My dad sent me this. I missed it the first time around… it looks like this first hit the news about a year ago. Honda has made a nifty little indoor Segway-like thingy. Here’s their corporate marketing piece for it. Cheesy but informative. Below is a test drive video from Engadget.
It looks like a good idea to me, but I can imagine that Honda is scared of making too much noise and pulling a Segway. The Segway was supposed to be the device that everyone would want, but instead it became the device that, having spent $5000 for the privilege, makes everyone look like a dork. Do a Google image search for Segway dork and you’ll see what I mean.
The obvious market for the UX-3, despite the lovely young models in the marketing video, is seniors. And Japan has a bumper crop, so I’m guessing this and products like it have bright future in elder care. And for some reason it’s not as dorky as a Segway. The sideways zooming is cool, but I think the main thing is that you don’t have to wear a helmet. The Segway makes you stand on a little platform and wear a helmet, and that combination just destroys your dignity. Segway polo is the sport of rich geeks. But indoor UX-3 polo would be excellent.
Rambles Blog at Star Chamber 