January 3, 2007 10:39 AM PST
Sony patents skateboard with Segway spin
A patent application filed by Sony shows the company may have its eye on building the younger, hipper version of the Segway scooter.
In November, the company filed patent application No. 20060260862 for a skateboard, "which can travel in the front and back direction and which can turn by right and left wheels rotated when a rider riding on a step-board moves the position of rider's balance from the center of a vehicle base."
Like the Segway, Sony's futuristic skateboard would be steered by riders shifting their weight. The patent application also says the board's electric motors would turn off automatically when the rider steps off, or, perhaps more realistically, falls off.
Erica Ogg is a CNET News reporter who covers Apple, HP, Dell, and other PC makers, as well as the consumer electronics industry. She's also one of the hosts of CNET News' Daily Podcast. In her non-work life, she's a history geek, a loyal Dodgers fan, and a mac-and-cheese connoisseur. E-mail Erica.
