Loomo from Segway

[Grant Lamontagne]

I have been watching this for a while, and I am really fascinated with it:



Basically it combines a Star Wars like R2 unit (or as close as we can get so far) and a ride on Segway unit.  While this initial design may seem a bit limited, I am looking forward to where this concept will go in the future.  Even Luke Skywalker couldn't ride his droid!

I can see this think being very handy, and, at least compared to regular Segway pricing it seems quite cheap.  I can think of an awful lot of places where this machine could come in handy, especially for us with mobility issues, and not enough sense to stay home. 

Am I the only one that wants a Loomo?

Def

[lister]

I think I would prefer an electric scooter myself. At least until the personal robot aspect of this gets advanced enough that it could actually manipulate its environment to my benefit. Like fetching me a cold one... 

[pomsbz]

As someone who is disabled, keep in mind that if you have problems walking distances, you probably will not be that comfortable with standing for that amount time and/or the ankle control and balance required to control this thing. Just something to think about.

[lister]

As someone who is disabled, keep in mind that if you have problems walking distances, you probably will not be that comfortable with standing for that amount time and/or the ankle control and balance required to control this thing. Just something to think about.

I think it wouldn't be all that hard to pimp this with a bar stool? It would also help with consumption of the beer your robot delivers to you! 

[lister]

I searched the interwebs a bit and found that such self balancing unicycles exist. Now add two wheels and a pair of robotic arms under the seat, much better battery tech and quite a bit more advanced AI and I think I could be bothered to buy one. Though it would be a bit weird riding around the town sitting on the head of your robot... 

[Grant Lamontagne]

I am just excited because Loomo is (so far) the closest thing to the ultimate multitool.



Ok, so it doesn't have it's own welder or circular saw, but you can ride it, something Luke Skywalker wasn't able to do.  But, it is a step in the right direction IMHO.

As for the difficulty standing and riding it because of my mobility issues, you are absolutely right.  I have avoided things like hoverboards and Segways because I doubt that I have the level of ankle control necessary to ride these things.  I have been known to stand in the middle of a room, on perfectly even floors and suddenly lose my balance and fall over.  The average person doesn't realize how many corrections your feet instinctively make each second to ensure that you remain standing.  When some of those small movements don't work that well, and your weight starts to shift in that direction it can cause you to topple for apparently no reason.  I shudder to think of what it would look like if that happened at 10mph while riding one of these doohickeys.   

Still, I like the idea of personal robots that follow you around and help with day to day tasks, whether I can ride them or not.  Of course, there's also my paranoia of someone grabbing and running off with it, and it not having an arc welder to protect itself with.   

Def

[pfrsantos]

Some other cools ideas:

[pfrsantos]

I've seen some folks using an AIRWHEEL or similar not too long ago. They seemed to move around sidewalks avoiding other people with great ease, making speed changes and sharp turns without problems.

[pfrsantos]

This one is nice but just for indoor use, I suppose...

[Grant Lamontagne]

Those are all pretty cool indeed, but the cool thing about the Loomo is that it combines a method of transport along with a digital assistant.  Imagine if Siri could actually do things like going and getting things, or following you around on her own?  Or if Alexa could fire up a video chat with someone and walk with you, so you could watch where you are going instead of staring at a phone screen?

Def

[pfrsantos]

Those are all pretty cool indeed, but the cool thing about the Loomo is that it combines a method of transport along with a digital assistant.  Imagine if Siri could actually do things like going and getting things, or following you around on her own?  Or if Alexa could fire up a video chat with someone and walk with you, so you could watch where you are going instead of staring at a phone screen?

Def

Hum... Siri... Yeah... I don't know... You think that's going to work?!

 

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[pfrsantos]

Also, isn't it a bit creepy, having the Lomo cam just under your crotch? Specially if you're a skirt-wearing lady. Or a scotsman...

 

[Grant Lamontagne]

Anyone desperate enough to see what I've got under my kilt deserves whatever eye full they happen to get.  That's what therapists are for.

Def

[pfrsantos]

Anyone desperate enough to see what I've got under my kilt deserves whatever eye full they happen to get.  That's what therapists are for.

Def

Really?! I just found a lost hat, I believe it's yours...

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