word has it that Diane Sawyer announced that Dean Kamens world changing secret invention, known only as 'It' will be revealed next monday, Dec 3rd, on Good Morning America on ABC.
anyone else catch this on the show this morning? I have only heard it 3rd hand and there is nothing on ABCs website.
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03:01 PM
PFF
System Bot
Monkeyman Member
Posts: 15829 From: N. Wilkesboro, NC, USA Registered: Nov 1999
Dean Kamens is an inventor, well a little more than that. His last big project unveiled was 'Fred', a stair climbing chair, kinda like a wheelchair. "Ginger" was talked about a lot last year, said it was the most important discovery yet in modern science. Top secret stuff, but no one knows what it is, or anything about it. Reported to be some sort of new Information Technology, hence the "IT" name. Supposed to be revealed in 2002. I didn't see anything about it on any of the science or dweeb forums, and didn't see D. Sawyer. If anyone hears anything, let us all know.
[This message has been edited by maryjane (edited 11-27-2001).]
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01:59 AM
Nashco Member
Posts: 4144 From: Portland, OR Registered: Dec 2000
I think a better invention than the stair climber is the Robot that Honda Motor Company built that walks,climbs steps,picks up and carries objects,and can navigate it's enviroment.It looks real and lifelike,like someone in a space suit.That's impressive.It won't be too long before the defense department uses this technology on the battlefield.The age of the living machine is almost upon us,Yayyyeee
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[This message has been edited by Mr.Frosty (edited 11-27-2001).]
the neat thing about Kamens wheelchair - officially named IBOT - is that a person confined to a wheelchair can now travel over any surface, including sand and snow, it can go up and down curbs, it can go up and down stairs
but most of all, the IBOT can stand up on two side by side wheels - which allows a person to reach stuff on the top shelf at a store, or from a cupboard - but most importantly it takes a person confinded to a wheelchair - who is 'stuck' at waist level, and allows them to 'stand up' and look you in the eye.
In an interview on 20/20 Kamen said when people try out the IBOT for the first time, then go up and down stairs, and over curbs, and throw sand on the test track, and they smile
but when they hit the 'stand up' button for the first time - they all do the same thing - they cry :c)
Speculation for this new invention, IT range from a coleman genertor like device that can power your house for pennies a day, to a way to make hydrogen gas cheaply, allowing hydrogen based cars, to a scooter like device that balances on two wheels which CANT fall over - to an antigravity George Jetsons like car
Bpbpbpbpbpbpbpbpbpbppbpbpb.......
major investors have handing Kamen hundreds of millions of dollars for IT, They say Kamen will be richer than Bill Gates in 5 years, and that IT will change the way we think and will change the world - to the point that cities will be architected around IT.
Nobody who has seen IT has spilled the beans - so we dont know what IT is.
Ooohhhh,I can't wait for the Jetson craft.We'll have little rings on everything,and we'll have food dispensors.Hehe.Really though,I hope nothing happens to this guy.It seems when a brilliant person comes along and devises wonderful inventions,they sometimes vanish.Like some big company or conglomerate felt threatened and made them an offer they can't refuse.Remember the Rosen Motor,that used a gas turbine engine to spool up a high speed Electromagnetic Gyro that would run a car for a year on a tank of gas.One day he said "Sorry,it is no longer in development and we have no plans to create it".Even though he was a wealthy retired engineer who made millions of dollars and funded the project himself.I have a feeling one of the Oil companies made him an offer he couldn't refuse,and I don't mean money.
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11:08 AM
Steve Normington Member
Posts: 7663 From: Mesa, AZ, USA Registered: Apr 2001
Originally posted by Mr.Frosty: Remember the Rosen Motor,that used a gas turbine engine to spool up a high speed Electromagnetic Gyro that would run a car for a year on a tank of gas.One day he said "Sorry,it is no longer in development and we have no plans to create it".
I can think of two non-conspiracy reasons for this. 1. High efficiancy gas turbine engines are very expensive to product. 2. A flywheel large enough and spinning fast enough to make a difference in the acceleration of a car would produce a huge amount of precession. When you apply a force to a spinning mass, the mass counters with a force 90 Deg from the original force. What this means is that if you attempt to turn or stop a car with a large, fast moving flywheel, the car is going to perform in very unexpected ways.
Kamen has shown IT to Steve Jobs, the guy who owns Amazon, Bose is involved somehow, and he has backing from a couple of major banks, and investment from many individuals.
He also has many engineers working on IT - So even if he dissapears, IT is being revealed next monday.
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11:51 AM
PFF
System Bot
DRH Member
Posts: 2683 From: Onalaska, WI, USA Registered: Dec 1999
Originally posted by Steve Normington: What this means is that if you attempt to turn or stop a car with a large, fast moving flywheel, the car is going to perform in very unexpected ways.
Also, how do you contain it in a wreck?
The Ford museum in Detroit has some scale model prototypes of atomic powered cars from the 50s. Not all inventions are practical...
I beg to differ,It was a very small disc that spun on low friction bearings.It was encased in a crash proof casing that could survive a wreck.It was said to spin for up to six months before winding down.I don't think a small gyroscopical disc would cause problems.He built it and tested it and it worked.He had a web page showing a Saturn powered version run at high speeds.And if you don't think big companies don't try to keep their interests alive,then you're naive.
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[This message has been edited by Mr.Frosty (edited 11-27-2001).]
The only argument I agree with was the cost issue,but then why haven't we seen anything about it since.It worked better than fuel cell technology.And that's a helluva lot more expensive technology than it was.
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[This message has been edited by Mr.Frosty (edited 11-27-2001).]
Flywheel batteries, which is what you are talking about, are being developed by NASA and others - they run on magnetic bearings in a vacuum
they have ones now that store as much energy as a car battery, and are about 1/4 the size/weight
but to power a saturn for 6 months on one 'spinup' thats not going to happen - to get 6 months of energy out you have to put 6 months of energy IN first
most likely the guy that made these claims was pulling a classic hoax - make big promises, show controlled 'data' on one prototype - ask for investment money - then beat feet before you have to make a real technology disclosure - it happens all the time.
None of which has anything to do with Dean Kamen or IT - Kamen is a multimillionare inventor with over a hundred patents to his name - and IT has been seen and worked on by many many people.
"The spin axis of the rotor is controlled to a vertical orientation. The vacuum housing is supported by a two-axis gimbal system, which isolates the rotor from vehicular angular motions. Without such isolation, the resulting gyroscopic forces would prove excessive for both the magnetic bearing system and the handling of the vehicle."
"The vacuum housing is surrounded by a containment system which prevents escape of the rotor material in the unlikely event of an accidental burst of the flywheel rotor. This containment system is also designed to prevent rapid transfer of angular momentum to the vehicle during such a burst. The system itself is anchored to the vehicle with high-strength straps to prevent it from breaking away during a severe collision" http://members.tripod.com/~Wolfhawk/articles/rosenmotor.html -press release website http://www.aw.com/englishpages/tech_talking_hardware.htm
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[This message has been edited by Mr.Frosty (edited 11-27-2001).]
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12:45 PM
Raydar Member
Posts: 40963 From: Carrollton GA. Out in the... country. Registered: Oct 1999
Originally posted by Ken Wittlief: Kamen has shown IT to Steve Jobs, the guy who owns Amazon, Bose is involved somehow, and he has backing from a couple of major banks, and investment from many individuals.
Steve Jobs, Bose, and Amazon.com?
Whatever it is, it won't crash, will fit on a nightstand and sound terrific, and you'll be able to order it online.
------------------ Raydar
From the Department of Redundancy Department.
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12:48 PM
DRH Member
Posts: 2683 From: Onalaska, WI, USA Registered: Dec 1999
I'll admit I'm not familar with this particular example, but using combustion, even at 100% efficiency, there's not enough energy in a tank full of gas to run a normal car a normal amount of miles at a normal speed for a year. How it's stored becomes irrelevant. If a product claims to use existing science to produce a result that is impossible according to the laws of that science, it's probably snake oil.
Why you guys keep arguing over a point that I exaggerated because the last time I saw it was a couple of years ago,then o.k.It was off of the top of my head,but the fact remains that it did work,was safe,and was going to be marketed\manufactured by his company to the auto industry.Sheeesh.Fricken shadetree scientists.
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[This message has been edited by Mr.Frosty (edited 11-27-2001).]
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01:04 PM
PFF
System Bot
GOLDSE Member
Posts: 388 From: St. Louis, MO, US Registered: Apr 2001
After seeing your links I'll back off a bit on the snake oil claim. I still think it's more likely he ran into unresolvable practicality issues than any kind of conspiracy.
Of course there's no real evidence to support either of our assumptions.
I'm currently living in Hazelwood with my girlfriend.My car is parked at my Mom's house in St.Peters being operated on by me when I have the time.I just had the Turbo rebuilt,And a chip burned for it with timing and fuel curves.I'm running the plumbing for the intercooler also.This winter I'm getting the engine rebuilt on it,in the spring then it'll be ready.It runs,but not very good,it sputters and chokes,I'm trying to track down ignition gremlins.
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01:29 PM
GOLDSE Member
Posts: 388 From: St. Louis, MO, US Registered: Apr 2001
Small world. I live in South City, and have my two cars parked on a storage lot in St. Peters. My parents live out there as well.
Some snot-nosed kids broke into the yard and smashed two holes into one of my windshields and cracked the other last weekend. The did some major damage to everything in the yard.
I'm negotiating with my father-in-law to let me store them inside his six car garage in South City.
Good luck with those gremlins. I'm having the same sort of problem in that I can't get my timing or idle right after doing an engine replacement. Something to do over the winter.
running a car for a year on a tank of gas is a lot different from getting 70mpg instead of 40.
the edu link is on a hybrid electric car - they have been around since the '70s - and they are starting to see production now.
the idea is you have something that puts out a steady 8 to 10 HP all the time, and something that can store a burst of energy for a short period and a drive train that can take power from both sources.
The earlier forms of this were electric cars that had a realatively small battery bank. The batteries could power the car for several miles, and have enough current output for quick acceleration and hill climbing.
add a lawn mower like engine with a generator to the system. Now when you stop at a red light the batteries recharge from the generator. When you are crusing at highway speeds the electic motor only needs about 8 HP, so the extra 2HP is charging the battterys. When you hit a hill or need to pass, the reserve energy is drained from the batteries and put back later.
I saw a writeup on a shadetree mechanic who built one from an Opal GT back in the '70s. He was getting 75 or 90mpg, I cant remember which.
Sounds like this Rosen guy replaced the battery with a flywheel battery, and used a gas turbine insead of internal combustion - but the basic concept is the same.
And I doubt if he could have gotten a patent for this idea - its been around for a long time.
That sucks about the storage yard.I'm also having problems getting it timed.I pulled the distributer to replace the pickup coil,and the o-ring.Now it won't time.I had this problem before,but now it doesn't want to turn over.Last time I figured this out by looking at my '88 Formulas crank .It is much easier to do,as there was only one mark.My '85 has 3,and they're all the same size.No way to tell which one is TDC.And they're all spread out evenly around the balancer.
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[This message has been edited by Mr.Frosty (edited 11-27-2001).]
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02:33 PM
DRH Member
Posts: 2683 From: Onalaska, WI, USA Registered: Dec 1999
Originally posted by Mr.Frosty: That sucks about the storage yard.I'm also having problems getting it timed.I pulled the distributer to replace the pickup coil,and the o-ring.Now it won't time.I had this problem before,but now it doesn't want to turn over.Last time I figured this out by looking at my '88 Formulas crank .It is much easier to do,as there was only one mark.My '85 has 3,and they're all the same size.No way to tell which one is TDC.And they're all spread out evenly around the balancer.
Pull the #1 plug. Hold your finger tightly over the hole while you or someone else turns the engine with a ratchet/socket. You will feel the compression coming out as it comes up on the correct mark.
Also, make sure the outter ring on the harmonic balancer isn't loose on the rubber piece. If it is, it may have slipped and none of the marks will be right.
Now this, boys and girls, is a publicity stunt... Can you say that with me? puuuuh-blisss-iii-teee ssst-uuuuh-nt!
I'll believe it when I see it. Somehow, the cynic in me is betting on yet ANOTHER frivolous peice of electronics that we neither need, nor particularly want, but buy anyway.
theres always one pessimist around to spoil our fun. Thanks, Mach10. Hey maybe it will be a really good snooper, to let peoples bosses know when they are goofing off on the WWW, instead of working.
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07:47 PM
Mach10 Member
Posts: 7375 From: Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada Registered: Jan 2001
Originally posted by maryjane: theres always one pessimist around to spoil our fun. Thanks, Mach10. Hey maybe it will be a really good snooper, to let peoples bosses know when they are goofing off on the WWW, instead of working.
Oh **** ! Do you think? Oh NO! have they set a date!?!?
I've never heard anything negative about Dean Kamen, if he says it'll be big and important, I'm inclined to believe it will be.. Dean Kamen is cool.. I wish I had a job at his company....
Unfortunately,The biggest rumor I have heard is that it will be a Ultra-efficient metro scooter,so that in five years all major U.S. cities will look like Hong-Kong.I am hoping it's some kind of Anti-grav propulsion device using Gyros. There is a site on the internet that follows Dean Kamen closely and they said it will be a form of alternate transportation for commuters,Hence the qoute from Steve Jobs saying "Whole cities will be built around it" I hope from the qoute that it will be a Fusion reactor or something futuristic.
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[This message has been edited by Mr.Frosty (edited 11-28-2001).]
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11:43 AM
JSocha Member
Posts: 3522 From: Felton, MN, USA Registered: Apr 2001
Go to Patent Cafe.They have all of his current patents on file and ones he filed last year for a personal tranportation device(scooter) http://ginger.patentcafe.com/
powered cars from the 50s. Not all inventions are practical...
