Segway's ulta-cool Centaur concept ATV quad-bike

Gadgets
Share

Remember Segway? No? Tsk, how quickly people forget. Segway was a Human Transporter (i.e. posh scooter) that used gyroscopic technology that meant when you leaned forward, it sped up, and when you leaned back, it braked. It’s fair to say it didn’t take the world by storm quite as its creators intended. Even in California.

Anyway, that didn’t stop Segway from coming up with a new concept device, the Centaur, which appeared to be a swizzy ATV quad-bike type thing featuring dynamic stablization technology with advanced propulsion and suspension systems. What does this mean? You can pop awesome wheelies, dude. And even Ozzy Osbourne would have trouble falling off it. Probably.

You control Centaur via a thumb throttle on the right-hand handlebar, but we’re more excited about the way its dynamic stablization technology limits and maintains the angle at which Centaur travels on two wheels. Oh, and it’s got the same tech as the Segway HT, so when you’re wheelying, to go forward and back you simply lean in the appropriate direction.

It’s entirely battery-powered, so there’s no dodgy emissions – and better still it uses something called "regenerative braking", which means it recharges the batteries when you go decelerate or go downhill. Great (unless you’re going up a big mountain, of course).

The Centaur prototypes are capable of going at just over 20 mph, and it weighs around 150 pounds, meaning you can transport it on a bike rack on the back of your car. It all sounds ace, so when can we get one? Here’s the bad news: "At the present time, Segway Inc. has no plans to manufacture or sell this as a product."

The prototype actually a couple of years old, but there’s still no news on whether Segway have changed their minds. In the meantime, head to the official site to check out Centaur in action.

[via Digg.com]
Stuart Dredge
For latest tech stories go to TechDigest.tv