Recall of Segway Announced by CPSC 569
mshiltonj writes "The Consumer Product Safety Commission has announced a voluntary recall of the Segway human transporter. The hazard is that under certain operating conditions, particularly when the batteries are near the end of charge, some Segway HTs may not deliver enough power, allowing the rider to fall. This can happen if the rider speeds up abruptly, encounters an obstacle, or continues to ride after receiving a low-battery alert."
Let'em walk! (Score:2, Interesting)
Why didn't this come up before now? Because ravenous marketing monsters couldn't wait to start selling "THE NEXT BIG THING".
Even if they were reasonably priced, I can't see what they're really good for anyway. They're too fast for sidewalks, too slow for streets and let the world know you've got more money than sense!
Training wheels? (Score:2, Interesting)
You know, that started as a joke in my head, but you do have to wonder why they didn't put a small third wheel on there somewhere always touching the ground but on a hing so that it would only actually bear weight if the thing tipped too far.
Then again, I suppose the market droids couldn't have pushed it so hard as the next big thing if it didn't just have two wheels... Hard to look like an adult when you're basically whizzing around on a tricycle.
Software upgrades fix many problems (Score:5, Interesting)
Software upgrades are the cheapest fix for any system problem. This is why they are almost always required by devices. We (companies, not specifically Segway) can ship products early with solid hardware and must less solid software because the cost of fixing problems in software are so minimal.
This software fix probably just shuts down the scooter earlier before the battery runs all the way out. A few cars do the same with gas so that people are driving at 70mph don't loose power breaks and stearing when the engine starts studdering.
Hardware fixes can often cost more then direct replacement of the product. A simple printer circuit board rework could cost $50 each to just disassemble a product, cut a trace and reassemble it. That doesn't include the cost to ship the product back to the manufacture or to a rework house somewhere in the US.
Flash is cheap and almost all companies use it to fix sw problems in the field and work around hardware problems.
Re:Society gets dumber by the minute (Score:3, Interesting)
Honestly, the first time I saw Segway I thought, "What happens when you're chugging up a hill and the batteries give out?" It's inherently unstable, unlike a bicycle there is no gyroscopic force to aid the rider in maintaining balance.
The software upgrade probably just gives the Segway less optimism about its battery life, providing a more aggressive alert when the battery reaches a certain level.
Re:Their own dumbass fault (Score:1, Interesting)
Re:That explains the Shrub... (Score:3, Interesting)
"One way or the other, we are determined to deny Iraq the capacity to develop weapons of mass destruction and the missiles to deliver them. That is our bottom line."
President Clinton, Feb. 4, 1998
"If Saddam rejects peace and we have to use force, our purpose is clear. We want to seriously diminish the threat posed by Iraq's weapons of mass destruction program."
President Clinton, Feb. 17, 1998.
"Iraq is a long way from [here], but what happens there matters a great deal here. For the risks that the leaders of a rogue state will use nuclear, chemical or biological weapons against us or our allies is the greatest security threat we face."
Madeline Albright, Feb 18, 1998.
"He will use those weapons of mass destruction again, as he has ten times since 1983."
Sandy Berger, Clinton National Security Adviser, Feb, 18,1998.
"[W]e urge you, after consulting with Congress, and consistent with the U.S. Constitution and laws, to take necessary actions (including, if appropriate, air and missile strikes on suspect Iraqi sites) to respond effectively to the threat posed by Iraq's refusal to end its weapons of mass destruction programs."
Letter to President Clinton, signed by Sens. Carl Levin, Tom Daschle, John Kerry, and others Oct. 9, 1998
more quotes at http://www.jrwhipple.com/war/wmd.html#Hypocrats
A bicycle is NOT unstable when moving.. (Score:3, Interesting)
The segway, on the other hand, is ALWAYS unstable along the axis of motion, and the farther you get away from the stable point, the more force it takes to bring it back to being stable.
No wonder Amazon wouldn't give actual numbers... (Score:3, Interesting)
According to Wired [wired.com], Kamen had predicted he'd be "stamping out 10,000 machines a week" by the end of 2002.
Out of Brain Power? (Score:2, Interesting)
If this thing is supposed to revolutionize the way entire cities are built I guess that means they're going to have padded sidewalks!
Clearly this problem should have come up during the design and prortype phase? Shouldn't it have?
LOL!
Planning? Common Sense?? (Score:3, Interesting)
Falling off aside, if my battery/alternator is bad and it's a rainy night, it's my own fault if I get stranding in outer Bogonia. Same goes for fuel, brakes, and radiator.
This issue does point out a flaw with some very reasonable solutions (slow and stop upon low battery or even a third wheel stabilisation to allow the gyros to be turned off-drops/extends from the back).
Too much fodder for the basshers here.
"School Paste, it's what's for dinner!"
Re:If you mock the President, ... (Score:2, Interesting)
Getting elected to the presidency does not give him immunity to questions, criticisms, or even mockery from his constituents.
But what does he win if he gets appointed to the presidency instead?
What? (Score:3, Interesting)
That's like saying they should recall cars because you could run out of gas on the highway and die, even though they have a handy gas gauge and some put on a little light to tell you when you're pretty much empty. I don't think they should recall something because of user stupidity.
Now I'm not a Segway advocate by any means (I think they're ridiculous), but this is stupid.
Is recall fever spreading?
It's not so simple. (Score:1, Interesting)
Other articles on the recall indicate that gyroscopes are impacted first when power drops below optimum. The scooter pitches the rider over on their head. Again piss-poor design. Imagine if your motorcycle were designed to handle a low fuel situation by locking your anti-lock brakes while you're at highway speed.
Kamen has a deserved reputation for producing rough prototypes that he considers market ready, when in fact they are optimistically 25% of the way there (The folks I work with know this from bitter experience).
Very few companies would buy a Kamen design a second time, and woe unto the engineers sentenced to clean it up into a marketable product.
Quote by George Bush Sr. on the Gulf War: (Score:1, Interesting)
- President H.W. Bush from his memoir, "A World Transformed", commenting on why he did not try to overthrow Saddam Hussein at the end of the first Gulf War.
To bad Jr. didn't learn anything from his dad.
Re:That reminds me... (Score:3, Interesting)
She just didn't notice that because the computer is under her table.
That's why it's important to design fool-proof products. Not because all people are fools, but because all people make mistakes!