Segway Tech Specs
When Dean Kamen unveiled the Segway Human Transporter (HT) on ABC's Good Morning America, he described the machine as "the world's first self-balancing human transporter." When you see a Segway in action, you get an idea of what he's talking about. A Segway HT only has 2 wheels yet it manages to stay upright by itself...
To move a Segway forward the rider just needs to lean slightly forward and the opposite to go backwards. To turn the Segway to the right, simply lean the handlebar to the right and the opposite for left. Riding a Segway really could'nt be easier!
How A Segway Balances:
The ability to balance on its own is the most amazing thing about the Segway HT, and it is the key to its operation.
If you stand up and lean forward, so that you are out of balance, you probably won't fall on your face. Your brain knows you are out of balance, because fluid in your inner ear shifts, so it triggers you to put your leg forward and stop the fall. If you keep leaning forward, your brain will keep putting your legs forward to keep you upright. Instead of falling, you walk forward, one step at a time.
The Segway HT does pretty much the same thing, except it has wheels instead of legs, a motor instead of muscles, a collection of microprocessors instead of a brain and a set of sophisticated tilt sensors instead of an inner-ear balancing system. Like your brain, the Segway HT knows when you are leaning forward. To maintain balance, it turns the wheels at just the right speed, so you move forward. Segway calls this behavior dynamic stabilization and has patented the unique process that allows the Segway HT to balance on just two wheels.
