NEW YORK — After months of hype, an inventor is set to unveil an electric scooter being billed as an environmentally friendly alternative to cars.

        Inventor Dean Kamen and his backers said the scooter needs less energy and creates less pollution than cars, and could help people move about more efficiently in urban areas.

LATEST UPDATE

Continuing coverage from Associated Press

        The Segway “will be to the car what the car was to the horse and buggy,” Mr. Kamen told Time magazine for today's edition. “Cars are great for going long distances. But it makes no sense at all for people in cities to use a 4,000-pound piece of metal” to get around town.

        Mr. Kamen holds roughly 100 U.S. patents. His other inventions include the heart stent used by Vice President Dick Cheney and a radical improvement on wheelchair designs.

        Mr. Kamen said the battery-powered scooter requires little electricity. His Manchester, N.H.-based firm, DEKA Research and Development, will oversee production of the machine.

        The two-wheeled Segway, which looks like a cross between an old rotary lawn mower and a modern scooter, travels at a top speed of 17 mph. Built-in gyroscopes are designed to keep it from falling over.

        Riders stand upright over the invention's single axle, navigating with a bicycle-like handlebar. A single battery charge can propel the scooter 17 miles over level ground, and each hour of charging provides enough power for two hours' use, Mr. Kamen said.

        The U.S. Postal Service, General Electric and National Parks Service will be the first buyers, purchasing 80-pound heavy-duty models for $8,000 apiece, according to Time. A 65-pound, $3,000 consumer model won't be available for at least a year.

        Mr. Kamen was scheduled to unveil the scooter on ABC's Good Morning America today. ABC's parent company, The Walt Disney Co., has sponsored Mr. Kamen's robot-building competitions for students.

        Plans for the device were first revealed on the Web site Inside.com almost a year ago, leading to speculation about what it was and would do. It was code-named “Ginger” or “IT.”

        Time said its article's author was allowed to shadow Mr. Kamen for three months, on condition of secrecy. Other publications, including the New York Times, were given advance information on the project in return for pledges to secrecy.

        The Associated Press was offered an advance look at the invention under certain conditions, but turned down the deal.

Many considering self-employment
Firms looking for younger, hip employees
P&G's new chip holds dip
ECKBERG: Short work week clash many-sided
Enron makes bankruptcy filing
Electric scooter called new urban transport
The Success Coach
Morning Memo
Promotions & new on the job