NEW YORK, Dec. 3 (UPI) -- NEW YORK, Dec. 3 (UPI) -- After a year of wild hype and speculation in the technology world, the mystery invention formerly known only as "Ginger" or "It" was finally unveiled on national television on Monday. The two-wheeled, self-balancing, energy-efficient scooter-like vehicle -- now renamed the Segway HT -- can instinctively read body intent to propel riders at about 12 mph as if by thought alone.
The device -- which has no brakes, no engine, no steering wheel and runs on pennies worth of electricity for a full-day's ride -- is the brainchild of inventor-entrepeneur Dean Kamen, the innovator behind gizmos ranging from the first drug-infusion pump to a wheelchair that climbs stairs.
""Ultimately, the Segway HT can make urban environments more livable by providing a solution to short-distance travel," Kamen said. "If the Segway HT is widely adopted, it could help solve major urban problems, such as pollution, congestion and livability."
Rumors began to run rampant about Ginger in January when news leaked about a $250,000 book proposal offered to Kamen from Harvard Business School press to chronicle the making of Ginger. The hoopla was fueled by a wave of hyperbolic praise from technology giants who were allowed to see "It." "It's bigger than the Internet," said Internet pioneer Bob Metcalf, while Apple founder and CEO Steve Jobs commented people would build cities around it.
After the initial outburst of interest, Kamen quickly cautioned in a statement on the Website of his New Hampshire-based company Deka Research & Development that "we have a promising project, but nothing of the earth-shattering nature that people are conjuring up." That, however, didn't stop the wave of theorizing about everything from a revolutionary hydrogen-powered car to an anti-gravity machine.
The reality as unveiled on ABC's "Good Morning America," while less fantastic, is no less impressive. Every Segway operates on three PCs' worth of computing power, five aviation-grade gyroscopes, two emission-free electric motors and a host of tilt sensors. The chassis is tested to withstand seven tons of force and the flat-resistant, high-traction tubeless tires are non-marking -- meaning that you could drive the device indoors -- and low-pressure, for a ride that envelops any cracks and bumps on driving surfaces for greater comfort.
The gyros and tilt sensors in the Segway monitor a user's center of gravity about 100 times a second. When a person leans slightly forward, the Segway HT moves forward. When leaning back, the Segway HT moves back.
The end result? A vehicle that senses instinctive shifts in balance to propel a person by what seems to be mental command and maintains balance so stably a rider will not fall even if shoved. It can carry a rider for a full day and is easily rechargeable by plugging into any outlet. And it is quiet -- designed to emit only a barely audible hum.
"It's magic. It sounds crazy, and I think when you see it, you don't really get the full impact of it, but it's really magic," said Lynn Mann, spokesperson for Michelin North America. "It's very intuitive. You lean forward, and you're going forward, and then by pulling yourself up to a full stature you come to a stop, and when you think of going forward faster, you're going faster. It takes you about 30 seconds to really kind of trust it, to know that it's going to balance right. And as soon as you trust, it, it's extremely stable."
Michelin North America is testing a number of the devices next week at their headquarters in Greenville, S.C. for possible employee use, to help maximize worker efficiency. The vehicle, however, is not expected to come cheaply or soon. The Segway was developed over a decade for more than $100 million, and consumer models should cost around $3,000. Also, though the gizmo's announcement comes right in time for the holidays -- with limited quantities going out over the next few weeks -- it should only become widely available by the end of next year.
"With over 80 percent of the world's population soon to be living in urban areas, we believe that the Segway HT can, over time, play a vital role in these areas," Kamen said. "In the past, every major advance in powered transportation technology has involved ways of going long distances faster from the horse and buggy to the car to the airplane. The Segway HT, on the other hand, addresses the problem of moving people and products relatively short distances more efficientlyÉ a few miles rather than from town to town, using very little energy in the process."
An $8,000 industrial-strength model is also in the works. Interested customers reportedly include the United States Postal Service, Federal Express, the National Parks Service, the Boston police department and the Department of Defense.
