Robocop Ride: T3 Motion Aims To Supplant Segway [Edmunds via Jalopnik]
by
Richard Ozerman
on
October 19, 2006
Robocop Ride: T3 Motion Aims To Supplant Segway [Edmunds via Jalopnik]
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A police T3 is useless. Here’s why:
Segways can safely maneuver in congested crowds due to their 20″ footprint. Because Segways are so slim and can balance, they can also pivot in place, back up, and stop on a dime.
T3s are fine for cops as long as the criminal is being chased in an empty parking lot. If the criminal steps into, say, a shopping mall, a Segway can chase him, easily moving between people, whereas a T3 would be like trying to drive a cement truck past the food court.
The Segway people spent $100 million producing a device that could safely travel amongst pedestrians. T3s are nothing but stand up scooters with bells and whistles.
Try again. Segways are the only way to go for law enforcement, unless you’re patrolling your empty parking lot.
Absolutely ridiculous. Segway batteries can be swapped in the field too, and are cheaper. Sure this thing can go faster than a Segway, but its size makes it less maneuverable. They say on their website it has a zero degree turning radius, but I don’t see how that is possible with three wheels. I could be wrong. I’ll also bet it’s priced similarly to Segways. I’m prepared to be wrong about that too, but if you compare stats on the two (Segways and T3s) they are extremely similar. The major difference is the T3 goes faster. But you can get lights and bags and all that for a Segway too. Just one look at the T3 and anyone who knows anything about Segways can instantly tell its a Segway ripoff. I think T3 is jealous, but they’re going to have to do better than this if they want to shove Segway out of the way. The fact that they aren’t marketing to commuters tells you something, namely the T3 won’t/can’t be used on sidewalks (too wide and bulky), and there’s zero chance of it becoming legal on roadways anytime soon, a fact which doesn’t deter Segway users one bit. The Segway’s versatility makes it a superior product. Make electric vehicles like the T3 road legal and then we can talk about making some serious changes. Until then it’s Segway all the way. They are cutting edge, and continually improving.
Looks like Carlos beat me to the punch. Just to be clear, my “absolutely ridiculous” comment is directed at the T3, not at his very astute observations.
No prob, Joe.
The T3: Too slow to chase cars, too big and bulky to chase pedestrians.
I can’t believe this company spent so much time and energy building and marketing this thing. What a waste of time. Take the “Police” decals off and sell it to the ATV crowd as a toy like the other electric tricycles.
The T3 is an interesting concept, but I don’t even see how the the T3 can be compared to a Segway! It’s closer to a moped than anything.
Segways are definetly the way to go for law enforcement.
First off, I would love to see a cop try to get that beast down the stairs. It’s huge, and bound to be much heavier than a Segway.
Second, as someone else already pointed out, try taking the T3 into a mall. Part of the reason Segways are allowed in certain places is the fact that they have such a small turning radius, can fit through door ways, have a footprint not much larger than a full grown man. Furthermore, the speed limit of 12.5 mph on a Segway protects the rider and pedestrians from serious injury. Going faster and being bigger only means more danger for pedestrians.
And honestly, does the T3 fit in the back seat of the police cruiser? I don’t think so.
I don’t know what T3 was thinking.
I was looking at the difference and stuff and heres what I found.
T3 is more stable, well duh, the segway almost killed the president of the United States.
Speed, distance is better on a T3.
Yeah, the whole gyro thing is cool on a Seg, but is it nessessary for a cop to have it.
Ive seen the T3 at malls and airports already, they dont seem too big in person. They said its the size of a wheelchair.
In personal opinion, not looking at specs, Id rather be on a t3 because people who ride segways are kids who go to comic book conventions and stay home on Friday nights.
It is a gross overstatement to say that a Segway almost killed President Bush. I am no fan of that gentleman, but I watched the tape. Nobody told him it was not turned on, and he fell off. It was not moving forward or backward, and, as I recall, he fell on the grass.
If he is so fragile that a fall from a height of eight inches above the ground “almost killed” him, then he should be wrapped in bubble wrap and kept at home.
By the way, to all of you who, in your ignorance (defined as having a lack of information, not a comment on your intelligence) call Segways dorky, or say people who ride them look like dorks, why is it that when I ride my Segway in downtown, pretty girls smile at me? I am not that cute??
i have to agree with those seeing a superiority for the segway for all the reasons mentioned. i have a segway but have not ridden a t3 and i guess i won’t unless i become a cop (no way).
to the person that was smart enough to sign in as “anonymous”, the segway did not almost kill the president. those in the know, know that bush showed up late to the segway class at his ranch and jumped on one that was not turned on yet and he just fell forward.
he has a tendency to jump into things without all the information, like iraq and wmd.
a few weeks later he fell off his bike at camp david. perhaps he forgot to turn on his bike too.
It looks like we’re getting them for our mall security team. The promo team from T3 came out last Friday and got the Security Director all jazzed. The Director, who is also a Segway instructor, said he liked the T3 over the Segway for various reasons but mainly the easy of riding it and teaching it to others. Let’s face it, there are enough Pres. Bush face planting fools out there. So well see in 2-3 weeks and I can give a better opinion. Thanks.
OK, I used the T3 on a footbeat patrol in the Hollywood area this weekend. I have 17 years of patrol experience and I would have to say, despite all of the comments to the contrary, I think the T3 is a good policing tool. It is quiet, very manuverable, it does have a zero degree turning radius, and works in crowds quite well (try going down the sidewalk on Hollywood Blvd. on a typical saturday night…). We actually rode ours all of the way from the station, spent about 6 hours on patrol in the side streets north and south of the blvd., and found it very effective for covering that area. When we returned to the station both my partner and I still had about 50% charge left on the fuel cells. Will it replace the patrol car? Absolutely not. Can it catch a criminal in a foot pursuit? No. Just like with a patrol car, you still have to dismount and beat feet to catch the bad guy. But part of policing is getting in places where criminals lurk and letting them know you are around just in case. The T3 did this quite well. For community-based policing, like the mountain bike, the T3 is great effective for getting closer to the citizens you serve. Hats off to the T3 developers. They developed a tool that police can really use, instead of simply converting a product aimed at a consumer mass-market.
TO JOE
it can turn in it’s own length , i have a scooter with 3 wheels
and it’ll turn around in it’s own tracks , i’ve seen the t3
do the same thing / ok , but don’t try this at any speed you want or you’ll be eating the ground .
it is a bit of overkill !!!!
Hi does anyone have the contact details for the T3 motion tric please cannot seem to find it .