Quote:
Originally Posted by sejeff
Remember IT, you know the most awesomest invention ever. Get ready for 'that', as in 'that was another waste of our time'. Kamen thinks he developed a sterling engine, oh goodness. NASA hasn't even been able to do that, and they have sent people to the MOON. A feat much more complicated than installing gyroscopes on a two wheeled platform. Don't get me wrong, I love Kamen, he has made my gf's life so much easier with the insulin pump, and giving clean water to all the malnurished dessert people in Africa. BUT, this is another waste of our time!
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/mai..._deankamen.xml
What do you all think of this??? |
Welcome back to FIRST! Things have changed a little bit in FIRST and in these forums, so do take plenty of time to observe before you start posting a lot. Hint: when you do post, the spell checker is now automatic, so any words with a dotted red line under them are being flagged; a right click on the word will give you possible corrections. I don't know if the spell checker works with thread titles.
Back on topic: If you read the entire article carefully, you'll notice that DEKA's clean water machine relies on a functioning Stirling engine. These devices exist, and they work. As the article states, funding is the problem: "'The big companies...long ago figured out -- the people in the world that have no water and have no electricity have no money.'" Many of the technological problems with the Stirling engine have been solved, although more refinement is needed. (Heck, more refinement is needed on the automobile, and apparently on the iPhone and Wii as well!)
If anyone can get a Stirling engine to work well in an automobile, more power to him or her! Just over a hundred years ago, the internal combustion engine didn't work very well; once it was perfected to a certain level, the automobile and the airplane followed in short order.
As for the slow acceptance of the Segway, I think economics also plays a role--even more so than the crazy hype that preceded its unveiling. Most people think it costs too much, especially when they apply the customary transportation economics: "For $5,000, I can get a decent used car that can carry 4 people and their luggage, and it can go 80 miles per hour." The fact is that Segways are still being produced and sold, just at a lower rate than wild speculation predicted. Time will tell if they really are "successful."