AppleInsider Staff"Doug has been the driving force in making the Segway what it is today and will be sorely missed at the company," reads an official post made to the SegwayChat forums on Friday.
Field's has made a long career of managing and developing new products and manufacturing processes for the automotive and medical industries.
Before joining Segway, he worked for several years beginning in the late 90's at DEKA Research & Development, leading the prototype design and overall technical leadership for the INDEPENDENCE IBOT Mobility System.
Prior to that, he was the Manager of Process Development for Johnson & Johnson Medical, Inc. where he led the introduction of advanced manufacturing processes for high-volume medical device production.
Earlier in his career, Field assumed the role of vehicle development engineer and team leader at Ford Motor Company, focusing on the development of ride, handling, and noise and vibration characteristics on several car platforms.
The motives behind Apple's move to acquire Field are unclear and somewhat interesting given the reaction by chief executive Steve Jobs to the industrial design of the original Segway in 2003.
"I think it sucks," he said. "Its shape is not innovative, it's not elegant and it doesn't feel anthropomorphic."
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I've seen a (I think) older model Segway and if I remember correctly, it had an interesting ignition/control/lock module piece that fit into the center console between the handle bars. It was about the size of an old tamagotchi unit and I think it held the ignition switch and the idea was that you could disengage it and take it with you when you parked the Segway.
As a modular, mechanic to electronic bridge, it could be that this guy is working on some of those Apple patents AI showed us about a removable and multi-purpose multi-touch/LCD unit that swaps between devices... just a thought.
VP of product design? One word. Scary.
Doug Field, the chief technology officer who's led Segway's engineering team since day one, is leaving his post at the electric vehicle maker to become a vice president of product design at Apple.
...
The motives behind Apple's move to acquire Field are unclear and somewhat interesting given the reaction by chief executive Steve Jobs to the industrial design of the original Segway in 2003.
"I think it sucks," he said. "Its shape is not innovative, it's not elegant and it doesn't feel anthropomorphic."
[ View this article at AppleInsider.com ]
How is it "interesting"? Your own article says the guy ran the engineering team, not the design team. There is design in engineering, but it means something different. They are different disciplines. Don't insinuate blame on him for something that probably wasn't his responsibility.
I have to say, the newer Segways are a lot of fun. The originals would use leaning for forward/back, and a handlebar knob for steering. Now it's ALL leaning--you lean left and right to steer (the whole handlebar column tilts sideways from the bottom). I don't need one, but it was fun to try!
What's the difference between Product Design and Industrial Design?? I assume Field will be reporting to Mr. Ive!