Inspiring invention

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10/02/2002 12:00 AM - San Antonio Express-News - The most talked-about transportation device since the car rolled into San Antonio on Tuesday along with its inventor, Dean Kamen.Full Article

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quote:Inspiring invention

By L.A. Lorek
Express-News Business Writer

Web Posted : 10/02/2002 12:00 AM

The most talked-about transportation device since the car rolled into San Antonio on Tuesday along with its inventor, Dean Kamen.

Kamen glided into the Convention Center riding the Segway Human Transporter, a high-tech scooter that can travel at 12.5 mph and can cover 17 miles on a single, four-hour charge.

"People want a way to get around that's cleaner and easier than their car," Kamen said. "This is an ideal solution."

Kamen, president of Deka Research & Development, demonstrated his invention Tuesday at the Society of Petroleum Engineers convention.

He brought dozens of the Segway Human Transporters to give rides and to talk about igniting the spirit of engineering and technology among kids.

Many children idolize Michael Jordan and Britney Spears, Kamen said, but have little exposure to science and technology. The United States, he said, needs a cultural shift to celebrate scientists, inventors and engineers.

"We need to show kids how exciting the world of engineering can be," Kamen said. "We especially need to get women and minorities interested in science and technology."

In 1989, Kamen created the program For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology, or FIRST, to encourage children to pursue science careers. The program provides resources for 20,000 students in 700 schools to compete in a robotics challenge.

But it's not enough, Kamen said. He wants more schools to sponsor teams of students to build robots and enter the competition.

Wayne Kinsey of Benchmark Research & Technology, a petroleum engineering company based in Houston, is a believer in FIRST and the Segway Human Transporter. Kinsey paid $160,100 to buy the first Segway during an auction on Amazon.com last April. The money went to support FIRST.

"We have a very big problem finding quality, conscientious workers," Kinsey said. "We wanted to work on inspiring children from a grass-roots level."

Kamen said he hopes the human transporter is something that will inspire kids to think creatively.

Kamen is seen as an inspiration himself. He holds 150 patents and has several important inventions in the health care field, including an automatic syringe, a robotic wheelchair, a portable dialysis machine and a heart stent.

But the Segway is his most hyped invention. The device weighs 83 pounds and can carry up to 250 pounds.

Kamen and his company, New Hampshire-based Segway LLC, spent more than $100 million and 10 years developing the transporter.

The machine was the most closely guarded secret in the technology world, known by the code names "IT" and "Ginger" before Kamen unveiled it last December.

It keeps balanced through a complex system of gyroscopes, tilt sensors and microprocessors.

Segway plans to begin selling the transporter to consumers next year. The company is working with Texas legislators to pass a law making the devices legal on city sidewalks, he said. Already 33 states have passed similar laws.

In fact, police in Chicago, New York, Atlanta and Boston zip around on the transporters. And the U.S. Postal Service bought 40 in July for $9,000 each. On a test basis, postal carriers are cruising their routes to deliver mail in New York, California, Arizona, Tennessee and Oklahoma.

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