Friday, April 23, 2010

The Segway Glides Into Living Greener

By Sherry Swensk, LasVegasNOW.com, April 23, 2010

Many green-living commuters are choosing bikes and electric scooters over gas-guzzling, smog-puking cars these days. But there is another personal mode of transportation that is growing in popularity, especially in recreational areas and the security professions. It’s the Segway. Remember Paul Blart, Mall Cop? He rode one and handled it well, as I recall.

Dick Burke of Segway, Orange County says these funky upright two-wheelers are about as green as you can get, next to people-powered vehicles. They are lithium-ion battery-powered and run up to 25 miles on one charge, at up to 12.5 mph. They operate simply by shifting your weight and perform best on smooth surfaces, like streets and sidewalks (or mall floors). Police officers use them. Tour guides take tourists out sightseeing on them. And even golfers ride them on the course! They do make an off-road model, too for those rugged adventurous Segwayers.

They’re fun, they’re clean green, but they’re not cheap. The price tag runs into the thousands; it’s a serious green investment. If you’d like to check them out and take a test ride, Segway - Orange County will be at the Living Green Expo this weekend, April 24 & 25 at the South Point Hotel-Casino. Come on down and take a whirl. You may get hooked on the first spin!

Thursday, April 22, 2010

Dustbot Comes When You Call It, to Pick Up Your Garbage and Take It Away

By Denise Ngo, Popular Science, April 22, 2010



Recycling is often too bothersome of a task for the average person. Enter Dustbot, an adorable Segway-powered robot that travels from home to home hauling out people's garbage on request. When notified by mobile phone, Dustbot uses GPS and motion sensors to locate the caller's address. Upon Dustbot's arrival, the caller selects the type of garbage he wants to give the robot. Dustbot then carries the trash or recycling to the appropriate location.

Researchers at the Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna CRIM Lab in Pisa, Italy, developed Dustbot as a solution to the inconvenience of garbage trucks that arrive only at fixed times and places. Dustbot not only runs at all hours, whenever your garbage is ready to be picked up, but it can navigate the narrow alleyways prevalent in urban environments. Click on the video above to see the Dustbot and its cohorts-in-cleaning, DustCart and DustClean, in action.

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Leaning toward eco-friendly transportation

By Mary Malahy, Racquet, April 22, 2010

Segways seemed to have taken over Badger Street on April 13 and 14, when Segway of Wisconsin gave students the chance to test drive their eco-friendly mode of transportation on campus.

Dr. Gail Gillis brought Segway of Wisconsin to campus as a treat for her Production and Operations Management class.

“This is just for them to have fun,” Gillis said. “It’s all about the students today.”

As the students zipped down the street in front of Wimberly it was evident that Gillis accomplished her goal for the day.

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Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Training Snipers Using Segways

By Adam Frucci, Gizmodo, April 8, 2010



How do you make sniper target practice more helpful and more fun? By shooting at Segway robots, of course.

For the Australian Defense Force's snipers, they enlisted the help of Marathon Robotics to set up a course populated by Segways with dummies on board. The Segways are programmed to wander around a small village aimlessly, and when a sniper picks one of them off, they all scatter automatically.

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Wednesday, April 14, 2010

A Segway built for two

By DENIS PAISTE, UnionLeader.com, March 24, 2010



BEDFORD – Segway joined General Motors on the stage in Shanghai today to unveil a two-passenger, Segway-powered vehicle that can drive itself, turn on a dime and communicate with others like it to avoid collisions.

Bedford-based Segway, along with partners GM and Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp. (SAIC), made the announcement this morning in preparation for the six-month-long Shanghai Expo, where the partners will be demonstrating the Segway-based EN-V electric vehicles 30 times a day.

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Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Biltmore's 25th Annual Festival of Flowers Will Offer Segway Tours

PRNewswire, March 10, 2010

Celebratory anniversary events across the estate to include music, activities and a new garden audio tour

April 3 - May 16, 2010

ASHEVILLE, N.C. - Gorgeous blooms are in full glory as thousands of tulips welcome springtime during Biltmore's 25th annual Festival of Flowers, April 3 – May 16, 2010. The estate-wide event celebrates the beauty of George Vanderbilt's 8,000-acre property and its original design by Frederick Law Olmsted, father of American landscape architecture. Biltmore's gardens, Olmsted's final and most grand project, are in their 120th year, and are becoming more beautiful as time passes. For the first time, a cell phone audio tour of the gardens offering historical facts as well as more detailed information about plant varieties will also be available.

The 25th anniversary celebration of Festival of Flowers coincides with the grand opening of Antler Hill Village. This pedestrian-friendly venue will be open to guests as part of daily admission to Biltmore and expands current offerings to include a new exhibition space, village green with live entertainment, dining, shopping and a new outdoor adventure center. Biltmore Winery, located in the village area, will also be celebrating its 25th anniversary and will be offering a newly-designed tour and tasting room. Antler Hill Village will be open to guests during Festival of Flowers and a grand opening celebration is planned for May 20 – 23, 2010.

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Monday, December 21, 2009

Video: Park & Rec. Using Charlotte Energy Solutions' Segways at Latta Plantation



For more information about Mecklenburg County Parks & Recreation's Segway Adventures click here.

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