Deconstructing Product Design

Segway i2

DEKA Research and Development and Segway, 2006

1. Since its much-hyped introduction in 2001, the Segway has become an object of desire to the geek chic and an object of ridicule to just about everyone else. Critics assert that the product is more an homage to engineering than a practical solution to a real problem — a modern-day South Pointing Chariot. Proponents argue that change takes time, and that the economic and environmental forces at play in urban regions make a solution like the Segway inevitable. Dean Kamen comments: “Over 50 percent of the car trips in the United States are less than three miles. The average speed within city limits between any two points is less than 9 mph. Then why does everybody use his or her car to ...