- Hey everybody, this is Sean from The Verge
and I'm about to ride Segway's newest
two wheeled vehicle the S-pod.
When it starts going.
(upbeat music)
So this is Segway's newest two wheeled
self balancing vehicle.
It's called the S-pod.
You can see I'm obviously in a seated position
so I don't have to stand up like people
normally do on a Segway.
And the idea here is that you can do
all the same things that you would normally do in a Segway.
Maybe tour a city, get around campus,
but you can do it from this nice relaxed position
where you're able to see all the lovely people
who are watching you look like a technological fool.
Now one of the wildest things about the Segway S-pod
is that it's controlled by this little joystick
on the side of the thing.
So I'm in full control of this movement here.
And it can get up to 24 miles an hour which is insane.
Right now it's capped at 7 1/2 miles an hour
which on this little track is definitely plenty.
We don't know when this thing will be on sale.
Segway says there thinking about selling it
to consumers but they want to start with sort of
fleets and campuses and things like that first.
Watch out Phil (laughs).
But you can expect that if and when
they do sell it to people it's gonna cost a pretty penny.
So you're more likely to see this show up
in maybe a city tour or maybe on a corporate campus
or something like that.
It's pretty rock solid.
Like I'm having a little bit of trouble
getting used to the joy stick speed
but otherwise this thing does not feel like
it's gonna tip over.
You know some people have looked at this thing
since got announced a couple weeks ago
and wondered why is it two wheels,
why isn't it three or four.
If you have three wheels on this short of a wheelbase
and you were trying to make turns like I'm making now,
you'd be on the floor already.
I will say it's kind of comfortable.
There's like a suede padding on the seat.
It's not very cushy but for an early prototype of this thing
it's pretty well put together.
There's a little light bar next to me
that tells me how much battery is left.
There are lights on the back of the thing
that will tell people which way I'm turning
which right now is just sort of right and right again.
There's a little button for horn
which doesn't seem to work right now.
And there's a tablet in the other side
that pops out which you can use to remotely control
the S-pod as well.
Now you might look at this and think that it's something
for people who have trouble moving around.
And it very well could serve that purpose.
It's stable enough that I feel like someone
who has mobility challenges might be able to use it.
But we know Segway and we know what Segways are used for.
They wind up being the thing you use
when you go to Washington DC and wanna tour the city
or move around a mall if you're mall cop.
And so I would expect that's where we're gonna
see these things first.
Segway says it's going to ultimately
try and sell the S-pod to consumers.
Who knows how much that'll cost.
But what I can tell you is this.
It may look a little weird but what Segway doesn't.
And it's definitely fun to drive.
(laughs)
Woo!
I'll get it right this time.
Whoa, all right (laughs).
So this, (laughs) whoa.
I'm coming for you (laughs).
- [Man] Love it!
- Stopping power leaves little to be desired.