One of the most unfortunate technologies ever, was the Segway.
The Segway was unveiled in December 2001 with a lot of anticipation and excitement. It promised to revolutionize personal transportation with its unique self-balancing technology. It was designed to be a two-wheeled, battery-powered personal transporter that could be controlled by simply leaning forward or backward. It was intended to be a greener and more efficient alternative to cars for short-distance urban commuting.
Before its official launch, the Segway generated enormous buzz and speculation. Media outlets and tech enthusiasts predicted that it could transform the way people traveled in cities, reduce traffic congestion, and have a significant impact on urban planning.
Many believed it could be as transformative as the invention of the automobile. Personally, I don’t think that was an exageration.
I think the Segway was a great technology, was well ahead of its time, and delivered on all its promises. I believe it could have made a positive global impact.
Sadly, this was not to be. The Segway was a commercial flop, and was completely discontinued by 2020. There were a couple of major factors that led to the failure of the Segway.
The first was the high cost: The Segway was priced at around $5,000 to $7,000, which made it unaffordable for the average consumer. This inevitably limited its market appeal, and led to it being seen as a novelty or a toy for the rich rather than a practical mode of transportation
The second factor was technology-related: the Segway had a very limited
range per charge, making it less suitable for longer commutes.
Some people state that another major contributing factor was competition
from electric motorbike and scooters.
Did the Segway have to fail? I am not convinced. I believe that it could have been a success, but not enough was put into exploring the problems and finding innovative ways to fix it.
The Segway was not unique in the fact that it had initial issues; in that sense, it joins the ranks of some of the greatest inventions. Some of those were already mentioned in this book, like the light bulb and the MRI scanner from GE Healthcare.
In fact, some of the biggest companies in the world, like Airbnb, Apple, FedEx and Evernote, all faced major challenges that almost led to them going out of business.
They all had initial problems, and they all experienced hurdles along the way. But the difference was that there was somebody behind the scenes who applied the 6 Power skills to solve those problems and turn them into golden opportunities.
Sadly, the Segway did not.