Tech

I rode Segway's S-Pod: a moving throne for the rich and shameless

Is it a scooter? A stroller? A carrier for Baby Yoda? Whatever it is, it's fun as hell.

Segway founder Dean Kamen imagined a world full of two-wheeled self-balancing electric transporters as the cure to gas-powered cars and motorcycles. But that dream never materialized for two reasons: it was expensive (they started at $5,000) and riding on them made you look like a total dork. Images of families in their dweeby vacation clothes taking city tours and mall cops spring to mind.

Giant self-balancing chair

Wall-E called it. Pixar's animated film imagined people becoming so lazy that they'd be driven around in hover chairs on highways. The S-Pod is basically the same thing, only instead of levitating, it has two rugged wheels and two smaller rear wheels (essentially safety wheels just in case), and a proprietary gyroscope that keeps it from tipping over.

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