Report: Mystery Invention a Scooter

March 7, 2001 -- They think they’ve found IT.

The mysterious “IT” device, a soon-to-be released product said to be of world-changing importance, is in fact a scooter, as has been speculated, according to a published report.

“But the real revelation is the power behind it — hydrogen, which runs basically emission-free,” according to a press release at Inside.com, which first broke the story in January. The article appears in the this week's edition of the Web site’s companion print publication, but not on the site itself.

And that, the report says, will be turned into a range of energy-efficient, emission-free mobility devices.

Rampant Speculation Over Mystery Invention

Speculation on Dean Kamen’s upcoming product has centered on some form of scooter since several news organizations, including ABCNEWS, discovered illustrations of one- and two-wheeled transportation devices in patent documents filed by the Massachusetts inventor.

While the mysterious nature of the product — and the high-profile names of those impressed by early demonstrations — have ignited public imagination, many others say “IT,” or “Ginger” as it is also called, may be more hype than anything else.

Kamen, who has won the National Medal of Technology, has downplayed the product.

“We have a promising project, but nothing of the earth shattering-nature that people are conjuring up,” he said in a statement earlier this year.

Kamen’s prior inventions include the portable insulin pump, the heart stent used by Vice President Dick Cheney, and a radical improvement to the wheelchair.

Can IT Change the World?

But Inside magazine says the propulsion behind the scooter does indeed have the power to change the world.

The two-wheeled device “represents the first generation of a new mode of transportation that will compete with and possibly replace automobiles. The ramifications of a ‘hydrogen economy’ would be profound on everything from the environment to the energy business to global politics,” the release said.

The report says Kamen also hopes to retrofit his scooters with his patented version of the high-efficiency Stirling engine.

Kamen has also created a new company, called ACROS, and begun building a factory in New Hampsire, the magazine reported. The new firm will create a product line featuring “motorized, self-propelled, wheeled personal mobility aids, namely wheelchairs, scooters, carts and chariots.”

The story, written by Adam Penenberg and available only in the print version of the magazine, is based on trademark and patent filings, domain registrations, financial transactions and factory blueprints, according to Inside.com.

Seen IT, Not Talking About IT

Those who have seen the invention include a who’s-who of the high-tech elite, but no one is talking.

Apple Computer co-founder Steve Jobs, Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos and venture capitalist John Doerr are among those who are reportedly impressed by the device.

Amazon.com has even launched a Web page for the eventual purchase of the product, even though no one knows just what IT is. There is even a Web site devoted to IT speculation (see Web Links, right).