After 2 years of development, Segway is finally ready to rise from the ashes of disaster with their new Segway Advanced Personal Robot.
Known as Loomo, the Robot/vehicle is already shipping to developers, and soon there a consumer version will be ready to ship.
Loomo is a means of transportation, but once the rider steps off the Segway, it turns into a fully functional assistant, following behind its owner, taking pictures, providing surveillance, and carrying groceries.
Once lauded by Steve Jobs as being “as big a deal as the PC,” many hyped the hover wagon as a disruptor to the transportation industry — a second coming of the transition from horse and buggy to car, if you will.
But, as Jobs also predicted, too many people got hurt while riding the Segway early on, curbing people’s desire to purchase the overpriced machines.
After a few public mishaps, the Segway was banished to park-tour purgatory, forever boxed-in as a tourist cash grab.
Let’s review things with a little timeline:
With new “heavy lifting” capabilities and apparently enough “wit and personality” to give Wall-E a run for its money, Loomo might finally be just the added dash of pepper the Segway needs to get people hovering.
That said, it’s essentially a Segway with a robot on it, so, take that as you will.