Dean Kamen on Colbert Tonight
 

Dean will be on the Colbert Report tonight (Thursday, March 20).

Re: Dean Kamen on Colbert Tonight
 

Cool, maybe this time he'll talk more about FIRST. :)

Re: Dean Kamen on Colbert Tonight
 

I will have to check it out.

Re: Dean Kamen on Colbert Tonight
 

Actually, I understand he will be discussing his water filtration interests and projects. But we shall see...

Re: Dean Kamen on Colbert Tonight
 

Is it a new interview or is it a rerun of the old one?

Re: Dean Kamen on Colbert Tonight
 

Does anyone know what time his show is on in Indiana? I stopped watching do to the reruns during the strike and haven't started back in yet.

Re: Dean Kamen on Colbert Tonight
 

He is on again? Dean was on the Report last year.

Re: Dean Kamen on Colbert Tonight
 

Last year he was on the Report about the iBot and FIRST. This year he will be on about the water filtration projects he's working on- and will probably segway segue into FIRST somehow. We all know how long Dean talks for....

:)
I'm very excited to see him on the Report- again! I wish I could go see it live...

Re: Dean Kamen on Colbert Tonight
 

Doritos?

Dean looked great, as usual. Colbert was lamer than usual.

Re: Dean Kamen on Colbert Tonight
 

Dean talked about his water filtration system. Very cool stuff :)

And I'm very glad that Stephen is actually taking an interest in water conservation. I think it shows the direction in which the new media is moving and its clear that Dean is part of that movement.:)

Re: Dean Kamen on Colbert Tonight
 

No mention of FIRST, but a pretty good appearance nonetheless. I wonder how much one of his water purification devices costs...

Re: Dean Kamen on Colbert Tonight
 

hmm...not a mention of FIRST :(

Re: Dean Kamen on Colbert Tonight
 

I don't mind that Dean Kamen didn't talk about FIRST considering what he was talking about. His water purifier that uses no membranes, filters, etc. was really cool and will be a very useful tool in our changing world.

Re: Dean Kamen on Colbert Tonight
 

This is proof of a water game in 2009... are the Doritoes some sort of end-game bonus?

Re: Dean Kamen on Colbert Tonight
 

Overall good episode. I'm glad Colbert didn't take advantage of Dean to much. (I mean by making fun of him)

Just out of boredom. :)

http://www.chiefdelphi.com/media/photos/31041?

Re: Dean Kamen on Colbert Tonight
 

It will be on again at 1:30am and then tomorrow during the rerun (8:30pm I think).

Re: Dean Kamen on Colbert Tonight
 

Dean did talk about FIRST in his first episode- the fact that Dean and Colbert continue to work together shows Colbert's interest in what he's doing- which hopefully will move into some kind of media endorsement of FIRST? Hey, I can hope.

The water system is pretty neat. I was at an event in NYC where they had a machine running- with HUDSON RIVER WATER! For those of you not familiar with the hudson river- you're lucky. It's gross, to say the least.

I tasted the water that came out the other side. It was the best water I have ever had. Ever, ever. The machine is great and the potential for impact on third world communities is amazing.

Re: Dean Kamen on Colbert Tonight
 

I watched it but I didn't see Dean. Colbert had some lady on whose name escapes me. I don't know how I missed it.

Re: Dean Kamen on Colbert Tonight
 

After eating all of those Doritos, I could go for some Aqua Colbert! :D

Re: Dean Kamen on Colbert Tonight
 

That was the 8:00pm show, Dean was on then 11:00 PM show

Re: Dean Kamen on Colbert Tonight
 

Blast. Thanks

Re: Dean Kamen on Colbert Tonight
 

heres a link for it http://www.comedycentral.com/colbertreport/index.jhtml

Re: Dean Kamen on Colbert Tonight
 

I'm happy Dean didn't talk about FIRST, possibly wiping out 50% of all disease on the planet might be a little more important....

Re: Dean Kamen on Colbert Tonight
 

But is it economical? I'd like to know how much one of those costs...not to mention how it works! We'll probably never know...

Re: Dean Kamen on Colbert Tonight
 

I think it is less than a thousand dollars, which isn't much considering the positive effects. After all a thousand dollars isn't much more than a video game bundle.

Re: Dean Kamen on Colbert Tonight
 

I love it Chips = Water

Re: Dean Kamen on Colbert Tonight
 

Wow, if it is less than a grand that is amazing. Especially considering the value of them and the relative cost to wells and other ways of getting water. I am interested in how much fuel it takes to run one and how economical it is to require the burning of some fuel to produce water. While water is essential to life, it does not mean that these people who need these the most have the money and access to fossil fuels.

Re: Dean Kamen on Colbert Tonight
 

According to estimates a few years ago, the water purifier alone was over one thousand, with several more thousand for the stirling engine.

Re: Dean Kamen on Colbert Tonight
 

Mmmm i missed it.
Love Colbert though.
Gonna have to find that somewhere...

Re: Dean Kamen on Colbert Tonight
 

I think we'll know, soon. Dean's team has been working hard to get cost down. $1000 is too high -- they will do much better.

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...