Dean Kamen landed in the limelight with the Segway, but he has been innovating since high school, with more than 150 patents under his belt. Recent projects include portable energy and water purification for the developing world, and a prosthetic arm for maimed soldiers.
Why you should listen to him:
Dean Kamen is an innovator, but not just of things. He hopes to revolutionize attitudes, quality of life, awareness. While an undergraduate, he developed the first portable infusion device, which delivers drug treatments that once required round-the-clock hospital care. And, through his DEKA Research and Development, which he cofounded in 1982, he developed a portable dialysis machine, a vascular stent, and the iBOT -- a motorized wheelchair that climbs stairs (Stephen Colbert took one for a spin).
Yes, he's a college dropout, but he's a huge believer in education, and in 1989 established the nonprofit FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) to inspire teenagers to pursue careers in science. FIRST sponsors lively annual competitions, where students form teams to create the best robot.
His focus now is on off-grid electricity and water purification for developing countries; another recent project, previewed at TED2007, is a prosthetic arm for maimed soldiers (read an update here). He's also working on a power source for the wonderful Think car. And, with more funding in the works, we haven't seen the last of the Segway.
"Lots of people talk and dream about changing the world. But inventor Dean Kamen is actually doing it."CBS News
Blog Posts on TED
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Dean Kamen's arm may enter clinical trials soon – February 16, 2008
From IEEE Spectrum magazine:
Dean Kamen's “Luke arm” -- a prosthesis named for the remarkably lifelike prosthetic worn by Luke Skywalker in Star Wars -- came to the end of its two-year funding last month. Its fate now rests in the hands of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), which funded the project. If DARPA gives the project the green light -- and some greenbacks -- the state-of-the-art bionic arm will go into clinical trials. If all goes well, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration gives its approval, returning veterans could be wearing the new artificial limb by next year. ...
Read more (and watch new video of the arm in action) on the IEEE's site >>
And watch Dean Kamen's moving TEDTalk on this project, unveiled at TED2007, right here:
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Dean Kamen on TED.com – April 20, 2007
Inventor Dean Kamen lays out his argument for the Segway and offers a peek into his next big ideas (portable energy and water purification for developing countries).
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Dean Kamen says America needs a geek overhaul – October 29, 2008
From BoingBoing: TED alum, Segway creator and inventor of a groundbreaking prosthetic arm, Dean Kamen was interviewed recently by John Meigs, editor-in-chief of Popular Mechanics, where he discussed his ideas about education and technology, and why it’s so important for kids to learn how to build and then stage elaborate death matches with 120-pound robots. “The next president should recognize the power of technology,” Kamen says in the interview. “Technology is how we create wealth, how we cure diseases, how we'll build an environment that's sustainable and also gives people the capacity to pull more out of this world and still leave it better than when they found it." With his nonprofit organization FIRST, Kamen has been teaching kids that geeks have more fun since 1989. Watch him give his inspiring 2002 TEDtalk. -- Sierra Feldner-Shaw
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Bionic athletes and the future of sports – April 29, 2008
ESPN The Magazine's April 23 cover story takes a look at the future of sports -- a world where prosthetics can enhance athletic skill beyond current human capabilities:
The prosthetic-enhanced athlete will be able to run faster, jump higher and pitch harder than mere mortals. From an idea lab at MIT to a prosthetic design company in Iceland to amputees who see no limits to what their bodies can attain, [...] technology will change the way we think about what is possible for the human body to achieve.
The article is a great complement to Dean Kamen's 2007 TEDTalk, which offers a preview of an extraordinary prosthetic arm and a perspective on the hope it gives to maimed soldiers.
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Dean Kamen previews an extraordinary new prosthetic arm, on TED.com – August 28, 2007
Inventor Dean Kamen gives a 5-minute talk about the extraordinary prosthetic arm he’s developing at the request of the US Department of Defense, to help the 1,600 "kids" who've come back from Iraq without an arm (and the two dozen who’ve lost both arms). Kamen's commitment to using technology to solve problems, and his respect for the human spirit, have never been more clear than in this deeply moving clip. (Recorded March 2007 in Monterey, California. Duration: 05:41.)
Watch Dean Kamen's talk on TED.com, where you can download it, rate it, comment on it and find other talks and performances, including Kamen's 2002 talk on inventing and giving.
Read more about Dean Kamen on TED.com.
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14 ways to fix the future – February 16, 2008
The National Academies' "Grand Challenges for Engineering" list, released yesterday, runs down the 14 most pressing issues we must face in the 21st century. Creating access to clean water ... restoring our cities ... engineering new medicines and new ways of providing care ... the list is vast and inspiring. Look on the Next Steps area to find out where we can go from here.
The committee that selected these 14 Grand Challenges includes TEDTalks speakers Jaime Lerner, Dean Kamen, Craig Venter, Larry Page and Ray Kurzweil.
Listen to Ray Kurzweil at the press conference, discussing the future of solar power >>
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Johnny Lee on the power of video demos – October 26, 2008
In today's New York Times, Johnny Lee talks about his clever Wii hacks -- and how he shared them with the world via viral video. Johnny Lee's TEDTalk, in which he shows how to make an interactive whiteboard from a $40 game controller, is a perpetual Top 10 talk on TED.com. Lee's amazing YouTube videos and his TEDTalk have helped to spread this cheap-but-effective educational tool around the world. From the story: Some 700,000 people, many of them teachers, have downloaded the software, Mr. Lee says. Much more expensive whiteboards may offer more features and better image resolution, but Mr. Lee’s version is adequate for most classroom applications. For more video demos from TED, check out: Hod Lipson's "self-aware" robots >> Dean Kamen's moving demo of a robotic arm >> Blaise Aguera y Arcas' demo of Seadragon and Photosynth >>
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PopMech's 2007 Breakthrough Awards – October 17, 2007
Some familiar TED faces and themes turn up in Popular Mechanics' 2007 Breakthrough Awards, published in the magazine's November issue. Jeff Han's multitouch wall (watch his 2006 TEDTalk) and Hod Lipson's print-anything printer (related to his work on robots) are named as two of the awards' "8 Bold Ideas" for 2007. If you were moved and inspired by Amy Smith's TEDTalk on her developing-world technologies, check out PopMech's profile of the like-minded Ashok Gadgil and Christina Galitsky and the cookstove they developed for use in Darfur, or 2006 winner Jock Brandis and his portable peanut sheller. If Dean Kamen's robotic prosthetic arm TEDTalk interested you, dive into the video report on Johns Hopkins' project. It's a fascinating, well-reported awards package.
