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GM/Segway PUMA prototype - electric rickshaw?

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  • GM/Segway PUMA prototype - electric rickshaw?

    I kid you not....

    PUMA = Personal Urban Mobility and Accessibility, a 200 mpg urban vehicle for 2

    Link....



    GM, Segway team up on 200-mpg 2-seater

    General Motors (GM) is teaming with Segway, the scooter company, to develop a battery-powered vehicle to cut urban congestion and pollution.

    The companies plan to announce the partnership Tuesday in New York, where they are testing a prototype of the partially enclosed, two-seat, two-wheel scooter. The venture is called Project PUMA, for Personal Urban Mobility and Accessibility.

    The companies hope to recruit partners, such as cities or colleges, to set up Puma travel lanes, like bicycle lanes. They'd be used to test the vehicles and their on-board wireless communicators designed to keep them safely apart and even operate them while drivers do other tasks.

    The Pumas also could be operated manually. Not intended for highway use, they would hit about 35 miles per hour and go up to 35 miles on a charge.

    "There's no technology that has to be invented here. It's really just putting the pieces together," says Chris Borroni-Bird, director of the project for GM.

    Nonetheless it could take years to get to market. "It's not going on sale anytime" soon, he said.

    The partnership with Segway began about 18 months ago, predating GM's emergency survival loans from the government.

    GM is developing the electronic wireless systems for safe, autonomous operation. Segway is responsible for the self-balancing, electric, two-wheel chassis. The prototype has "training wheels" front and rear, helpful at stoplights. Pumas would use lithium-ion batteries, like those Segway uses in its stand-up scooters.

    Though being unveiled in New York, the Pumas might appeal most in densely packed cities in places such as India and China, Borroni-Bird says. There they would seem a big step up from bicycles. Americans, who are used to cars, might not take them as seriously.

    He forecasts energy consumption equivalent to 200 miles per gallon of gasoline. That falls to about 70 mpg adding in fuel to generate electricity used to charge its battery.
    Dr. Mordrid
    ----------------------------
    An elephant is a mouse built to government specifications.

    I carry a gun because I can't throw a rock 1,250 fps

  • #2
    I hope the end product is designed to bounce really well.

    Kevin

    Comment


    • #3
      IMO, it looks ridiculous...


      It's like those ultra portable PCs...

      1. One manufacturer comes with an ultra portable PC and has some success
      2. Other manufacturers follow suit
      3. The manufacturers keep adding features and hardware to compete
      4. Ultra portable pc is no longer ultra portable

      The original Segway was relatively small... Now this... So, how long before they build a car?
      pixar
      Dream as if you'll live forever. Live as if you'll die tomorrow. (James Dean)

      Comment


      • #4
        I think it makes sense. the segway is stupid - similar to a bike in range, no real advantage in terms of luggage or something, no environmental protection. this - 2 people + bags, or 1 person with luggage might actually be usable, and you are protected from rain.

        public "dispenser" stations (similar to that foldable public transport "car" thing presented a while ago) and voila...

        just don´t see it working in winter (snow & ice). would lose the ability to balance on slippery surfaces, right?

        mfg
        wulfman
        "Perhaps they communicate by changing colour? Like those sea creatures .."
        "Lobsters?"
        "Really? I didn't know they did that."
        "Oh yes, red means help!"

        Comment


        • #5
          They could have done that with golf carts... yet it no-one has...

          Granted, this looks better and is more compact, but I don't see people driving it on the same roads where cars are allowed. If you were to consider a car-free zone in a city, and the provide these, that would be a different ballgame.
          pixar
          Dream as if you'll live forever. Live as if you'll die tomorrow. (James Dean)

          Comment


          • #6
            Originally posted by VJ View Post
            It's like those ultra portable PCs...

            1. One manufacturer comes with an ultra portable PC and has some success
            2. Other manufacturers follow suit
            3. The manufacturers keep adding features and hardware to compete
            4. Ultra portable pc is no longer ultra portable
            Isn't that just silly as hell? They started out with what; 9 inch displays and no HDD's, and now they're up to 11 inches which is just short of the smallest regular laptops and 160 gig plus HDD's with a gig of ram.

            Doah....
            Dr. Mordrid
            ----------------------------
            An elephant is a mouse built to government specifications.

            I carry a gun because I can't throw a rock 1,250 fps

            Comment


            • #7
              well, the smallest laptops you quote did cost three or four times as much before netbooks came along.

              mfg
              wulfman
              "Perhaps they communicate by changing colour? Like those sea creatures .."
              "Lobsters?"
              "Really? I didn't know they did that."
              "Oh yes, red means help!"

              Comment

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