The lessons to be learnt from the rise and fall of Segway.
Once posited as a revolutionary transportation technology, the Segway never took off as some expected, because the social acceptance of the technology was not considered in a systematic manner. Using a framework for social acceptance of technology borrowed from the literature on renewable energy, we examine how social, economic, and environmental costs of the Segway, along with regulatory issues presented barriers to implementation. High prices, legislative and spatial issues, and a lack of appeal to consumers presented challenges to acceptance. This case study provides a timely reminder of the multifaceted and complex nature of social acceptance that will need to be applied to future innovations, such as autonomous vehicles, to better understand factors that need to be considered for them to be embraced by society.
[This is a very readable history of Segway’s development, promotion, hype, lack of preparation for legal and urban space issues, subsequent social ostracisation, and recent halt of production. A fine study that should be read by all micro-mobility companies – Ed.]
This article probably needs to be marked “Paywall” (or maybe paper review) since you need to pay to read the paper.
[Cheers, I’ve added ‘£’ to the heading. LBM]