Published\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\tAug 8, 2026 8:00 AM EDT<\/p>\n
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When the two-wheeled, self-balancing Segway Personal Transporter (PT) was revealed to the public in December 2001, it was\u00a0 heralded as a once-in-a generation technology that just might replace the automobile. Fast-forward to today, a handful of embarrassing, high-profile crashes and even worse sales, means the vehicle that was supposed to revolutionize transportation is maybe best recognized as the goofy contraption propelling Kevin James forward in the film Paul Blart: Mall Cop.<\/p>\n
But 25 years on from the machine\u2019s first nationwide reveal, the underlying technology behind the segway is essential to the millions of shareable e-scooters winding their way through dozens of countries. And while the so-called \u201cmicromobility movement pushed forward by brands like Lime, Spin, and Veo isn\u2019t bursting with as much hype as it once had, these small shareable scooters have become an unshakable feature in urban transportation, and they are here to stay. As of last year, the U.S. Department of Transportation estimated there were over 199 e-scooter systems operating spanning 133 cities.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Segway, it turns out, might have the last laugh after all.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI think Dean Kamen [Segway\u2019s founder] got a lot of people thinking about the art of the possible with human-scale form factor,\u201d micromobility expert, former Biden Administration official, and Adapt\/Impact LLC founder Gabe Klein tells Popular Science. \u201cHe was both too ambitious and not ambitious enough: we didn\u2019t need to replace walking but we did need small donating electric vehicles. I think you could say that Vespa, Segway, Zipcar and the ebike all came together to give the formula for what we have today.\u201d<\/p>\n
Segway was the brainchild of Dean Kamen, a New Hampshire\u2013based inventor and entrepreneur. Kamen had previously patented numerous medical devices, including a portable, wearable insulin pump and a first-of-its-kind portable dialysis machine. His shift toward wheeled vehicles began\u00a0 in 1999, when his company DEKA Research & Development introduced the iBOT, a wheelchair-like device that used gyroscopic stabilizers to climb stairs. As author Steve Kemper writes in his 2005 book, Reinventing the Wheel, this underlying innovation in gyroscopic, self-balancing technology (pioneered with the iBOT) would provide the foundation for the Segway, and arguably for a whole family of scooters that followed it.<\/p>\n
The iconic looking original Segway had two wheels connected by a self-stabilizing platform, with separate motors in each wheel. It stood 45 inches tall from base to handlebars and weighed about 100 pounds. Later models were powered by lithium-ion battery packs, innovative at the time, that could fully charge in around 4-6 hours. It could attain a top speed of around 12 miles per hour and topped out at anywhere between 15 to 24 miles before it would need a recharge.<\/p>\n
What really made it stand out for the time though was its self-balancing tech. Taking a page from the iBOT, the PT used gyroscopic sensors and tilt sensors to continuously measure the device\u2019s relative pitch. That was critically important because the PT didn\u2019t have a pedal or a throttle. Instead, riders controlled acceleration and deceleration by shifting their weight forward and back, something that was unheard of at the time. The onboard sensors detected shifts in a rider\u2019s center of gravity and would power motors to catch up with it, keeping the entire thing balanced in the process. To steer, riders would tilt left or right on the handlebars, which weren\u2019t rigidly fixed to the rest of the device.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt does what a human does,\u201d Kamen explained during a December 3, 2001 Good Morning America appearance where he revealed the Segway. \u201cIt has gyros and sensors that act like your inner ear. It has a computer that does what your brain does for you. It\u2019s got motors that do what your muscles do for you.\u201d<\/p>\n
The device went on sale for $5,000, about as much as a used car at the time and\u00a0 about one sixth of the average American\u2019s annual income. And while the general public viewed the device with equal parts curiosity and bewilderment, tech leaders and analysts were hooked. Then-Apple CEO Steve Jobs believed the Segway PT would transform city landscapes and could rival the personal computer in cultural impact. John Doerr, a prominent venture capitalist whose firm had backed Netscape and Amazon, even predicted it would be bigger than the internet (sound familiar?). Kamen himself reportedly estimated the company would sell 10,000 Segway units per week, which works out to over 500,000 per year.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And yet, six years after its official release, Segway had reportedly attained just 1 percent of its sales target. In its entire lifetime, the Segway only ever sold 140,000 units.\u00a0<\/p>\n
From its inception, the original Segway had a kind of identity crisis. Klein, a lifelong cyclist and Vespa rider who served as the Executive Director of the U.S. Joint Office of Energy and Transportation under the Biden Administration and previously held a commissioner role in both Chicago and Washington D.C\u2019s\u00a0 Department of Transportation, and said he had a somewhat confused reaction when he first stepped onto a Segway.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It was unclear what use case the Segway really served. The self-balancing tech was genuinely impressive at the time he noted, but its bulk heavy design and lack of speed made it a cumbersome tank to lug around.\u00a0 More than that, though, it carried with it an undeniable dork factor.\u00a0<\/p>\n