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US inventor at last unveils `IT'

Inventor Dean Kamen demonstrates his scooter in New York yesterday. PHOTO: AP

An American inventor yesterday unveiled a battery-powered scooter that proponents say will transform transportation much like the automobile did a century ago.

Dean Kamen and his backers have big hopes for the agile "Segway Human Transporter," saying the one-person, gyroscope-packed scooter will displace awkward, polluting cars, leading to a realigned cityscape that is more people-friendly.

The Segway, initially known only as its codenames ``IT'' and ``Ginger,'' ``will be to the car what the car was to the horse and buggy,'' Kamen told Time magazine.

"Cars are great for going long distances," Kamen said. "But it makes no sense at all for people in cities to use 4,000-pound pieces of metal to haul their 150-pound asses around town."

Kamen revealed the scooter on a US talk show yesterday. Kamen and the morning show's hosts took the scooter for a spin in a New York park, demonstrating various maneuvers and cruising up and down ramps as crowds watched.

Kamen said the battery-powered device requires little electricity. Kamen's firm DEKA Research and Development will oversee production of the machine.

The two-wheeled Segway, which looks like a cross between an old rotary lawn mower and a Razor scooter, travels at a top speed of about 27kph.

According to those who have ridden it, the scooter is difficult to fall from or knock over due to gyroscopes that work to keep it upright and discern where the rider wants to go.

Speed and direction are controlled by the rider's shifting weight. Riders stand upright, facing forward over the invention's single axle, navigating with a bicycle-like handlebar.

A single battery charge can propel the scooter 27km over level ground, with each hour of charge providing power for two hours' use.

The US Postal Service, General Electric and National Parks Service will be the first customers to purchase them, buying 36kg heavy-duty models for US$8,000 apiece.

A 29kg, US$3,000 consumer model won't be available for at least a year.

Corporate luminaries who'd gotten sneak previews described the machine's impact as ``as big as the PC'' and ``bigger than the Internet.''

Others have labeled the invention as a bunch of hype.
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