Calling all Makers, Segway Music Stand Distance Tracking

Fun project needing some support in how to get started.

This is ready for lift off over. . . Requesting advise before lifetoff to ensure it can be done and confident enough to knock this out.

*Pssh* “Uhh ya Captain speaking, strap in and get ready for a garage built, over engines are hot“ *Pssh*

Light is in the sky, Bat Signal is up. I’m asking for some help comrades.

Problem Statement:
Say for instance I wanted to have a moving stand on a Segway for a trumpet marching player keeping a distance of 3 feet from the user. Direction of user changes and tracking capable stand is able to still follow, keeping that 3 feet from user.

Plan / Materials:
I can lookup how to make a Segway on Instructables.com
Probably need lidar or ultrasonic for distance measuring, to maintain 3 ft target distance
Probably need 2 microcontrollers. One to control Segway and another to control distance from user based on LIDAR sensor.

Questions:

1. What is the recommended sensor to go with?
2. Machine Learning? AI?
3. If user changes directions on the field, the Segway would change direction with the user, almost anticipating the vector change and adjusting.
4. How do I write the code to communicate: Wheels of Segway & lidar congruently to speak in real time to each other. As user goes below 3 feet barrier, increase speed of wheels in Segway faster to maintain 3+ feet.
5. How to select PID?
6. EXTRA: What if the stand was even heavier than a 4olb stand. Instead, its holding up a TV and equipment for all the band members to see. This would be 300lbs or so. I would have to change the motors in Segway to beef them up and support load. Beef up chasis for heavier load. Add dampeners somehow?

ME trained. I can tango but keep the EE, ECE talk to layman's amigos

I can throw money to knockout this project ASAP. Help is appreciated and It would be fun to share the build with the community

Forget the name Segway and look up "Self balancing robot" - there are hundreds of designs freely available.
They are usually intended for remote control. You want a design with variable speed and steering, rather than on-off control.

What you would need to do is use eg. three ultrasonic sensors, one straight ahead (or back, whichever way you consider it) and use the distance reading from that to emulate the forward / reverse signal from the remote, plus two more sensors angled out either side of that one that emulate the turning controls if one "sees" something as close as the centre distance sensor.

You could add more sensors for object avoidance if it's moving backwards in front of the band, so it does not run in to people or things.

I think your segway needs to be able to see the future as it needs to turn before the player. Or, do you have a solution to this? Maybe it would be better to guide the segway using the player in front. A bit like pinning the music to the guy in front's back.

Mike.