Green Options » segway

Honda’s New Electric Car Includes a Robotic Unicycle

Jerry James Stone — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 14:29:55 +0000

At the upcoming Tokyo Motor Show, Honda will be unveiling a new electric car concept called the EV-N that comes with a segway-esque mobility unicycle device called the UX-3 — so you never have to walk again…ever!

Honda will showcase the model at its green-themed display called the HELLO! Zone which is devoted to electric cars.

The EV-N, which kinda looks like a Japanimation version of a Mini Cooper, shouldn’t be shrugged off as just some copycat car. Aside from the oddly-cool, and strangely intriguing, robotic unicycle, the EV-N also has swappable seat fabrics, a solar roof and some color-adjustable “communications system.”

Hybrid Electric Scooter Runs On Anything That Burns

Jerry James Stone — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 15:08:36 +0000

Segway inventor Dean Kamen is developing a hybrid electric scooter that can run on almost anything that burns.

According to the patent, the bike has a small two-piston Stirling engine right under the seat. Though with an engine of that size, it really isn’t going to provide much juice - not much more than 5bhp.

A Stirling engine is based on tech which predates internal combustion engines by almost 100 years. It’s kinda like a steam engine in the sense that it uses external combustion. They use pistons for the crankshaft, but unlike the alternatives they have no valves for no gas ever enters or leaves the cylinders.

SUNfiltered: Project P.U.M.A. — a Greener Solution for Urban Mobility?

Jeff McIntire-Strasburg — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 18:30:25 +0000

With two seats, two wheels, and a maximum range of 25-35 miles (at 25-35 mph), the P.U.M.A. (which stands for Personal Urban Mobility & Accessibility) won’t work for your next road trip. But this new concept vehicle, a joint project of GM and Segway, may be just the ticket for the driving most of us do on a daily basis.

The vehicle was introduced to the media on Tuesday at the New York Auto Show, and Segway CEO Jim Norrod described the P.U.M.A. as “…a dramatically different approach to urban mobility”:

Read the rest on the Sundance Channel’s SUNfiltered blog.

Segway Not Welcome at Eco-Development… Even if You Have a Disability

Jeff McIntire-Strasburg — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 16:01:22 +0000

A Segway may seem a little tame for a professional slalom skateboarder, but for 2003 Slalom-Cross world champion Richard de Losada, his Segway has become the transportation mode of choice for short errands and trips to the beach (as well as playing Segway polo).

A resident of eco-community and tourist destination the Sea Ranch in Northern California, de Losada certainly thought his Segway was the perfect choice for the green lifestyle promoted by the community.

He found out differently on Feb 24, 2007, when the Sea Ranch Association gave him a ticket for a covenants, conditions, and restrictions (CC&R) violation for riding his Segway.

Richard, who had moved his family of five kids to the community for the “good clean environment,” limited his Segway use, even though the community’s CC&R didn’t specifically mention such vehicles. He didn’t ride it around the community, but continued to use the Segway for other trips. “I could ride 4-5 miles on 10-20 cents of energy,” said Losada, “so it seemed like a no-brainer. But I observed the rules at the Sea Ranch.”