Apple to start making people-movers? Segway CTO moves to Apple

Sun, 07/06/2008 - 10:01pm — Cleve Nettles

Yes, you heard right, the Cheif Technology officer at Segway, Doug Field, has left the company to become a VP of product design at Apple.

What does this mean? Actually it means nothing but it isn't hard for the mind to wonder on this one. Remember Steve Jobs was one of the people who said the Segway (known as the Ginger project back then) was as big a deal as the PC. (As a side note, here is an interesting little jaunt through the first Jobs meeting with the Segway team)

So who is Doug Field and why is Apple interested in him?

Doug Field is a guy who has dealt with electronics that go into motors and wheels and balancing his whole career. When you look at Apple's product roadmap, there is nothing currently there that fits into his expertise.

Here is Doug’s bio from Segway LLC’s web site:

As the Vice President of Design and Engineering and Chief Technology Officer for Segway LLC, Doug leads some of the most talented engineers and designers in the world in the conception, development, and delivery of radically new forms of transportation. Doug’s team is wholly responsible for the development of the Segway Human Transporter (HT) as well as all the research and development of future Segway products.

Doug’s career of managing and developing new products and manufacturing processes for the automotive and medical industries led him to DEKA Research & Development in 1996. He worked at DEKA for several years 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, Doug was a 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.

Doug was a fellow in the dual degree Leaders for Manufacturing Program, a partnership between the MIT School of Engineering, the MIT Sloan School of Management, and major U.S. manufacturing firms, where he earned a masters degree in mechanical engineering and an MBA. He attended Purdue University for his undergraduate education, where he received a BS in mechanical engineering with highest distinction.

Some of the forum members even go on to postulate that Apple could end up buying Segway. While more than slightly premature, the possiblity certainly is interesting..

Thanks

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Comments

Haha, Engadget stole your

Mon, 07/07/2008 - 2:31am — 9to5Mac Noob (not verified)

Haha, Engadget stole your article and is trying to get it dugg. Suxors!
http://www.engadget.com/2008/07/07/segway-cto-becoming-vp-of-apple-produ...

This is pretty interesting.

Mon, 07/07/2008 - 2:33am — 9to5Mac Noob (not verified)

This is pretty interesting. But nothing will develop out of this for a few years...I want a new MacBook fucking now!

Hmm, Apples building autonomous robots

Mon, 07/07/2008 - 2:40am — 9to5Mac Noob (not verified)

Pretty easy to see what he'd be doing at Apple, didn't you watch Wall-E ? :-)

:-O YES!!!! It'll be like the

Tue, 07/08/2008 - 8:39am — Will (not verified)

:-O YES!!!! It'll be like the anglepoise iMac only this time it WILL actually move by itself!

Why such things happen.

Mon, 07/07/2008 - 5:11am — Ted Farley (not verified)

Jobs is giving a job to someone that he thinks is capable of running a department. Jobs likely wants to "test him out" at Apple - can he be creative? is he compatible with Job's vision? can he intelligently build and care for a department? If so, he may eventually head for the ranks of an executive VP or some other more senior position.

The segway is a combination of off-the-shelf components with a lot of custom design work. He clearly has a solid education, and the technologies that he has dealt with is top-notch.

I imagine he left Segway because the career growth there is so weak. It isn't like Segway has a grossly popular product.

He probably got the job

Mon, 07/07/2008 - 5:56am — 9to5Mac Noob (not verified)

He probably got the job because he's a friend of a friend. (Woz anyone?)

Hmmmm... With news of

Mon, 07/07/2008 - 6:20am — 9to5Mac Noob (not verified)

Hmmmm... With news of Jonathan Ive buying that huge house in Europe, I wonder if he's planning an exit with this Segway guy as a possible replacement? Jonathan Ive is Senior VP of Industrial Design. The new guy is (apparently) VP of Product Design. I hope not (pure speculation).

One interesting thought is that's a hugely important title for an outsider. Product design is Apple's DNA. They either have amazing trust in this guy, or a whole new product line planned where his expertise is needed. Strange either way.

funny. steve's quote here

Mon, 07/07/2008 - 6:54am — pete-01 (not verified)

funny. steve's quote here makes it sound like he loved the segway when it came out, giz said he said it sucked. can they both be correct?

sorry, it was apple insider

Mon, 07/07/2008 - 6:55am — pete-01 (not verified)

sorry, it was apple insider not gizmodo.

Steve's Public and private

Mon, 07/07/2008 - 8:21am — admin

Steve's Public and private comments often differ a lot. We also linked to that HBS story which shows the behind the scenes story

Here comes the hover chair

Mon, 07/07/2008 - 8:40am — Daivd (not verified)

The reason for the move of the Segway CTO to Apple is no mystery for those who've seen Wall-E. Doug Field is clearly there to help build the ultimate successor to the Segway, the HoverChair. The HoverChair uses anti-gravity technology to keep its occupant comfortably suspended above and protected from the terrain below. Apple's contribution will be the built-in touch-screen iPhone/iMac, complete with a new "see-through" screen that allows for video conferencing and general computer use without obscuring the user's view of the world outside of the computer.

hehehe, i don´t really know,

Mon, 07/07/2008 - 9:50am — Rkpipek (not verified)

hehehe,
i don´t really know, but i´ve been hearing some say that steve is almost quiting apple, we could see a bit of it at the last keynote of his, he was really skinny, drinking loads of water and didn´t spoke that much, and i guess he is looking for people to fill up the space, this segway guy could be one of the options, form where i know he almost by himself created a "big" niche company, and one that provides a product entirely new.
and that´s kinda the apple conception, we can see this from the launches of iPod, iMac, and all those other revolutionary items of desire that apple developed.
once again, i´m guessisng.

(better than steve ballmer this guy has to be :rolleyes:)