Last week in Tokyo, Toyota Motor Corporation showed off prototypes of the Winglet, described as a "personal transport assistance robot ridden in a standing position." The immediate response on these shores? Toyota is trying to create a "Segway killer," a...
Last week in Tokyo, Toyota Motor Corporation showed off prototypes of the Winglet, described as a "personal transport assistance robot ridden in a standing position." The immediate response on these shores? Toyota is trying to create a "Segway killer," a reference to the much larger and faster rolling stand-up unit created by Dean Kamen in 2001.
This characterization, in turn, has led to a debate over the value of such contraptions, with many bloggers and their responders concerned that so-called PTs http://toyota.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/2008/08/05/winglet.gif (for Personal Transporters)
only pander to an increasingly sedentary society that, instead, ought to get off its collective duff and—dare we say it—actually walk.
Such takes miss the point, as I see it. First, Toyota has no designs on the still-fledgling Segway. The Winglet is a different high-tech animal that, if commercialized, would aim to address a different market need. Also, at a top speed of just 3.7 miles per hour, it’s unlikely to be embraced by able-bodied humans fully capable of outpacing it with a moderately brisk walk.
Toyota’s sights are set squarely on the emerging needs of Japan’s aging society. By 2055, 40 percent of the country’s population is expected to be over the age of 65—the double-whammy of decreasing birthrate and increasing life expectancy. The Winglet, or some variation on this basic theme, could help the elderly continue to get around and maintain the breadth and depth of their lives—realizing psychological as well as physical benefits (aka improving quality of life).
Rather than intrude on Segway’s market, Toyota is simply looking at future needs and planning how to meet them.
- Dan Miller, Corporate Communications
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Last week in Tokyo, Toyota Motor Corporation showed off prototypes of the Winglet, described as a "personal transport assistance robot ridden in a standing position." The immediate response on these shores? Toyota is trying to create a "Segway killer," a reference to the much larger and faster rolling stand-up unit created by Dean Kamen in 2001.
This characterization, in turn, has led to a debate over the value of such contraptions, with many bloggers and their responders concerned that so-called PTs http://toyota.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/2008/08/05/winglet.gif (for Personal Transporters)
only pander to an increasingly sedentary society that, instead, ought to get off its collective duff and—dare we say it—actually walk.Such takes miss the point, as I see it. First, Toyota has no designs on the still-fledgling Segway. The Winglet is a different high-tech animal that, if commercialized, would aim to address a different market need. Also, at a top speed of just 3.7 miles per hour, it’s unlikely to be embraced by able-bodied humans fully capable of outpacing it with a moderately brisk walk.
Toyota’s sights are set squarely on the emerging needs of Japan’s aging society. By 2055, 40 percent of the country’s population is expected to be over the age of 65—the double-whammy of decreasing birthrate and increasing life expectancy. The Winglet, or some variation on this basic theme, could help the elderly continue to get around and maintain the breadth and depth of their lives—realizing psychological as well as physical benefits (aka improving quality of life).
Rather than intrude on Segway’s market, Toyota is simply looking at future needs and planning how to meet them.
- Dan Miller, Corporate Communications
More...