subject: Segway scooter hits bump in Japan posted: Fri, 8 Nov 2002 15:53:45 -0000
Segway scooter hits bump in Japan
By Reuters
January 14, 2002 5:24 AM PT
TOKYO--A self-balancing scooter billed as heralding a revolution in the way people travel could run into an
obstacle in Japan, where a robotics professor wants recognition for inventing a nearly identical machine 15
years ago.
The claim comes a little more than a month after U.S. inventor Dean Kamen unveiled the Segway Human
Transporter, ending a year of speculation and secrecy over the invention that kept the high-tech world in
thrall. "I'm not saying that they took the idea, but I want people to know that it existed before the Segway
was developed," said Kazuo Yamafuji, Professor Emiritus at Tokyo's University of Electro
Communications. "I made this machine 15 years ago." More importantly, Yamafuji applied for a patent for
his machine in 1987, which was granted in 1996. Legal experts say that while it may be difficult for
Yamafuji or anyone else to challenge Dean Kamen's U.S. patent, the award-winning U.S. inventor could
run into trouble if Segway decides to sell the scooter in Japan.
With its densely packed cities and enthusiasm for high-tech gadgets, Japan could be an ideal market for
Segway's machine. The motorized scooter, which went under the code names "Ginger" and "It" before it
was revealed to the public, is a device that Kamen believes has the potential to transform urban
landscapes, allowing people to zip over short distances instead of driving their cars. Users stand on a
small platform between two wheels and hold on to a handle similar to that on a bicycle. Leaning forward
moves the scooter forward, leaning back reverses course, and turns are made by twisting the handle.
Though Professor Yamafuji admits he never took his invention beyond the research phase and into
commercial development, he insists that the basic ideas incorporated in the Segway scooter are the
same: a computer processor to detect minute shifts in balance to keep the machine upright on two parallel
wheels. "I call it a 'parallel bicycle,'" said Yamafuji, a robotics scientist for more than 30 years and now in
semi-retirement. "The Segway is essentially a motorized parallel bicycle, with wheels side- byside instead
of front-to-back. If they claim that they did it first, it wouldn't be fair to me or my university. We did the
research." But when asked if he was considering legal action, Yamafuji said: "I will not fight this."
Obstacle course - A 18-inch high parallel bicycle made by Yamafuji and his research team 15 years ago
has the same two-wheel arrangement as the Segway scooter, but is too small for a rider and lacks a
platform. The upper section is a hollow rectangular box set at a slightly tilted angle to hold motors,
processors and a pendulum that helps maintain balance. A small rod attached to one of the wheels rests
against the ground to sense the tilt of the machine, a contrast to the Segway, which uses gyroscopes to
mimic the human ear's sense of balance. The similarities may be enough, said Joseph A. Calvaruso, a
litigation partner at intellectual property law firm Morgan & Finnegan in New York, to make it difficult for
Segway to sell the machine in Japan. "Kamen could have a problem in Japan if the Japanese patent
challenges any one of the claims on his patent," Calvaruso said.
Segway said it is still is still evaluating plans for specific countries and has no details on strategy outside
of the United States, according to Senior Vice President Gary Bridge. Within the United States, Calvaruso
said it would be very difficult--but not impossible--for Yamafuji or anyone else to invalidate Kamen's U.S.
patent. That's because Kamen's 1999 patent has a reference to Yamafuji's Japan patent application--
meaning Kamen's machine was nonetheless deemed worthy of a patent by the United States Patent and
Trademark Office. "We're aware of professor Yamafuji's work," Bridge said, but added, "It is important to
note that the technology underlying the Segway Human Transporter is a significant advance over prior
technologies."
In a further twist, Yamafuji was granted a second patent in 1998 for a four-wheeled version of his machine
that expands on his original invention. The later version has a counterweight that would allow riders use a
switch to move forward and backward without having to lean. "With this version a person can stand on the
unit and push a button to move," Yamafuji said. Another prototype climbs stairs.
The ideal form for the machine's wheels, Yamafuji said, is to have a sphere with built-in mechanics that
can go in any direction from a standing start. Though none of his prototypes was built with space for a
human operator, Yamafuji said that his former students went on to develop usable versions for research at
the corporate level. A working human-operated scooter was built by one of Yamafuji's students for Sony,
which has already made a name for itself in home robotics with the AIBO pet robot, while another built a
scooter on a sphere that balanced itself like a unicycle for Honda.
Yamafuji has created other machines, including a robot that replicates the quick twist that helps falling
cats land on their feet. "The U.S. Air Force was interested in our cat-twist robot," he said. Yamafuji
admitted that he was eager to meet Kamen and share ideas. "It is a matter of pride for me, not money. I
would hand over my patent for one dollar if Mr. Kamen admitted that we were first."
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