Water, Water Everywhere, and More than a Drop to Drink - Dean Kamen's Slingshot

When I was asked to look at the inventions of Dean Kamen, naturally the first thing I found was the Segway.  This motorized machine is undoubtedly cool and intriguing, but I found another of his inventions more fascinating: the Slingshot water purification system.

In this picture the inventor can be seen with these little, unassuming machines.  However, these machines were designed to purify water in remote places.  Kamen was trying to solve the world's water problem, and thus the Slingshot project was born.  Apparently, it can convert any liquid containing water into pure H2O, using distillation.  I like the fact that the project was begun with humanitarian applications in mind, but I have to wonder what happened to that?  Everything I read on the subject claimed that Kamen and his team got the device to function, yet I would have thought their success would be a bigger deal on the international stage.  I hope that Kamen is finding a way to distribute this machine to the areas that need it, if indeed it works and is in any way feasible.

-Kelly F.