Personal transporter
A personal transporter is any of a class of compact, mostly recent, motorised micromobility vehicle for transporting an individual at speeds that do not normally exceed. They include electric skateboards, kick scooters, self-balancing unicycles and Segways, as well as gasoline-fueled motorised scooters or skateboards, typically using two-stroke engines of less than displacement. Many newer versions use recent advances in vehicle battery and motor-control technologies. They are growing in popularity, and legislators are in the process of determining how these devices should be classified, regulated and accommodated during a period of rapid innovation.
Generally excluded from this legal category are electric bicycles ; electric motorbikes and scooters ; and powered mobility aids with 3 or 4 wheels on which the rider sits.
History
The first personal transporter was the Autoped, a stand-up scooter with a gasoline engine made from 1915 to 1922. Engine-powered scooters and skateboards reappeared in the 1970s and the 1980s. Twike and Sinclair C5 were 1980s enclosed hybrid velomobiles that also used pedal power.With the rapid improvements in lithium batteries in the late 1990s and early 2000s, a range of new types of personal transporters appeared, and began to spread into use in urban settings for both recreation and practical transportation.
Dean Kamen applied for his first patent for a 'human transporter', the Segway PT, in 1994. This was followed by other patent applications prior to its product launch in late 2001 and first deliveries to customers early in 2002.
Trevor Blackwell demonstrated a self-balancing unicycle based on the control-mechanism from a Segway PT in 2004 for which he published open source designs. Focus Designs released the first commercially available self-balancing unicycle in 2008 and in 2010 Shane Chen, an American businessman and founder of Inventist, filed a patent for the more familiar and compact seatless device which his company, Inventis launched in 2011.
Chen then went on to file a patent for a self-balancing scooter in February 2013, and launched a Kickstarter fund-raising campaign in May 2013 with multiple companies, mainly in China releasing similar products. 500,000 units from 10 suppliers were recalled from the US market alone in July 2016.
Louie Finkle of California is credited with creating the first commercial electric skateboards, offering his first wireless electric skateboard in 1997 and he filed for a patent in April 1999, though it was not until 2004 that electric motors and batteries had sufficient torque and efficiency to power boards effectively. In 2012 ZBoard raised nearly 30 times their target for a balance controlled electric skateboard on Kickstarter, which was well received at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in January 2013.
In December 2016 The Verge magazine suggested that 2017 would be an "important year" for personal electric vehicles of all sizes. On 14 August 2018, a unicycle manufactured by InMotion caught fire in a British flat. About 1 week later, InMotion issued a statement to discourage customers from buying parallel imports. From 1 July 2019 onwards, Singapore enforces the fire safety standard known as "UL 2272" by banning the sales of non-certified products, and by publishing a list of legal products.
Terminology
The terminology for these devices is not yet stable as the media and legislators discuss a rapidly emerging potential class of motor vehicle and its relationship to laws relating to other transport devices, including electric bicycles and mobility aids such as mobility scooters. Commonly used terms are used for these new devices include:Media: rideable, electric rideable, electric personal transporter, personal electric vehicle, personal transporter ''portable electric vehicle. portable personal vehicle
Legislative: personal mobility device personal e-mobility device, electrically motorized board, personal light electric vehicles, electric personal assistive mobility device, powered transporters.
Other languages: Engins de déplacement personnel, средства индивидуальной мобильности''.
Types
Motorized scooter
The earliest example of a motorized scooter, or standing scooter with an internal combustion engine, was the 1915 Autoped, made in the US until 1919 and in Germany until 1922.Electric standing scooter
An electric standing scooter with a small platform with two or more wheels driven by an electric motor which fold for portability.Electric skateboard
An electric skateboard is an electrically powered skateboard controlled by the rider shifting their weight and in some cases also a hand-held throttle.Self-balancing scooter
The self-balancing scooter is a category of personal transporter which includes all self-balancing powered portable devices with two parallel wheels; these include the Segway PT, the Segway miniPRO and self-balancing hoverboards.Electric unicycle
An electric unicycle is a single-rider electrically powered unicycle that balances itself automatically using computer-controlled accelerometers, gyroscopes, and a magnetometer.Hybrids
The Onewheel has elements of an electric skateboard and a self-balancing unicycle.Concept devices
The Honda UNI-CUB and its predecessor the Honda U3-X are concept seated devices that are fully stable that can travel sideways as well as in the forwards/backwards axis.Technology
Batteries
Most devices are powered by rechargeable lithium-ion vehicle batteries, and often 18650-size lithium iron phosphate| batteries controlled by complex battery management systems. Lithium polymer batteries are being tested for higher performance.Many devices now contain one, or sometimes two, batteries in the range, which fall within the sizes that can be carried on an airline. Airlines may restrict carrying some devices due to the earlier product defects. As a rule, every 100 WHours of capacity will provide 6–7 miles of range.
These batteries, which have good energy density, energy-to-mass ratio provide the range, torque, operational life required, unlike the previously available lead–acid, NiMH and NiCad technologies.
Brushless motors
Many of these devices use brushless DC electric motors with permanent magnets attached to the moving hub which turns around a fixed armature which offer high efficiency, good speed-torque characteristics and low weight. This motor is often built into the wheel itself, eliminating gears and drive belts. Many devices have a motor in the 250-500 watts range which provides good performance for an adult rider on the flat and on an incline, with sportier models using motors in excess of 1500 Watts.Brushless DC motors, which often have regenerative braking, also need complex motor controllers.
Use and regulation by country
Asia
Mainland China
Taiwan
Hong Kong
Early 2019 according to secretary Chan, the Government is conducting a "consultation research ". That does not mean that personal transporter is legal. The Transport Department issued a 2015 statement that under the Road Traffic Ordinance, a personal transporter is classified as motor vehicle, since it is mechanically propelled.According to police statistics, there were 9 complaints, 1 arrest and 1 accident between 5 July and 19 November 2019.
Israel
In 2006, the Segway PT was approved for use on sidewalks and other pedestrian designated locations, and on roads without sidewalks, with obstructed sidewalks or sidewalks that lack curb cuts. The user must be over 16 years old. No license is required. The maximum allowed speed is, enforced by electronic restriction put in place by the importer.Japan
In a court, Segway PT was classified as a motorcycle, owing to the power output; however, there is no report of registration. Segway Japan, an authorized dealer, sells Segways only to corporations to use in facilities.Saudi Arabia
In Mecca they were banned after a video of a pilgrim, using it during hajj on a hoverboard was posted on social media.Singapore
In December 2016 the Land Transport Authority started a 6-month trial where devices were allowed on trains and buses at all times.Personal transporters are not allowed on public roads. A bill in early 2020 bans all personal transporters on sidewalks / footpaths, and requires shops to give notices regarding this ban. Since sometime in 2019, riding personal transporters in the HDB common areas could result in a fine up to S$5,000. The fine also applies to bicycles and motorized bicycles.
Europe
The European Committee for Standardization has been in the process of defining a standard for personal transporters, referred to as 'personal light electric vehicle', including both self-balancing vehicles and standing vehicles with maximum speeds of up to and is expected to complete its work by the end of 2017. In the meantime some countries have allowed personal transporters to be used on public roads with certain conditions.The European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization has adopted the IEC standards as European Standards:
– EN IEC 63281-2-1:2024 - E-Transporters - Part 2-1: Safety requirements and test methods for personal e-Transporters
– EN IEC 63281-1:2023 - E-Transporters - Part 1: Terminology and classification
which provides relevant terminology and specifies safety requirements and test methods for personal e-transporters. These European and International standards are applicable to electrically powered personal e-Transporters which are used in private and public areas, where the speed control and/or the steering control is electric/electronic.