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Follow UsNEW YORK: The inventor who has been the subject of a frenzy of speculation
over a new gadget said to be more important than the Internet has stepped
forward to deny that he has any such "earth-shattering" project in the
works.
"We have a promising project, but nothing of the earth-shattering nature
that people are conjuring up," Dean Kamen, president of Manchester, New
Hampshire-based DEKA Research, said in a statement referring to one of his
forthcoming inventions.
Kamen, the millionaire inventor of devices such as a portable insulin pump
and a wheelchair that climbs stairs, said he felt compelled to comment on
speculation arising from an "unfortunate, unapproved leak" in a book
proposal about him.
Kamen's invention is reportedly the subject of a forthcoming book from
Harvard Business School Press.
The planned book about the mystery invention described it as having the
backing of high-tech leaders such as Apple Computer Co. co-founder Steve Jobs
and Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos and to be of great social and economic
importance, according to an article by Inside.com published on Tuesday.
The story set in motion a wave of speculation in media and over the Internet
as to whether the invention might be some revolutionary new type of computer, or
some sort of personal transportation device that functioned like a Hovercraft.
Kamen, who had remained quiet initially, issued a statement late on Friday
saying that several of the comments cited in the book proposal had been taken
out of context. Harvard Business School Press has declined to comment on any
plans for such a book.
"The leaked proposal quoted several prominent technology leaders out of
context, without their doubts, risks and maybes included," Kamen said in a
statement issued late on Friday. "This, together with spirited speculation
about the unknown, has led to expectations that are beyond the mere
whimsical."
Kamen was recently awarded a National Medal of Technology.
(C) Reuters Limited 2001.