to a controlled stop and step off. After 10 seconds,
the SegwayPT will immediately shut down when the Wheels reach zero speed.

Avoid slippery surfaces, loose materials, steep slopes, and obstacles. If you cannot avoid a slippery surface, loose material, steep slope, or obstacle, then you must step off and use Riderless Balance Mode to move across it.

The SegwayPT has not been designed, tested or approved as a medical device. You must be able to step on and off the SegwayPT unassisted, which requires physical abilities similar to ascending and descending stairs without assistance, and without holding the handrail.

Do not place any objects on the Mats. This could cause the SegwayPT to move on its own when in Balance Mode.

The Safety Video with a link on the same Segway page is also pretty interesting. It has a lot of little animations of people falling off their Segways, either going forward off it or falling off backwards if the wheels move faster or slower than the person's body is moving.