Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Toyota tests Segway-like stand-up-and-ride machine


A model demonstrates Japanese automaker Toyota Motor Corp.s new motorized ride Winglet during a press conference in Tokyo Friday Aug. 1 2008. Toyota will start testing the stand-up-and-ride contraption that travels at up to 6 kph (3.7 mph) later this ...

Well, here's an alternative to the Sedgeway mobility vehicle being shown off by Toyota (shame there are no plans for commercial release!):

Toyota will start testing the stand-up-and-ride contraption, that travels at up to 6 kph (3.7 mph), later this year at a Japanese airport and resort complex and next year at a shopping mall to get feedback from people...

...But the "Winglet," shown Friday in Tokyo, takes some getting used to. A demonstrator was visibly worried about its safety while accompanying a reporter who cautiously tried it on a short course in a Toyota showroom...


...Still, Toyota Motor Corp. has no plans yet to turn the Winglet into a commercial product. The Japanese automaker will start testing the two-wheeler this year at an airport and resort complex and next year at a shopping mall, all in Japan, to get user feedback. Overseas test plans are undecided.


Read original article - 'Toyota tests Segway-like stand-up-and-ride machine'

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