OK, so when I say ‘tearing up’ I don’t mean Formula 1 style. Being that this is a small room it certainly looks like she has some speed behind her though. The i-REAL leans into its corners for a better center of gravity, allowing her to maintain speed while cornering. It looks pretty cool too. It must be said that the woman test driver is small and is only just fitting in the vehicle. Some of the journos here are going to struggle to get in this thing. I think even I will, and I’m just five foot ten by the old tape.

As we watch her go another Toyota rep explains how the i-REAL works. The vehicle is operated very simply. There are dual joystick controls. Push forward to accelerate and push back to brake. We’re going to assume that you can figure out how to go left and right so we won’t insult your intelligence but telling you the rest of the rep’s speech.

Being that the i-REAL is powered by a lithium ion battery it is virtually silent while moving. A single charge will get you up to 30km and obviously be a hell of a lot better for the environment than a petrol powered car or bike. And being that you can hit top speeds of 30kph, you could actually do 30km in a day without spending the whole day on the i-REAL.

Imagine tearing up the pavement in one of these things while you watch those suckers stuck on the highway in peak hour traffic. Thankfully the 30kph speed will allow you to get away from the school kids that will, no doubt, be hurling eggs at you if you did that.

Being a Japanese invention it isn’t be complete without some sort of quirky bit. And here it is: The back of the i-REAL is a huge LED display that’s completely customisable. You can change it as you would your desktop wallpaper. The lady demonstrating the device currently has multi-coloured flashes shooting across the back of the i-REAL. We’ve also seen flower petals, cherry blossoms, waterfalls and sparks.

The display is all well and good, but can you imagine what would happened if this vehicle was actually released in Australia? I’m picturing displays with “If you can read this you can probably smell that I haven’t showered today”, or “NERDS RULE!”, or “Bite me Neil Armstrong”, or “Toyotas slowly, quietly and environmentally consciously urinate on Fords and Holdens”. Ummm, I seem to have forgotten why I am here. Ah yes, to test drive this thing.

Before I get behind the controls, I must mention the social networking aspect of the i-REAL. Yes, that’s right, social networking. The i-REAL features social networking applications. You can speak to other i-REAL users while you’re on the run and geotag sights and places that you like as well. Potentially you and your i-REAL mates could organise to meet up while you are flying around on one.

And now for the test-drive itself. It has to be said that I’m slightly anxious about using this thing. I have never used any sort of vehicle like this and I know it’s worth quite a bit of money. Luckily the chaps from Toyota are directing the journos as they test them.

The vehicle is quite something. As I first get in, I struggle to get my shoulders comfortable in the tiny seat. Unfortunately we aren’t allowed to just go for it Lewis Hamilton style. An instructor is guiding as around the room and making sure we don’t take flight.

I find the i-REAL simple to operate, with buttons on both armrests of the vehicle. There’s a mode that allows you to get in it, as well as park, walk, and cruise modes. You just press whichever button you need and hey presto, the i-REAL is ready to go. Then it’s just a case of moving the joysticks to go.

The difference between walk and cruise is the position the i-REAL takes when in motion and the speed it can achieve. When you put it in cruise mode the back wheel extends to give the vehicle a lower centre of gravity and a headrest pops out the back. It’s almost like a Formula 1 style driving position.

The i-REAL responds brilliantly to your commands through the joystick offering instant feedback. The only issue is the suspension, or lack thereof. Driving on carpet feels a bit like taking a rally car for a spin. You can feel every bump and grind through the ergonomic seat. If it’s like that on carpet, imagine what it would be like on a pavement!

Having said that though this is an early model and Toyota say that we should expect improvements and developments on the i-REAL. According to Makoto Morita, the i-REAL project manager, we could see these commercially available in four to five years time at a price well under $10,000. What you would use it for is questionable. Aside from the suspension issues, there is no weather protection. But as a vehicle for the airport or mall, it could be fantastic.

In terms of the fun factor though, I get off the i-REAL with a smile larger than Krusty the Clown during a Krusty Burger commercial. It’s pretty awesome.

Damian Francis is the editor-at-large for Australian T3 and contributing technology editor for GQ Australia. He was in Japan as a guest of Toyota Australia.

But seriously, it’s a Segway re-imagined by designer Michael DiTullo, who created it in response to the Project PUMA concept from earlier this year.

The thing’s a two-seater too, so bring a friend! [Design Blog]

Regardless, this Zoltar costume/car employs a Segway to mysteriously float through the streets, making the old young and the young old with no discrimination whatsoever, all while Zoltar’s voice is modulated for the full Zoltar effect (though wasn’t he a quasi-mute who printed answers on cards in the movie?).

Protip: only wish to be younger. Because if you’re suffering arthritis only to find Zoltar broken down, well, Blue Cross won’t exactly cry you a river.

[segnyc via MAKE via OhGizmo!]

The EniCycle is powered by an electric 1000-watt hub motor that you lean forward to set into motion—just like a Segway. Measuring your vertical angle 100 times a second, the gyroscopes make adjustments to help keep you balanced.

So far Polutnik has built two prototypes and is seeking a partner for mass manufacturing. Neat!

[Enicycle via Core77 via DVICE]

I mean come on. Facts are facts. Smaller footprint. Easier maneuverability in the tight spots. Folds down for easy storage in the closet when that hot date comes over for a digestif. Brisk 13 mph top speed. Completely portable. Battery powered. This is assuming, of course, you give two shits about the Segway to begin with.

Negatives? Balance issues abound, sure, but the designers can work those our with Woz’s money help, right?

Too bad it’s just a concept at the moment; a mere whiff of a hipster’s passing dream. This will change though. Segway culture demands it be so. [James Dyson Award via Design Blog]

OK…meaningful…here goes…

For that definition, it was probably an electronics learning kit I got for Christmas at about age 8 or 9. As I recall, it didn’t teach electronics formulas or resistor codes, but was full of projects to hook up input devices like switches and output devices like buzzers and lights. It was like learning how to connect all the devices to your hi-fi, or connecting all your peripherals to a computer. It also gave me a good start toward understanding logic rules, like both switches have to be on for the light to shine, or if switch A is on, then switch B selects which light is on.

I call this one the most meaningful, because, pretty clearly to me, it preceded my other important gadgets and inspired me to like gadgets and to understand how to build some. It’s like how the transistor led to the chip, which led to microprocessors, which led to personal computers. Everything goes back to the first invention, in that sense. This electronics kit gave me the understanding that made it easy to progress to large logic devices with multi-pole switches, and some relays, which then progressed to a large tic-tac-toe computer with transistors which progressed to a large adding/subtracting machine with transistors, etc.

The word ‘meaningful’ has the root ‘meaning’ which implies some emotion. In that sense, my first transistor radio, at about age 10, would fit the bill. It gave me portable music that I could listen to all night long as I slept, every night. 20 years later came the walkman, and 20 more years later came the iPod, but the real change in life, the one having the most ‘meaning’, was with the transistor radio.

I always wanted my own computer. With the Apple I, I now had a machine that I could program. I would never run out of things to do in my entire life. So it’s a close runner up to the other two.

The gadget that has been the most attractive of attention ever is not my Segway. It’s my nixie tube watch from CathodeCorner. It looks very large to other people and looks very strange. It’s handmade in America too. The nixie tubes run on 140 volts on your wrist. Airport security guards who have seen every kind of watch ever made have a thrilling time with this watch.

I used to fly to Japan regularly to scour new gadgets, and always bought tons of things which were always surprising at the time, but looking back, few have special meaning. The first consumer digital camera, I think the Mavica technology, was meaningful. The first one for computers, not TV’s, was the QuickTake from Apple. But in many ways, no digital camera to this day has been as good as the first Ricoh one.

The HP-35 calculator was also very meaningful in my life, as it led me to an incredible job designing for the follow-on models.

Much thanks to Woz for helping to kick off our series. Coming up soon: Phil Torrone, gadget maker and modder extraordinare.

Image credit: Sony Mav, HP Calculator

Plus, it’s actually kind of dangerous. Sure, people have been known to fall off a Segway from time to time, but the Legway is even more challenging to ride because it doesn’t turn very well and it requires a keen sense of balance. But hey, if you are a nerdy treehugger with a taste for adventure, it doesn’t get better than this. Hit the following link for instructions on how to build one yourself. [Instructables]

Because of it’s compact size, users can move about in tight spaces easier than they could in a wheelchair or scooter—and it can travel at speeds of up to 19kph making it a efficient method of transport. Essentially it’s a Segway that you can wear. Yeah, it sort of makes people look like a vacuum, or like they are wearing some sort of robotic skirt—but there is no doubt that this concept is certifiably badass.

Production versions of the Chariot should be available sometime in the near future, and there are plans to integrate a feature that would allow users to switch from a standing to a seated position as needed. [Business Wire via Gizmowatch via Botopolis]

Jalopnik has a clip from the Today Show demonstrating how the GM/Segway PUMA pod rolls about. And just like with the Batpod, Meredith Viera takes the sexy honours of a sexy first ride.

It goes up to 55kph and gets somewhere around 85km/L. Those numbers fluctuate depending on the lardassity of the passengers.

What’s interesting isn’t the way it rolls around only only two wheels—even though it has four other wheels in front and behind just in case the balancing mechanism doesn’t work—it’s that weird adjustment mechanism that’s shown at about a minute deep in the above clip.

We could really see people riding this in cities. But that’s exactly what we said eight years ago with the Segway. [Jalopnik]