kamen
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Unmanned cargo chopper shows off its search-and-rescue talents
For three years between 2011 and 2014, the unmanned Kamen K-Max 1200 helicopter delivered more than 4.5 million tons of supplies to the most dangerous and far-flung US Forward Operating Bases throughout Afghanistan. It followed that feat up in 2014 by demonstrating its ability to coordinate with other UAVs in forest fire suppression operations. And in March of this year, the semi-autonomous helicopter once again proved that it can integrate operations with land-based drones to locate, identify and evacuate people stranded in desolate areas -- all without putting more lives at risk.
Dean Kamen files patent application for an inflatable, illuminated wind turbine
Inflatable wind turbines may not be an entirely new idea, but prolific inventor Dean Kamen has detailed one of a slightly different sort in a recently published patent application. In addition to generating energy for general use, the turbine would also be able to power a set of LEDs adorning the turbine itself, which could be used to display advertising or other information using a persistence of vision effect. The application even suggests that multiple turbines could be linked together and synchronized to form one large billboard. Of course, it is still just that, a patent application -- but it is assigned to Kamen's DEKA company, so it may not be quite as far off from reality as some other applications.
Dean Kamen shows off his prosthetic arm on The Colbert Report
Dean Kamen showed up on The Colbert Report last night to show off Luke -- the advanced prosthetic arm he's been working on with DARPA and the Defense Department for the past few years. Besides the requisite Segway jokes (and Colbert's are pretty funny, we'll give him that), it's pretty heart-warming to see Kamen and his crazy awesome arm hanging out with our favorite faux Republican. Just more proof that Colbert is a major gadget nerd. The video's after the break -- hit the read link if you want to watch the entire episode.
Dean Kamen aims to clean water, generate electricity with Slingshot machine
This one has been making the rounds for a little while now (including a recent appearance on The Colbert Report, viewable after the break), but it hasn't received anything near Segway-like coverage, which is all the more curious given that it's potentially a far more important device. Dubbed the Slingshot, Dean Kamen's latest creation promises to do nothing short of producing clean water from virtually any liquid source (without filters) and generate enough electricity to power about 70 energy efficient light bulbs. What's more, Kamen estimates that the machines would cost between $1,000 and $2,000 which, given the number of people a single one is likely to help, is certainly quite the bargain.
