What is a 2 wheel self balancing scooter ?

In the past few months, there’s been a real revolution in personal transportation. Some people call it "self balancing board" others, "smart balance wheel" others still call it “a mini segway without handles” or “segway board” and, to the vast majority of people it is known as a "2 wheel self balancing scooter". The real name of this revolutionary mode of transportation is the self balancing electric scooter.

If you haven’t lived under a rock for the past year, you’re bound to have seen some of these self balancing boards out and about, or maybe on the instagram of your favorite celebrity.

Lots of people started calling the 2 wheel self balancing scooter a “balancing scooter” or “hoverboard segway“. Not because it hovers , but presumably because, while riding it, it certainly looks like you’re “hovering” a few inches off the ground. This is a hoverboard with wheels.

These self balancing boards use very clever sensors to detect when the rider leans in a certain direction, and, in turn, the electric motors spin the wheels to move in that direction. Basically, all you do is shift your weight in the desired direction and you will move towards it. Riding one is pretty eerie, as the board seems to “know” where you want to go. It’s almost like it’s reading your mind.

This is, basically, the same technology that the Segway uses, but here we have no handlebars. This makes the 2 wheel self balancing board a lot more compact and convenient to actually, say, commute to work, where you can just store your electric hoverboard under your desk, until it’s time to go back home.