By Matt Kelly
Small Times Correspondent
Dec. 6, 2001 — The Segway scooter might be just the vehicle needed for the MEMS industry to roll into public awareness.
The eye-catching contraption from inventor Dean Kamen made its debut on Monday, after a year of wild speculation and no comment from its secretive
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| The Segway scooter uses five tiny gyroscopes housed in the floor chassis to measure a rider’s center of gravity about 100 times per second. The gyroscopes feed that information to the Segway’s central processors and tilt sensors so the machine can stay upright. |
Gyroscopes are sensors that measure angular velocity and accelerometers measure acceleration. Until now, MEMS gyros and accelerometers have largely been confined to use in military and aerospace products, and a handful of automotive systems. But the Segway boldly bets on widespread consumer use, and industry observers are eager to see whether MEMS technology might see a sudden burst of commercial applications.
According to company statements, the Segway uses five tiny gyroscopes housed in the floor chassis to measure a rider’s center of gravity about 100 times per second. The gyroscopes feed that information to the Segway’s central processors and tilt sensors so the machine can stay upright: When the rider leans forward, the scooter leans forward and accelerates; when the rider leans back, the Segway leans back and slows down.
Kamen calls the technology “dynamic stabilization.” While neither he nor other Segway officials were available for comment, industry observers say the system is an advance on Kamen’s IBOT Mobility System, a wheelchair device that lets users climb stairs or traverse rough terrain.
“They’ve done some really good work sensing things that are normally unstable,” said Bob Sulouff, an executive at Analog Devices, a Norwood, Mass.-based company that makes MEMS accelerometers.
MEMS gyros do have many potential applications, Sulouff continued, and the Segway “is certainly one of the more interesting ones.” Analog is also dabbling in products with MEMS gyros, but Sulouff described the work as “still in an early phase.”
MEMS gyroscopes are not new themselves. They have been used in military and automotive applications for several years. But the Segway brings the technology to a mainstream use that consumers can easily understand, and might pave the way for other innovations.
“They’ve been talked about for a long time, but like any product, it takes a while to find mass-market success,” said Marlene Bourne, a MEMS analyst with Cahners In-Stat Group.
Bourne said that regardless of the Segway’s success with consumers — and with its $3,000 price tag it could hit considerable hurdles there — it has demonstrated a new practical application for MEMS gyroscopes. That could lead to a renaissance of ideas for the technology, possibly cracking open new markets in the industrial and commercial worlds.
“That’s the interesting thing,” she said. “Sometimes it helps to shift a mindset.”
Whether consumers will adopt the Segway in large numbers remains to be seen. The machine has no covering to protect users from bad weather, and no storage space to haul groceries or packages. (The company does plan to introduce one.)
Some states already regulate the operation of scooters. The Segway will cost $3,000, and while it requires a “smart key” to start, it also weighs only 80 pounds — light enough for a thief to pick up and carry away.
“At the end of the day, I don’t think that’s where Segway will make its money,” Bourne said. She suspects the Segway will be more attractive for use in warehouses, postal facilities, army bases and other small-campus environments. It is already being tested by post offices in New Hampshire and Florida.
The gyroscopes and sensors are made by Silicon Sensing Systems in the United Kingdom, which will supply Segway as the company ramps up production in the next few years. Silicon Sensing also makes MEMS gyros for the military and aerospace industries.
Richard Windemer, a spokesman for Silicon Sensing, said that while the company’s gyros have been used in other transportation and military applications before, the Segway represents significant new steps beyond previous technology.
“A lot of the news has lost sight of that,” he said. “It’s a very significant advance here. What’s been done is not easy.”
Windemer declined to be more specific, and referred all other questions to Segway officials.
The Segway also has two circuit boards in the floor chassis that act as its brain. Delphi Automotive Systems, an industry leader in transportation electronics, supplies those parts and the user interface that rests on the handlebars.