Dean Kamen

Dean Kamen is an innovator, but not just of things. He hopes to revolutionize attitudes, quality of life and awareness. While an undergraduate, Kamen developed the first portable infusion device, which delivers drug treatments that once required hospital care. And, through DEKA Research and Development, he developed a portable dialysis machine, a vascular stent and the iBOT, a motorized wheelchair that climbs stairs. Kamen is a huge believer in education, and in 1989 established the nonprofit FIRST to inspire teenagers to pursue careers in science and technology. FIRST sponsors lively annual competitions, where students form teams to create the best robot. Two of Kamen’s current projects require extensive use of computer vision. In the first project, Kamen’s team at DEKA is creating their next-generation agile wheelchair. In the second project, Kamen’s Advanced Regenerative Manufacturing Institute aims to enable the large-scale manufacturing of engineered tissues and tissue-related technologies, with the eventual goal of mass-producing replacement humans organs.