Dean Kamen's self-balancing scooter, hyped to redesign cities, which ended up carrying mall cops and tourists before it was quietly retired in 2020.
Born
2001 CE
Died
2020 CE
Lived
19 years
Dead for
6 yrs
At its peak
About 140,000 units sold over nearly two decades
Cause of death
Replaced
Replaced by
Electric kick scooters and self-balancing hoverboards
The Obituary
The Segway PT arrived in 2001 wrapped in some of the loudest hype in tech history. Leaked under the code name “Ginger,” it was rumoured to be a world-changing invention; analysts mused that cities would be rebuilt around it. What Dean Kamen actually revealed was a two-wheeled, self-balancing electric scooter you steered by leaning. It worked, but at a few thousand dollars and too wide for sidewalks, it never found the mass market, settling instead under tour guides and mall security guards. The company sold roughly 140,000 in two decades. Cheaper electric scooters and hoverboards took its niche, and Segway ended PT production in July 2020.
Worth remembering
Pre-launch hype, under the code name 'Ginger', claimed it would reshape cities.
Owner Jimi Heselden died in 2010 after riding a Segway off a cliff on his estate.
Gallery
A single Segway PT parked and charging at Segway Fest in ChicagoCC0A police officer patrolling on a Segway PT in SwedenAdville · CC BY-SA 4.0
Sources
Segway PT unveiled 2001; production ended July 2020 Wikipedia
Segway sold about 140,000 units over its lifetime Wikipedia
Segway announced the end of original PT production in June 2020, with the device having sold only about 140,000 units over nearly two decades despite early hype NPR
Segway's production of the original PT ended July 15, 2020; by the time it closed, the PT accounted for less than 1.5% of the company's revenue Smithsonian Magazine
A graveyard tradition: leave a stone to show you came, and remembered.
Buried nearby — by shared fate or a neighbouring lifespan.
