Biography of Dean Kamen, American Engineer and Inventor

Dean Kamen (born April 5, 1951) is an American engineer, inventor, and entrepreneur who is best known for his invention of the Segway PT, a self-balancing personal transporter scooter. He is also noted as a founder of the non-profit FIRST organization for advancing science and technology-dedicated education. Holding over 450 patents, Kamen has been called the â€Å"next Thomas Edison,† particularly for his life-changing inventions improving the mobility of persons with disabilities and treating illnesses ranging from diabetes to cancer. Fast Facts: Dean Kamen Known For: Inventor of the Segway self-balancing scooterBorn: April 5, 1951, in Rockville Center, Long Island, New YorkParents: Jack Kamen and Evelyn KamenEducation: Worcester Polytechnic Institute (no degree)Patents: US8830048B2: Control of a personal transporter based on user position (Segway)Awards and Honors: National Medal of Technology, Lemelson-MIT Prize, National Inventors Hall of Fame, ASME MedalNotable Quote: â€Å"Life is so short. Why waste a single day of it doing something that doesnt matter, that doesn’t try to do something big?† Early Life and Education Dean Kamen was born on April 5, 1951 in Rockville Center, Long Island, New York. His father worked as a graphic artist for Weird Science, Mad, and other comic books, and his mother was a teacher. By his own account, he was a lackluster student, preferring to educate himself on advanced science and engineering topics outside of school. According to Kamen, he had created his first invention by age six: a pulley system that enabled him to make his bed without running from side-to-side. Kamen’s career as a professional inventor took off in his teenage years. While still in high school, he was asked to automate the annual New Years Eve ball drop at Times Square. He designed sound and laser-light displays local rock bands and the Museum of the City of New York. By the time he finished high school, Kamen’s creations were earning him around $60,000 a yea— more than the combined incomes of his parents. After completing high school, Kamen headed to Worcester Polytechnic Institute to study engineering. Early Inventions As a sophomore at WPI, Kamen invented a pocket-sized, wearable medical device that delivered precisely measured doses of medications, such as insulin, over extended periods of time. In 1976, Kamen dropped out of college to found his first company, AutoSyringe, to produce and market his insulin pump. In 1981, Kamen sold AutoSyringe to health-care giant Baxter International. The same year, he founded DEKA (DE-an KA-men) Research and Development Corp., a firm dedicated to creating robotic mobility solutions for persons with disabilities. By age 30, Dean Kamen had become a multimillionaire. After founding DEKA, Kamen invented a groundbreaking portable and affordable kidney dialysis machine that allows diabetics to dialyze at home while they sleep. In 1993, the device earned him the Medical Product of the Year award from Design News and set the stage for his best-known inventions to date: the iBOT, the Segway, the Slingshot, and the â€Å"Luke† Arm. The iBot Revealed in 1999, Kamen’s iBOT self-balancing mobility device is a self-balancing, multi-terrain, battery-powered wheelchair. Built from sensors, microprocessors, and gyroscopes that would later be incorporated into his Segway, the iBOT allows its users to climb stairs without assistance and travel safely over uneven surfaces, including sand, gravel, and water up to 3 deep. With its ability to stand upright on two wheels, the iBOT empowers persons with handicaps to move about at eye-level. Inventor Dean Kamen demonstrates his iBot wheelchair for President Bill Clinton. US Government/The White House Because of the iBOT’s flexibility and agility, Kamen nicknamed the project â€Å"Fred,† after famed dancer Fred Astaire. He would later nickname his Segway project â€Å"Ginger,† after Astaire’s equally famous dance partner, Ginger Rogers. Commercial production of the iBOT was temporarily halted in 2009 due to high production costs. By then, only a few hundred units per year were being sold at a retail price of about $25,000. However, in 2014, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration lowered its costly federal regulatory controls over personal mobility medical devices, allowing Kamen and DEKA to revive the project. In 2016, DEKA entered into a partnership with Toyota to produce a new, less costly version of the iBOT. The Segway On December 3, 2001, after months of media-hype and public speculation, Kamen appeared live on the ABC News morning television program Good Morning America to unveil his best-known invention—a battery-powered, two-wheeled, self-balancing scooter he called the Segway. Dean Kamen introduces the Segway Human Transporter on December 3, 2001. Mark Peterson / Getty Images Based on technology developed for the iBOT, the Segway used independently computer-controlled motors and gyroscopes in each wheel to remain upright and change its direction and speed according to the rider’s body movements. The device’s name comes from the word â€Å"segue† which literally means â€Å"follows without pause.† As the rider leans forward, backward, and to the left or right using a handlebar attached to its base, the Segway follows accordingly. Capable speeds up to 12.5 miles per hour (20.1 kph), the Segway can cover up to 24 mi (39 km) on a fully charged lithium-ion battery. When the Segway hit the market in early 2002, Kamen predicted future sales of 10,000 units a week—half a million a year. However, by late 2008, only 30,000 Segway scooters had been sold. While it worked as advertised, the Segway suffered from its $4,900 price tag and a bad public image. It had been featured as a comedic prop in the movie â€Å"Paul Blart: Mall Cop† gaining it a â€Å"nerd toy† image. In 2003, President George W. Bush was filmed falling off one and in 2010, Segway corporation owner James W. Heselden died after accidentally steering his scooter off a 30-foot cliff, landing in a river. After a patent infringement dispute in 2015, Kamen’s Segway Corporation was purchased by its Chinese rival Ninebot. The two companies announced at the time that they were uniting under a â€Å"strategic alliance† to develop less expensive electric scooters using Segway’s self-balancing technology. Ninebot soon began selling several models of Segway-branded scooters priced at $1,000 or less. While it never dominated the general consumer market as Kamen had predicted, the Segway has found success in commercial fleet applications. Police officers, mall security guards, warehouses workers, tour guides, and airport maintenance staff are now commonly seen riding Segway scooters. The Slingshot   Named for the humble weapon used by the Biblical David to defeat the giant Goliath, the Slingshot is the result of Kamen’s 15-year quest to bring safe drinking water to the world. â€Å"Fifty percent of all chronic human disease would go away—you would empty 50 percent of the hospital beds in the world—if you just gave people clean water,† Kamen has said. Using a Stirling engine specially modified by Kamen to drive a process called vapor compression distillation, a single compact refrigerator-sized Slingshot can purify more than 66,000 gallons (250,000 liters) of water per year—enough to meet the daily needs of about 300 people. According to Kamen, the Slingshot can run on any combustible fuel, including cow dung, and can remove all organic and inorganic pathogens from â€Å"anything that looks wet.† In a 2004 demonstration, Kamen ran his own urine through a Slingshot, immediately drinking the water that came out. During a test in the summer of 2006, two Slingshot devices successfully produced clean water in a Honduran village for over a month. In 2010, Kamen’s DEKA corporation announced it had partnered with Coca-Cola to manufacture and test the Slingshot in remote communities in Latin America. While the first Slingshot units cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, Kamen has projected that savings from increased production will eventually result in a price in the $1,000 to $2,000 range. DEKA Arm System (Luke Arm) In 2006, Kamen and DEKA developed the DEKA Arm System, codenamed the â€Å"Luke Arm,† an advanced prosthetic arm named after Star Wars’ Luke Skywalker’s artificial hand. Kamen took on the project after the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Project Agency (DARPA) announced its â€Å"Revolutionizing Prosthetics† program intended to drastically improve the quality of life for wounded veterans returning home from the Iraq War. The â€Å"Luke† prosthetic arm invented by Dean Kamen. Dean Kamen / Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain Offering its users much finer motor control than traditional prosthetic limbs, Kamen’s Luke Arm was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in May 2014. At the time, the FDA stated that the Luke Arm was the first prosthetic arm approved by the agency that â€Å"translates signals from a person’s muscles to perform complex tasks.† Unlike traditional prosthetics, the Luke Arm allows its users to carry out multiple powered movements, while its fingers can apply six different user-selectable grip pressures. Today, three configurations of Kamen’s Luke Arm are manufactured and marketed by Mobius Bionics in Manchester, New Hampshire. FIRST Advances STEM Education In 1989, Kamen founded FIRST—For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology—a non-profit organization for students ages 6 to 18 to promote interest in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education. According to Kamen, the mission of FIRST is, â€Å"To transform our culture by creating a world where science and technology are celebrated and where young people dream of becoming science and technology leaders.† FIRST offers robotics-focused programs for K-12 students worldwide in three age groups, including the FIRST Lego League Jr. for younger elementary school students, the FIRST Tech Challenge for middle and high school students, and the FIRST Robotics Competition for high school students. In 2017, FIRST hosted 163 teams from 157 nations in its inaugural Olympics-style robotics competition—the FIRST Global Challenge— at Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C. Similar Global Challenge competitions have since been held in Mexico City in 2018 and Dubai in 2019. â€Å"FIRST is more than robots. The robots are a vehicle for students to learn life skills. Kids often come in not knowing what to expect – of the program nor of themselves. They leave, even after the first season, with a vision, with confidence, and with a sense that they can create their own future.† – Dean Kamen Kamen has called FIRST the invention he is most proud of, predicting that the millions of students who take part in its competitions will go on to contribute to world-changing technological advances in years to come. Awards and Honors Kamen’s inventions and dedication to science and technology education have garnered him an array of honors. In 1998, he received the Heinz Award for â€Å"a set of inventions that have advanced medical care worldwide.† The National Medal of Technology Kamen was awarded in 2000 praised him for â€Å"innovative and imaginative leadership in awakening America to the excitement of science and technology.† In 2002, he was awarded the Lemelson-MIT Prize for his invention of the Segway, and in 2005, he was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame for his invention of the AutoSyringe. In 2007, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers awarded Kamen its highest honor, the ASME Medal. In 2011 Kamen was awarded the Benjamin Franklin Medal in Mechanical Engineering by the Franklin Institute, and in 2013, he received the James C. Morgan Global Humanitarian Award. Though he never formally completed college, Kamen has been awarded honorary degrees, beginning in 1992 with an honorary doctor of engineering degree from Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI), the college where he was inspired to develop the AutoSyringe. In 2013, WPI further honored Kamen by awarding him its Robert H. Goddard Award for Outstanding Professional Achievement. Among other institutions, Kamen has received honorary doctorates from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 2008, Yale University in 2015, and Quebec’s Università © de Sherbrooke in 2017. Sources â€Å"Dean Kamen.† Famous Entrepreneurs, https://www.famous-entrepreneurs.com/dean-kamen.â€Å"Dean Kamen: IBOT Mobility System and the Segway.† Lemelson–MIT, http://lemelson.mit.edu/resources/dean-kamen.â€Å"Breakout Artist: Dean Kamen.† WIRED, https://www.wired.com/2000/09/kamen/.â€Å"Kid Invention: Automatic Bed Maker.† Big Think, July 7, 2009, https://bigthink.com/videos/kid-invention-automatic-bed-maker.Sorvino, Chloe. â€Å"One Of Americas Most Successful Inventors Dean Kamen Talks Segway, Clean Water And Robotics.† Forbes, June 9, 2016, https://www.forbes.com/sites/chloesorvino/2016/06/09/dean-kamen-inventor-success-segway-water-purification-toyota/#18cbf317555e.Kemper, Steve. â€Å".†Code Name Ginger: The Story Behind Segway and Dean Kamens Quest to Invent a New World Harvard Business School, 2003.â€Å"Welcome to Dean Kamens cool world.† CBS News, January 11, 2015, https://www.cbsnews.com/news/welcome-to-dean-kamens-c ool-world/.â€Å"iBOT Poised for Comeback.† Toyota Newsroom, May 21, 2016, https://pressroom.toyota.com/toyota-deka-research-partnership-may21/.McFarland, Matt. â€Å"Segway was supposed to change the world. Two decades later, it just might.† CNN, October 30, 2018, https://www.cnn.com/2018/10/30/tech/segway-history/index.html.Linshi, Jack.â€Å"Why This Chinese Startup Just Bought a Company Americans Love to Ridicule.† Time, April 15, 2015, https://time.com/3822962/segway-ninebot-china/.Guizzo, Erico. â€Å"Dean Kamens ‘Luke Arm’ Prosthesis Receives FDA Approval.† IEEE Spectrum,  May 13, 2014, https://spectrum.ieee.org/automaton/biomedical/bionics/dean-kamen-luke-arm-prosthesis-receives-fda-approval.Patton, Phil. â€Å"Slingshot: Inventor Dean Kamens Revolutionary Clean Water Machine.† Coca-Cola, September 21, 2013. https://www.coca-colacompany.com/au/news/slingshot-inventor-dean-kamens-revolutionary-clean-water-machine.html.

Lord of the Flies Essay - 1591 Words

Lord of the Flies The main theme of Lord of the Flies is that moral nature is not instinctive in mankind. There is a capacity for evil in all people, and their morality is superficial. Nonetheless, it is this moral integrity that must continue in order for a person to be ethical, for society to be maintained, and to keep society from falling in on itself. Society holds everyone together. Without the rules and the structure, evil in everyone becomes more prominent, and ideals, values, and basics of right and wrong are forgotten. Without societys rigid rules, chaos and savagery come to light. There are also a number of secondary themes in the book such as: people will abuse power when it is not earned; people will degrade others to†¦show more content†¦His nickname parallels the wild pigs that are hunted on the island, and it also represents his intelligence. Piggy portrays clear-sightedness and intelligence. He tries to keep peace and clings to civilization, and he is the smartest boy on the island even though he has no social skills. He does not like strenuous work so he refrains from physical work. His only contribution to survival on the island are his specs which become very important in lighting the signal and cooking fires. The two boys together find a conch shell which comes to represent democracy and order, and the high hand of authority. Ralph blows it to bring together any other people that might be on the island. Soon a crowd gathers. The boys are made up of bigguns and littluns, the bigguns being around twelve years old, and the littluns being around five or six. Immediately the conch is seen as a token of respect, so it is always used to call meetings. We are now introduced to the rest of the main characters. Jack Merridew is the leader of the boys choir. His name means one who supplants reflecting his use of force, and it is derived from Hebrew. 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He uncovered that leadership skillsRead MoreThe Lord Of The Flies2105 Words   |  9 PagesBefore starting The Lord of the Flies, a lone question that summed up the entire book was proposed: Are humans good or evil? Though it may not seem like a puzzling question at first, everything inside, and outside of the book makes it more complicated. If we are evil, then everyone would be turned against everyone else from the start, and if we are good, we would always be for everyone else at the beginning. Neither is present in the real world, bring up the question, what is humanity’s true goal

The Benefits Of Space Exploration - 768 Words

Looking down the road, space exploration and the benefits it yields-in medicine and information technology -should not be overlooked. By: Bob Barr. As a result of exploring the universe, new technologies are made along the way and other things are made better. A lot of people see space exploration as a waste of time and resource consumer; however, the benefits it yields is much greater. Space exploration is helping develop new technologies, inspiring young people to pursue the STEM careers, and it can offer many solutions in the problems we encounter. There are many technologies that have been discovered as a result of space exploration. For example, GPS was inspired by NASA. GPS is equipped with maps and locations around the world†¦show more content†¦Statistically, how many young people pursuing careers in the STEM careers is increasing. According to the U.S. Department of Commerce Economics and Statistics Administration in 2010 there were about 7.6 million young people that were employed in the STEM careers. It is increasing significantly and younger generations are having the passion to pursue it because of the result that STEM careers is providing. Around this world there are many problems that are arising and there are problems that still exist because the difficulty of the situation is very big. Regardless of the money it consumes space exploration is benefiting humanity more than anything in comparison of others things so-supposedly- called beneficial in our developing world, space exploration is inspiring young people that anything is possible and there can be a lot of things done in order to make the world a better place to be in, essentially, space exploration is paving ways for other careers so it doesnt necessarily have to be associated with merely astronomy occupations. 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Advantages and Disadvantages of Living in a Boarding House free essay sample

Rooming houses may have as few as three rooms for rent, or more than a hundred. Rooming houses are the cheapest form of permanent accommodation currently available in Toronto. Rents average about $400-$450 a month. Those who cannot afford a room in a rooming house, or who are evicted from a rooming house because they cannot pay the rent generally have to go to a hostel. (This puts an added burden on the city, because housing people in hostels costs about $1,200 per person per month. ) Rooming houses are an essential form of housing for low-income people. They constitute the bottom rung of the housing ladder. If they disappear, it will become even harder for low-income people to remain on the ladder, let alone climb it. In other words, the fewer rooms that are available in rooming houses in Toronto, the greater the number of people who will fill the hostels and live on the streets. We will write a custom essay sample on Advantages and Disadvantages of Living in a Boarding House or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The decline in the numbers of rooming houses in Toronto has occurred at the same time as an increase in homelessness. The people who live in rooming houses are those who cannot afford self-contained apartments. These people include people on social assistance, people with minimum-wage jobs, students, new immigrants who are not yet established in jobs, refugees, old age pensioners with low incomes, disabled people, and former psychiatric patients. Recently, because of the shortage of inexpensive apartments in Toronto, working people who would normally have found apartments have begun to move into certain rooming houses. A rooming house is considered illegal if it contravenes city bylaws. In the former City of Toronto, rooming houses are required to obtain a license from City Hall to operate. Any rooming house that does not have a license can be considered illegal. Rooming houses may also be illegal because their owners did not obtain a permit to make renovations to divide up the building, because they do not have sufficient parking for tenants, or because one or more rooms are below a certain minimum size. Rooming houses are also illegal if they are located in one of the former municipalities that prohibited them in its bylaws. Boarding houses offer tenants food and other services in addition to accommodation. Boarding houses often house elderly people, former psychiatric patients, or the disabled. A program called Habitat Services helps ensure that certain boarding houses maintain adequate standards of cleanliness and care. This program requires that the owner/operator of the boarding home sign a contract with Habitat Services. In return for funding, the owner/operator agrees to accept periodic inspections of the house and regular visits from service providers.