Dean Kamen: The Emotion Behind Invention
Soldiers who’ve lost limbs in service face a daily struggle unimaginable to most of us. Dean Kamen talks about the profound people and stories that motivated his work to give parts of their lives back with his design for a remarkable prosthetic arm.
ABOUT TED
TED is a small Non Profit devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. It started in 1984 as a conference bringing together people from three worlds: Technology, Entertainment and Design.
ABOUT Dean Kamen
“Dean Kamen is an innovator, but not just of things. He hopes to revolutionise attitudes, quality of life, awareness. While an undergraduate, he developed the first portable infusion device, that delivers drug treatments that once required round-the-clock hospital care.
Through his DEKA Research and Development, which he co-founded in 1982, he developed a portable dialysis machine, a vascular stent, and the iBOT a motorised 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 non profit 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 TED 2007, is a prosthetic arm for maimed soldiers. 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.”
The VIDEO
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