IDEAS AND INNOVATION


I AM A FIRM BELIEVER IN THE PRINCIPLE BEHIND MOORE’S LAW:


TECHNOLOGY HAS AND WILL


CONTINUE TO ADVANCE AT AN ACCELERATING RATE. HOWEVER, MANKIND’S ABILITY TO ADAPT


TO NEW TECHNOLOGIES DOES NOT PROGRESS AS RAPIDLY.


A. Acquisition people need to understand that new technology is not often easily measured by old metrics. I would encour- age the Acquisition Corps to make sure that they are evaluating new technology in the right context.


Q. What inspires you to work on a new invention? Do you see a customer need to which you want to respond, or do you just want to make something work bet- ter? Can you give us some examples?


A. At DEKA, we have employed both methods. Sometimes, an outside cli- ent comes to us with a problem. That was the case with DARPA [the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency], who asked us to create a new prosthetic arm [the DEKA Arm] for our returning veterans. Other times, we at DEKA will find a problem and work internally to solve it, which is how we developed the iBOT mobility device.


Q. What invention are you most proud of: the DEKA Arm; iBOT; Stirling engines; water purification; HomeChoice PD; Segway; or AutoSyringe? Why?


IMPROVING MOBILITY


Kamen’s iBOT Mobility System, which uses self-balancing technology to overcome the limitations of traditional wheelchairs, earned him the Lemelson-MIT Prize in 2002.


A. I am, of course, proud of all of our proj- ects, each for a different reason. Asking to compare them is just as unfair as ask- ing parents which of their children is the favorite. That said, FIRST, a program I founded that uses robotics competitions to encourage kids to pursue careers in math and science, holds a special place. Each of our engineering projects is a golden egg, but every kid who goes on to become an inventor or innovator after experiencing FIRST is a golden goose. And the goose is more valuable than a single egg!


Q. Without naming a favorite, then, could you pick one project and give some detail on the impact it has had?


A. We’re all very proud of the growth and success FIRST has experienced over the past 20 years. We started with a couple dozen teams in a high school gym in New Hampshire; this year, the FIRST Robotics Champion- ship will be held at the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis, MO [April 25-28], and nearly 300,000 kids


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worldwide will participate in our four programs. We will continue to expand until every student has the chance to participate and experience the excitement of innovation and discovery.


Q. I know your passion


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Army AL&T Magazine


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