Re: The joy of FORTRAN

On Thu, 13 Mar 2025 19:59:22 -0700, Don_from_AZ wrote:

I heard somewhere that Segway machines are no longer being made. Their
inventor, Dean Kamen, thought they would revolutionize people transport
in crowded urban areas, but that really didn't work out.

A few years before introducing the Segway, he used the same basic self-
balancing technology to create a motorized wheelchair called the “IBot”,
if I recall rightly. It could run on four wheels, but the bogey could
rotate so it balanced on just two, bringing the sitting occupant to
regular standing-human eye level. And that rotating bogey helped it to
climb stairs, as well.

Never heard what happened to that particular incarnation of the idea; then
the Segway came along. I think its main problem was its high price.

But then, it’s been about 20 years since the Segway was introduced, hasn’t
it? So the key patents should have expired by now. Which means we might be
able to see some cheaper competitors ... if someone thinks there’s a
market for them.