It’s the Scooter Formerly Known as Ginger

Ginger is here at last and it’s a scooter after all. But not just any scooter. It’s electric and it has no brakes. Do little more than think about moving forward and off you go. Think about stopping and you do just that. Ditto for going backward. It has a turning radius of zero.

Ginger, also known as “It,” is the brainchild of multimillionaire inventor Dean Kamen, who has kept his pet project under tight security since news of it surfaced almost a year ago. He unveiled the scooter, now known as the Segway, Monday on ABC’s “Good Morning America.” Hosts Charlie Gibson and Diane Sawyer zipped around a New York park along with Kamen, who said he can envision the scooter changing the way people get around, particularly in urban areas. He also called his invention the biggest breakthrough since the tennis shoe.

“The Segway is an enhancement to personal mobility that will allow people to make better use of their time,” he said. “Ultimately, the Segway can make urban environments more livable by [easing] short-distance travel.”

The two-wheeled scooter, officially dubbed “the world’s first dynamic self-balancing human transporter,” is stabilized by a series of gyroscopes that essentially imitate the working of the human body. Because of that, riding it is intuitive and moving forward is accomplished by leaning slightly forward on the scooter’s platform. Built to travel at speeds up to 12 mph, the Segway has a range of about 15 miles from a single six-hour battery charge, Kamen said. The scooters will eventually sell for about $3,000.

The saga of Ginger began in January, when a writer who covers the publishing industry for Inside.com heard about a book that would chart the development of an unspecified fantastic new invention. That was on a Friday. The following Monday the writer, P.J. Mark, got wind that the inventor was none other than Kamen.

Kamen, 50, is a legend in the world of inventions. A college dropout, he developed the first portable infusion pump to dispense drugs--a landmark in the medical field. He has also made major advances in kidney dialysis machines and insulin pumps, and created a wheelchair capable of climbing stairs. He now lives in Manchester, N.H., where he renovated 500,000 feet of vacant textile buildings for his research and development corporation, DEKA.

So when Mark learned Kamen was the inventor, the story immediately became much more interesting. The tale of Ginger became an overnight media sensation. Hundreds of articles speculated on what Ginger might be, ranging from a personal jet pack to a mini-Hovercraft. But the clearest clues at the time were a series of patent applications Kamen filed that resembled a scooter of some sort.

Despite the hubbub, Kamen managed to keep a lid on his invention, swearing those working on it to secrecy. Staff members were told they couldn’t even tell their spouses. But the interest was only heightened by the secrecy. Greg Bottorff, a Web site designer from Raleigh, N.C., created TheITQuestion.com, devoted solely to what Kamen’s invention might be.

“I guess that all along I’ve sort of thought this is what it would be,” said Bottorff after the “Good Morning America” showing. “It’s amazing the way it zooms around without tipping over. I think it’s the beginning of a huge transformation in transportation in this country.”

One of those who has been privy to the development of the Segway is Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon.com. He said his company will test three of the Segways in an 800,000-square-foot warehouse where some of the company’s inventory is stored.

“Dean is the real thing,” said Bezos, who met Kamen at a conference four years ago. “Everything he’s ever worked on he’s tried to improve people’s lives in some way.”

Besides Amazon.com tests, the Segway will be tested by several other organizations, including the U.S. Postal Service and the National Park Service.

Bottorff said some kind of melding of the Segway and Kamen’s stair-climbing wheelchair could have a huge impact among the disabled. “It’s going to be absolutely revolutionary for people confined to wheelchairs,” he said “You could go from your bedroom, down the stairs, out the door and back without help from anyone else.”

For video of the Segway, go to The Times’ Web site at latimes.comginger.