As a child you probably thought how cool you would look down at the park if you could just fit some motors or strap rocket engines to your skates. But then you grew up and put away those childish thoughts. Now it seems it won’t be long before you can actually buy some. Ninebot, based in China and the owner of Segway has now announced some electric self-balancing uni-wheel roller skates.

Segway Europe released a video late last month showing some cool hipsters demonstrating the Segway Drift W1 e-Skates. If you are attending the IFA 2018 trade show in Berlin next month you will be able to clap eyes on them for yourself; Segway/Ninebot have decided to officially roll out the product at the show.
The company claims that the Segway Drift W1 skates have received international certifications such as UL and CE and they are light enough to carry in a bag or over your shoulder. Needless to say there are many doubters on the net questioning the concept and raising safety concerns of one-wheeled skates. Technically it can be done (clearly) but once the novelty has worn off what are their advantages compared to more traditional multi-wheeled skates with motors?

Prices and other details will most probably be announced at the official product launch at IFA 2018. The acquisition of Segway by Ninebot brought with it more than 800 patents plus many years of experience in the design and development of personal transportation devices. It will be interesting to see what other products they have in the pipeline.