New Vehicle categories

While autonomous vehicles takes the limelight, there is more much more to the story of transportation. The somewhat derided Segway was not so much the birth and death of a bad idea but the very tip of the beginning of a new class of mobility.

First I will point out that Segways are very useful for people with disabilities because it raises them from the seated position to the standing position. So first people with disabilities can use Segways safely and effectively.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17964882


Second, an interesting feature of the Segway is that it appears to also give therapeutic benefit.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=9W6XB8Nzmec

But beyond the segway there is a whole ecosystem of self-stabilising transport devices out there.
For example INMOTION builds mini-segways that can be used conventionally or for people with a particular disabilities.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ocZyjW_hyfE


Then there is the airwheel

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0wdWLJPGLY

And the Ryno moncycle

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z1YoCfm7nxU  

The legal status in many jurisdictions of these alternative - third vehicle class is entirely unclear. Even for people with disabilities using the Segway legally is often problematic.