Dean Kamen on one of his inventions, the
Segway PT.
Dean L. Kamen (born April 5, 1951) is an
American entrepreneur and inventor. Born in Rockville Centre, New York, he attended Worcester Polytechnic Institute,
but dropped out before graduating. His father is Jack Kamen, an illustrator of
Weird Science and other EC Comics.
Career
Inventions
Kamen is probably most well-known to the public from the publicity surrounding the product that eventually became known as the
Segway HT, an electric, self-balancing human transporter with a complex, computer-controlled
gyroscopic stabilization and control system that keeps the device balanced on two
horizontally-placed wheels and controlled by moving body weight. The machine's development was the object of much speculation and
hype after segments of a book quoting Steve Jobs and other notable IT visionaries espousing its society-revolutionising potential were leaked in January
2001.
Kamen has worked extensively on a project involving Stirling engine designs,
attempting to create a machine that would generate power while serving as a water
purification system. He hopes the project will help improve living standards in developing countries. [1]
Kamen has also invented a compressed-air-powered device which would launch a human into
the air in order to quickly launch SWAT teams or other emergency workers to the roofs of tall,
inaccessible buildings.[2]
However, Kamen was already a successful and wealthy inventor, after inventing the AutoSyringe,
a new type of mobile dialysis system for medical applications, the first insulin pump, and an all-terrain electric wheelchair known as the
iBOT using many of the same gyroscopic balancing technologies that later made their way into the
Segway.
Awards
During his career Kamen has won numerous awards. He was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 1997 for his biomedical devices and for making
engineering more popular among high school students. In 2000, he was awarded the National Medal of Technology by US
President Bill Clinton. In April 2002, Kamen was awarded the Lemelson-MIT Prize for inventors for his invention of the Segway and of an infusion pump for
diabetics. In 2005 he was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame for his invention of the AutoSyringe. In 2006 Kamen was
awarded the Global Humanitarian Action Award by the United Nations. Kamen received an honorary "Doctor of Engineering " degree
from Kettering University in 2001, as well as from the Wentworth Institute of Technology when he spoke at the college's centennial
celebration in 2004, and another honorary doctorate from Bates College in 2007.[1]
FIRST
In 1989, Kamen founded the robotics organization, FIRST
(For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology), for high school students. In 2005, it held over 30 regional competitions and one
international competition. In 2007, 37 competitions were held in places across the world such as Israel, Brazil, Canada, and the
U.S.A.. Kamen remains the driving force behind the organization, providing over 1,000 high schools with the tools needed to learn
valuable engineering skills. FIRST has gained a great deal of publicity from companies such as Bausch and Lomb, CNN, General
Motors, Google, Microsoft, Coca-Cola, Boston Gears, Motorola,
Delphi, Kodak, Johnson and Johnson, Xerox, and Harris,Underwriter's Labratories, Microchip, as well as many Universities and colleges.
FIRST has many competitions, including the JFLL (Junior FIRST Lego League) and the FLL (FIRST Lego League) for younger
students, and the FTC (FIRST Tech Challenge) and the FRC (FIRST Robotics Competition) for high school aged students.
Personal life
Kamen is currently single, claiming he's "married to his inventions." His primary residence is a hexagonal shed style mansion he has dubbed Westwind[1], located in Bedford, New Hampshire, just outside of the larger city of
Manchester. The house has at least four different levels and is very
eclectically conceived, with such things as hallways resembling mine shafts, 1960s novelty
furniture, spiral staircases and secret passages, an observation tower, a fully-equipped machine shop, and a huge cast-iron steam
engine which once belonged to Henry Ford built into the center atrium of the house (which is
actually small in comparison), which Kamen has had converted into a Stirling
engine-powered kinetic sculpture.
Also on the property there is a softball field regularly used by the local police force. Kamen owns two helicopters, which he
regularly uses to commute to work, and has a hangar built into the house as well.
During 2007 at the FIRST Robotics competition held in Atlanta, Georgia, YouTube (which sponsors FIRST) co-founder
Chad Hurley announced a competition for the teams to create a video in which they would
describe what it takes to start a FIRST robotics team in an imaginative way. The prize for the winning team is a visit and guided
tour of Dean Kamen's house and property. The competition is currently on-going and still taking submissions.
His company, DEKA, annually creates intricate mechanical presents for Dean Kamen. Recently, the
company created a robotic chess player, which is a mechanical arm attached to a chess board.
North Dumpling Island
Dean Kamen's home on North Dumpling Island. A
wind turbine, seen in the right side of the
picture, is used to generate electricity.
Kamen owns the small North Dumpling Island off the coast of Connecticut, and has "declared" the island to be an independent state,
along with its own currency in increments of Pi (pioneered by Donald Knuth). His home
(pictured) is located on the west side of the island. An assembly of pillars resembling Stonehenge is located near the house, although its function and significance are currently unknown. Excess
electricity is sold to the state of Connecticut. In Spring of 2006, an amphibious
vehicle, similar to a WWII DUKW, was observed parked
next to one of the buildings on the island.
References
- ^ a b Kirsner, Scott. "Breakout Artist",
Wired magazine, 8.09, Sept 2000.
- ^ Williams, Chris. "DARPA plots emergency
man-cannon", The Register, May 16,
2006
External links
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
