10th
Look Out, Segway. Motorized Bikes And More.
I actually think the Segway is a pretty cool toy — if it didn’t cost $5,000 to own. Also, I highly recommend taking a Segway tour in Washington, DC. But if you do, make sure you make a reservation well in advance because there are only 2 really good Segway tour companies in DC (and a lot of resellers and knock-off tours that aren’t so great).
Segways are two-wheeled scooters, but I always wondered why there weren’t cheaper versions that just added a third wheel? Or why Segway opted to design a 2-wheeler that wasn’t more like a traditional scooter (more like a bike)…? I’ve seen some nifty bikes that automatically balance themselves before: such as the Ghostrider entry in the DARPA Grand Challenge in 2005. And now there are also some Japanese researchers who are working on a bike that can balance itself. But I assume the market for self-balancing vehicles just isn’t that sizable since people do a pretty good job of riding motorcycles already — and adding a third wheel is always an option.
Anyway, it looks like Dean Kamen is moving beyond Segways to developing hybrid electric vehicles now. Kamen’s new electric car adds a Stirling engine to help power the vehicle, but I guess it’s not clear why a Stirling engine is so much better — but it sure sounds cool.
