Julia Benton

Paly graduate Daniel Fukuba's segway is made of old wheelchair motors and discharge battery.

As the motorized scooter glides forward and starts to pick up speed, Palo Alto High School senior William Wagner's segway zooms past bikes and pedestrians.

"It's an exhilarating experience to feel it accelerate," Wagner said. "But even when traveling at top speed, the segway remains remarkably stable."

Segways, motorized scooters that function like cars, are two-wheeled platforms that can travel up to about 40 miles per hour without human transport. The segway was invented by Dean Kamen and was unveiled for the first time in December 2001.

Controlling a segway is simple. Lean forward to speed up, lean backwards to slow down and shift body weight with the handles to turn in the desired direction.

A new segway can cost up to $5,500. Wagner purchased his segway used for about $4,000. For Wagner, purchasing a segway was a practical and simple decision.

"I had spare cash from a summer job and I do not yet have a driver's license," Wagner said. "So I got a segway for fun."

Wagner's segway is also environmentally friendly.

"It is electric, so I just plug it in when I get home," Wagner said. "While I'm uncertain as to exactly how much it costs to charge, the cost is trivial compared to the price of gasoline."

Unlike security at airports, malls and other venues that use segways, Paly has adopted a different policy.

"Despite the segway's legal status as an assistive mobility device, meaning that it is technically a pedestrian while riding but the school has decided that the same rules would apply to it as a bicycle," Wagner said. "That is, one can only ride it on campus before school and after school."

Assistant Principal Jerry Berkson stands behind the administration's decision to prevent segway use on campus.

"The state may say that assistive mobility devices are legal, but school rules supersede state law," Berkson said. "Safety is more important at Paly than getting somewhere faster."

While Wagner and Paly alumnus Daniel Fukuba do not seem to have much in common, they share a mutual love for segways.

Instead of buying a segway, Daniel Fukuba, a graduate of the Paly class of 2008, built his.

"I always wanted to have a segway, and building one seemed much cooler than buying one" Fukuba said. "People already look dorky enough riding it."

However, the segway that Fukuba built ended up costing him more than the one Wagner purchased.

"It wasn't too economical building this one," Fukuba said. "It ended up being around $4,500."

Fukuba spent four months building the segway but said that most of the time was spent waiting for paychecks. Most of the parts that were used for his homemade segway were custom, including wheelchair motors and high-discharge batteries.

"If I had a week to dedicate to it and all the parts, it would be done by the end of the week," Fukuba said.

Fukuba's constructed Segway is reaches a top speed of 25 miles per hour, which is faster than the segway Wagner owns.

The problem with Fukaba's segway is that past 15 miles per hour, the engine can no longer compensate for turning.

As well having faster movement capabilities, Fukuba's segway differs from Wagner's in other ways.

"It resembles the segway in principle, but the hardware and software are much different," Fukuba said. "The segway has many more redundancies than my scooter."

Fukuba intended to build the segway just to prove he could.

In addition to building his own segway, Fukuba, with the help of friend, current senior Eric Vicenti, started a Web site (http://www.scooterlabs.org) to supply others with information on how to make their own balancing scooters.

With a speed of almost 13 miles per hour and a theoretical speed of almost 40, it is clear that to some, segways are one of the most fun two-wheeled vehicles on the market today.

However, Fukuba said he believes that while they are a great way to get around, there is one drawback to owning a one.

"A lot of people want to talk about the segway when they see you on it around," Fukuba said. "After talking to everyone, it ends up taking much longer to get somewhere."