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When the Segway debuted a few years back it was hyped as a world-changing product. Everyone was going to want one of these things. Hype and reality have yet to meet, though. The company won't release sales figures, but based on a recall last year, probably about six or seven thousand of the transportation devices have been sold. So, it looks like the world changing has been delayed. Or maybe not. As The Health Show's Greg Dahlmann reports, the Segway has changed people's lives, just not the ones everyone expected.
(originally aired November 11, 2004)
7:00 | listen: RealAudio · mp3
Growing up... Kerry Wiley knew she was never going to be a great runner, or for that matter, get anywhere on her own very fast. Wiley has cerebal palsy... and the condition has made her legs so stiff she needs to use a pair of canes to get around. But whatever... as she points out... we all have issues. Still... she says it’s frustrating when you struggle to do things like go to the supermarket... or keep up with a bunch of friends at an outdoor concert. At least... it was frustrating. Because just about a year ago... Kerry Wiley’s world opened up a little bit.
{KW: given me freedom} :06
“It’s given me freedom I never thought I’d have... and it’s given me experiences I never thought I’d have.”
It – in this case – is the Segway... a two-wheel, stand-up, sort of scooter-like device. It wasn’t designed specifically for people with disabilities... but its use as an assistive device is growing. And in the process... users say the Segway is changing their lives. Kerry Wiley says she never expected how much of a difference it would make for her.
{KW: like not having a disability} :16
“The amazing thing this has done is made me understand what it’s like to not have a disability. I’ve actually had people question if there’s something wrong with me. And that’s one of the best problems I could ever dream of having.”
There aren’t any hard numbers on how many people with disabilities are using Segways. But judging from online discussions at sites such as Segway Chat... it’s a significant and growing part of the Segway user base.
Jerry Kerr is a co-founder of Disability Rights Advocates for Technology... or DRAFT... a group aimed at spreading the word about new technology that can help people with disabilities. Kerr was paralyzed from the neck down after a diving accident six years ago. He’s since regained some use of his arms and he’s able to stand... he just can’t walk. So when he first saw the Segway on TV more than a year ago, a light went on in his head. Kerr says the device has made it so much easier for him to get out and do things... and he’s heard the same story from hundreds of users with disabilities.
{JK: giving lives back} :31
“It is really giving them back their legs, so to speak. And so, the technology that’s in the Segway is giving people back their lives that they thought was gone forever. And that’s why it’s so popular because it’s something that they never imagined could happen. In fact, most people can’t even imagine what the Segway is or can do for them until they see it in person.”
The experience of riding a Segway really is a bit difficult to describe. The device sort of looks like one of those two-wheeled hand-trucks that are used to move boxes around stock rooms. You stand on the platform, hold onto the handles... and the Segway does the rest. All it takes to move the device forward or backward is a slight lean of your body. Side-to-side direction is controlled by a little lever on the handlebars. And all the while, the rechargeable electric motor gently whispers beneath you. It almost feels like floating.
The strangest thing about the Segway is its ability to self-balance. In fact, almost anyone with some use of their legs can stand on a Segway... and that’s a big deal for people with disabilities. In a wheelchair, you’re constantly looking up at the world... but on a Segway, you’re eye-to-eye with everyone else... if not a little bit taller. The balancing act is a little unnerving at first... but not so much – as Kerry Wiley says – if you’ve struggled with balance your whole life.
{KW: prove family wrong} :20
“My family went with me to tryout the device. My father and brother had more difficulty than I did using the device because they have a natural sense of balance and I had immediately needed to be reliant on the machine. And so, I was riding within 15-20 minutes after I got on.”
(nat)
With success stories like Kerry Wiley’s... you’d think Segway would be trumpeting the use of the devices in this way, right? Well, it turns out the company’s not so enthusiastic about it, at least publicly. You won’t find any mention about it on the company’s website. And a spokeswoman for Segway told The Health Show that people with disabilities are a quote - “unsought market”... but wouldn’t elaborate.
Among users with disabilities... there are theories about why the company takes this stance. First off, before the company can market Segways as assistive devices... it has to get the machines approved by the FDA. That’s a long, sometimes costly process... and the company says it has no plans to do so. But there’s also suspicion in the user community that Segway doesn’t want consumers to associate the devices with users who have disabilities... essentially, that the company is afraid if that happens, it won’t be able to market the Segway to a wider audience.
{EVH: if Segway’s bright} :10
“It’s a platform, it’s ripe for modification, and if Segway’s bright, they will sort of observe what’s happening and help it.”
Eric von Hippel is head of the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Group at M-I-T’s Sloan School of Management... he studies where innovations come from and how users get involved in the process. Von Hippel says by ignoring the way the disabilities community is using its device... Segway – like many companies before it – could be missing out on valuable opportunities.
{EVH: users are customers} :17
“The nice thing is that users can proceed on their own. So, in a way, companies might prefer to keep their message unmuddied, but users will proceed and manufacturers will have to deal with it. After all, users are customers.”
(nat)
The Segway isn’t a perfect device for people with disabilities. Its 70-pounds are bit hard to maneuver when the machine is turned off. You need to have at least a little balance to step on and off it. And while the Segway will cruise over all sorts of surfaces... grass, dirt, gravel, even up steep hills... you can’t take it through snow. Then there’s the cost... about five-thousand dollars... a price many people with disabilities can’t afford... especially since it’s most likely not covered by insurance.
DRAFT’s Jerry Kerr says they’re trying help people find ways to deal with these issues. He also says DRAFT is working on knocking down barriers that keep people with disabilities from using Segways... whether it’s an inaccessible building... or a skeptical business owner. Kerr says they can usually resolve problems with just a phone call.
{JK: educating people} :12
“And once people understand the Segway, what it is and how it works, and the safety surround it, they’re encouraged about allowing it to be used around other people.”
On many city sidewalks... the Segway falls into a legal gray area... not banned, but not explicitly allowed either. That’s slowly changing. For example... San Francisco has a law banning the use of Segways on its sidewalks... but it also has an exemption for people using them as assistive devices.
(nat)
Shortly after Kerry Wiley got her Segway... she and her dad took it for a test on a five-mile walk around a park. And by the end... she was teasing her dad about catching-up.
{KW: 5 mile hike} :08
“I was slightly amused by that because for the first time in my life, I was waiting for him as compared to him waiting for me all the time.”
And that’s just one way the Segway has changed Kerry Wiley’s world. Maybe the hype was right.
For the Health Show.... I’m Greg Dahlmann.
a journalist
pieces from various public radio programs
Albany, NY
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it's complicated
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gdahlmann (at) hotmail dot com
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