Personal small urban vehicles continue to grow in popularity, providing mobile transportation in a modern metropolis. Inspired by the ideas of the “Jurassic Park” film, developers from Segway, the leading personal vehicle production company, have prepared a unique futuristic, self-propelled Segway S-Pod. It is intended for short and comfortable trips and will be demonstrated at CES 2020.
The design of Segway S-Pod is primarily reminiscent of a cozy home chair and weighs about 150 kg. Unlike traditional Segway devices, where maneuvering occurs due to the displacement of the user’s body, S-Pod’s control is carried out using a joystick. However, the principle of changing the direction of movement is maintained through the displacement of the center of gravity. A massive chair with the user has remarkable power and can achieve the speed of up to 40 km per hour, while the mileage range with a single battery charge reaches 70 km.
Since a conceptual solution was presented at CES 2020, S-Pod may still receive some functional changes. In particular, the issue of trips in rainy weather will be resolved, and at least minimal protection against rainfall in the form of a roof will be installed. Designers believe that the chair will become a popular means of transportation, when overcoming the so-called “last mile”: from metro stations to the office, from the garage to the house, from the bus stop to the shop.
The final version of S-Pod will be presented during this year, and the device will go on sale at an unannounced price as early as 2021.
