Re: Dean Kamen on Colbert Tonight
 

Dean also gave a speech about this setup at the WPI Robotics Symposium last fall. First of all, the water filtration system is designed to be inexpensive, but the power is supplied by another system in the same project (which I am surprised he didn't mention), which is designed to generate power from ANY flammable material. I dont remember the workings (i think it was a stirling engine), but the package was designed to be distributed to third world villages at low cost (hopefully by a humanitarian organization), and run off of any water source and farm wastes. Honestly, I dont mind him not mentioning FIRST when he discusses this, IMHO its on a completely different level.

Re: Dean Kamen on Colbert Tonight
 

I have had the workings of the machine explained to me very briefly, and I'd repeat it here but I would probably get it wrong, & I wouldn't want to misinform.
I'm sure if he had more time on the show he'd explain it.
There will be more opportunities to learn about the machine and how it works in the media, I'm sure.

Unfortunately at the moment it is over a thousand dollars, but another aspect of the project is figuring out how to make it more affordable.

Re: Dean Kamen on Colbert Tonight
 

That was the single greatest thing i have seen in my life......(aside from last year)... but anyway that was prett godly......sigh...:rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

Re: Dean Kamen on Colbert Tonight
 

I watched it and thought it was really cool. It's hard for me to imagine the kind of difference that thing can make, I hope he's able to get it placed everywhere.

Re: Dean Kamen on Colbert Tonight
 

Stepehn Colbert was in the running for President, I thought that was funny. And I think I might have voted for him. But would you guys vote Dean for president? (Just an idea to throw out there)

On a more relative note: I did not know Dean was going to be on and to my biggest surprised, there he was. I did not know about his water filter devise and of course it was amazing to see. It's funny how everything my elementary teachers said was impossible are now becoming more possible than ever. If history is any guide, it goes to show us that we are wrong about how we view the world. I always feel more comfterbale about the future everytime I hear Dean announcing his projects and researching new ones.

Re: Dean Kamen on Colbert Tonight
 

Perhaps this technical info is of interest:

http://www.google.com/patents?id=S7ySAAAAEBAJ

and this:

http://www.google.com/patents?id=98-SAAAAEBAJ

Re: Dean Kamen on Colbert Tonight
 

You really need to get out more.

Re: Dean Kamen on Colbert Tonight
 

I might be missing something, but just a quick look at the plans suggests that perhaps it is just boiling the water to get rid of impurities. Now, knowing Dean there is something much more to it that I am missing. If anyone knows what it is, please post it.

Also, as far as economical standards go it needs to either cost about $100 or less or be legally required to be readily accepted. Otherwise, I don't see this going big. For instance, I wouldn't get one because I already don't get sick but maybe once every other year. The only really good uses I see are for hospitals and retirement homes where people get sick alot. Perhaps third world countries could benefit, but it will take decades to spread these.

Overall, if there is something underlying that I am missing, it might be awesome. I just really don't see this hitting big anytime soon. I hope I am wrong though. If it does go big it will do great things, I just don't think people will give it a chance.

Re: Dean Kamen on Colbert Tonight
 

I did have the system explained to me, but honestly I don't remember it in enough detail to recount it accurately. However, I will let you know it is WAY more complicated than just boiling water. Plus, boiling water only gets rid of a few things- this literally gets rid of everything but the water.

The 'selling point' of this system, which he wasn't able to go into in detail on the time-limited segment, was that the water filtration system, paired with the power system he's also working on, can be set into third world villages and run, independently, by a few people in the village. Not only will this supply water and power for the entire village, but it creates jobs for the people living there. It may be expensive to start but its benefits far outweigh the price tag.

This system was not meant for ordinary home use- it was designed with the third world in mind. It's supposed to be for countries where most of the population is sick because of their lack of clean, affordable water. We should consider ourselves very lucky that we don't need it.

Re: Dean Kamen on Colbert Tonight
 

Keep in mind that this is what engineering is really all about. Anyone can make a bridge - as long as it is made of a 30 ft by 30 ft chunk of steel spanning the 2000 foot river, costing $30 billion dollars. The real challenge of engineering is getting that bridge down to the minimal amount of materials for the minimal amout of cost.

Part of engineering is the proof of concept, but the real meat of the discipline is all about making things economical.

The only reason I'm bringing this up is that most people focus on engineering as a discipline that makes marvelous jumps in technology. This makes some people have some unrealistic expectations about the profession. The fact is that the vast majority of engineering is done as refinements, mostly to make things more economical. And let's be honest, having comupters in the world is pretty cool, but having computers that cost $500 (not the millions that they cost in the 60's) is amazingly cool.

Re: Dean Kamen on Colbert Tonight
 

Perhaps the benefits outweigh the price. But who decides that? The people putting money in. The problem is that people don't put money in. For instance, you can help feed these people for very little money and very little work. However, people don't participate. Why not? It is not worth their time. SAVING PEOPLE IS NOT WORTH THEIR TIME. Do you see something wrong with this? I do, but I am not doing everything I can either, so I can't complain too much. Once again, I am just trying to keep things in real world perspective.

Another thing: If it breaks, how hard is it to fix? Could you teach somebody with no understanding of technology to fix it? If not, then they will probably never get fixed and this will limit the overrall effectiveness.

Re: Dean Kamen on Colbert Tonight
 

I'll have to go to comedy central and watch the video.

Re: Dean Kamen on Colbert Tonight
 

if you want or any want to help feed people go here www.freerice.com and you can get them free rice for every correct answer

Re: Dean Kamen on Colbert Tonight
 

Thats why theres a place in the world for people like Dean Kamen -- they make it their job, and make it worth their time.


If you're talking about the general public, then I think you're mistaken. Anytime you walk into a McDonalds, and see in front of the register a bucket of change... that was someone who gave something. Or even the person in front of the wal-mart ringing the bell for Salvation Army, or the person donating their stuff to Goodwill. All of those things save people, and help the world.

Also, this is one of the unspoken ideas of FIRST... make the world a better place.

Re: Dean Kamen on Colbert Tonight
 

Hi all, came across this link on Reddit.com today:

http://www.vestergaard-frandsen.com/lifestraw.htm

I know very little about these devices. Anyone know anymore about how these compare to what Dean is trying to do?

To me, it doesn't matter who invented it, as long as it works...