Ken Livingstone should seriously consider recruiting a second American in his campaign to regenerate London. Bob Kiley - the man who rescued the New York subway system - is the world's top transport tsar. His compatriot, Dean Kamen, is the world's leading inventor of human transportation devices. Between them, with the mayor's guiding vision (and car-hating fanaticism), they could make London the world's smoothest-running capital city.
Kamen began inventing when he was at high school. His elder brother, a doctor, specialised in infant cancer. The intravenous chemotherapy equipment the hospitals used didn't work for babies, Dr Kamen complained, because the poor little things thrashed around so much.
Young Dean came up with the first of his breakthrough medical inventions, a drip-feed device. This led, a few years later, to the HomeChoice portable dialysis machine, which enables people with kidney disorders to move around normally (thrash about, even) while being treated.
Kamen's other big money-spinner is the Ibot mobility system. It was Benjamin Franklin who took out the first patent on the invalid wheelchair. Add an electric motor, and today's device is pretty much what Ben designed: a wheelbarrow for unfortunates.
Kamen resolved to restore a degree of pedestrian dignity to those robbed of the use of their legs. Forget ramps, what the disabled wanted was to go up stairs like everyone else, to stand tall, and to look mobile people in the eye. The Ibot enables the disabled person to do just that. The health provision companies hate it because it is Mercedes expensive. Users love it. Whose side would you be on?
Alexander Bell, Kamen recalls, was trying to invent a deaf aid when he found he had discovered the telephone. While working on improvements to his upright mobility system for the disabled, Kamen hit on what may be his greatest contribution to human happiness.
Henry Ford, he observes, liberated ordinary Americans at the beginning of the 20th century with the affordable automobile. When the first Model T rolled off the production line, 91% of the American population lived in the countryside. The automobile made sense.
Now more than half of American people are town dwellers. And more than half of today's car journeys are less than a mile. The urban car makes no sense. In fact, as Kamen says, "it is the enemy". Americans spend, on average, three times as much on their cars as on their food and clothes combined. It kills, directly, 42,000 a year and poisons many more. Osama should be so lucky.
The solution, Kamen evangelises, is his Segway Human Transporter. It is a gyroscopic, computer-controlled, self-balancing scooter with sharp reflexes. Electrically powered, it decelerates from 12mph to standstill and weaves through crowds while the rider remains serenely and bolt upright. It's relatively cheap to buy, run, fuel, and maintain.
The Segway took a PR hit when George Bush was photographed going arse over tip riding one. He forgot to turn the machine on. Just goes to show how dumb his president is, Kamen blandly explains. The averagely intelligent person masters the Segway in 15 minutes. The typical reaction among those who see it in action is "cool", "neat", and "Can I try it out?"
Why is London right for Kamen's invention? Congestion charges are squeezing the one-person car off London streets. As part of that programme, Livingstone has broadened pavements and built a network of cycle lanes. But, in mass transport terms, the bikers and hikers haven't happened. The field is built, but as yet no game has come.
Kamen, who is young and good looking enough to star in the movie The Dean Kamen Story, is currently touring America promoting the Segway, piloting his personal jet from city to city. If asked, he would certainly hop over to LHR. Drop him a line, Ken, at contact@dekaresearch.com. But remember to turn the machine on, won't you?
