CES 2020: Segway-Ninebot shows swift single-seater
Segway is branching out with new ideas for urban mobility, taking a different approach from its traditional stand-up scooters. The design of its S-Pod has been inspired by the mobility spheres in the Jurassic World film
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At CES 2020, Segway-Ninebot launched a series of new eMopeds and eScooters as well as a self-balancing rolling chair called the S-Pod. Described by the company as a “smart transporting pod for enclosed campuses,” the S-Pod evokes images of vehicles from the animated film Wall-E or the rolling spheres in Jurassic World. Passengers are carried on a gyroscopically-balanced two-wheel carriage that has a single seat perched on top.
Unlike the stand-up Segway that moves according to weight distribution, the S-Pod has a joystick on the right side of the seat. The controls and Segway’s gyroscopic balancing technologies assure a level ride and nimble turns. Three smaller wheels are tucked underneath the chair, presumably for moving when the power is off or the vehicle is parked.
Segway claims the S-Pod has a top speed of 24mph (39kph), which makes it a hot rod in the micro-mobility world. Most e-mobility solutions in the US are limited to 15mph, and it seems difficult to justify this extra speed capacity – however fun it may seem.
The S-Pod will begin production in the latter part of the year and should be available to the public in the first quarter of 2021.
Segway-Ninebot also introduced eScooter models and several eMopeds, which enter an already crowded market in Asia, the US, and Europe. Still, the market for these mobility solutions seems more solid that the S-Pod, which, while interesting, seems destined for the same markets as the original Segway tourism companies, building security, and as an improved disabled access vehicle.
