Division of Finance and Administration
Meet the Segway Human Transporter - Week of May 15
Sgt Mike Fontaine and Officer Sean Lauderdale demonstrate the Segway features to Vice President Jim Black
What looks like an old fashioned push lawn mower with big rubber wheels? It’s the newest transportation device on the Valdosta State University campus! Its name is the Segway Human Transporter (HT) developed by the Segway Corporation located in Bedford New Hampshire.
Sgt Mike Fontaine is a Segway patrol officer. He says the response to the transporter has been very positive. People are not reluctant to stop and chat with a patrol officer riding a Segway. University Police Director Scott Doner is pleased with the increased visibility the campus police have obtained by taking their patrols directly onto the pedestrian areas of the campus.
The transporter was developed by Dean Kamen, a self taught physicist. The machine is a self-balancing, electric-powered personal transportation device designed to maneuver like a pedestrian. A Segway weighs about 95 pounds, can travel up to 15 mph and pull as much as 4,000 pounds. It's about 4 1/2 feet tall with a platform between two 12-inch tires. The Segway HT is powered by two battery packs. It can plug into any outlet to charge which takes about three or four hours. One charge will go for about 22 miles. An extremely efficient machine, the Segway has a zero based emission with a rating equivalent of 450 miles per gallon!
Sgt Fontaine comments the Segway is hard to tip over because each machine is balanced with gyroscopes. Once a person stands on the platform leaning slightly forward will signal the machine to roll forward. Leaning back will enable the machine to stop. Keep leaning back and it will move completely backwards. The Segway's speed changes depending on how far the rider tilts forward or backward. When a rider stands upright, the Segway will stand almost perfectly still. The slightest movements back and forth are enough to keep it in one place. The boomerang twist grip handlebars control which direction the Segway rolls. With gasoline prices rising, the university may see more of these ingenious human transporters.