Segway CTO joins Apple

Segway's chief technology officer has left the company to join Apple, accounts say. J. Douglas Field is said to be responsible for the whole of the engineering team behind Segway's two-wheeled "personal transporter" vehicles, which were originally invented by Dean Kamen. At Apple Field will become a vice president of product design, serving alongside the likes of key designer Jonathan Ive.

The two companies have significant history, as Apple CEO Steve Jobs was one of the first people outside Segway to see "Ginger," the project that would eventually become the first vehicles from the company. Field is meanwhile claimed to be a fan of Apple design, a factor which may have prompted his changing positions. His own experience includes product development for companies such as Ford, Johnson & Johnson and Kamen's DEKA Research & Development.

by MacNN Staff