# Green Marketing Turbines Dean Kamen Created the Segway and the New Inflatable Turbine By Omar Yusuf | Published 2011-10-10 | Eco Source: Trend Hunter, https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/dean-kamen References: [treehugger](http://www.treehugger.com/files/2011/10/inflatable_wind_turbine-designed-double-led-billboard.php) & [earthtechling](http://www.earthtechling.com/2011/10/inflatable-wind-turbine-from-the-segway-guy/) After having invented the Segway, a novel but ultimately abandoned form of transportation, Dean Kamen went back to the drawing board and came back with the inflatable turbine, which is part-wind turbine and part-LED billboard. The Segway may not have caught on, but it *did* do one thing: The upright scooter forced people to reevaluate the conventional transport mediums with a more scrutinous eye. By Dean Kamen's own admission, his most recent patent won't be a game-changer, but will force onlookers to rethink energy-producing methods. The inflatable turbine is a lightweight, portable device that allows users to easily relocate it to windier areas. It also includes a marketing element -- Small LEDs powered by the turbine can broadcast messages that include words, letters and even complex symbols! Kamen may be onto something here: maybe their lack of advertising or money-making potential has held back green technologies? Time will only tell once this device starts deploying on rooftops near you. ## Trend Insights (Trend Hunter) - Score: 2.1/10 - Popularity: 13% | Activity: 43% | Freshness: 8% - Audience gender: 50% men, 50% women - Primary generations: Millennial, Gen X - Top markets: North America, Europe, Asia ## Categories [Trend Hunter](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends) > [Eco](https://www.trendhunter.com/eco) ## Key Themes ### What's Driving This Trend - **Alternative Energy Solutions:** The inflatable turbine presents an innovative approach to energy production, potentially disrupting traditional methods. - **Portable and Lightweight Technologies:** The lightweight and portable design of the inflatable turbine opens up opportunities for easy relocation and installation in windier areas. - **Integrated Advertising and Renewable Energy:** The inclusion of small LEDs powered by the turbine offers a unique marketing element, combining renewable energy and advertising. ### Who This Affects Most - **Renewable Energy:** The inflatable turbine has the potential to revolutionize the renewable energy industry with its portable and versatile design. - **Outdoor Advertising:** The integration of LEDs powered by the inflatable turbine creates new opportunities for innovative outdoor advertising strategies. - **Transportation and Mobility:** Drawing from the previous Segway invention, the inflatable turbine highlights the need for reevaluating transportation and mobility solutions, potentially leading to disruptive innovations in this industry. ## Related on Trend Hunter - [Portable Wind Generators](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/Portable-Wind-Generator.md) - [Travel-Ready Wind Turbines](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/wind-turbine-generator.md) - [Portable Wind Turbine Generators](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/shine-20.md) - [Single-Blade Offshore Wind Turbines](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/singleblade-offshore-wind-turbine.md) - [Portable Energy Generators](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/portable-energy-generator.md) - [Wind Turbine Compact Houses](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/blademade.md) - [Turbine-Based Retreats](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/blademade-1.md) - [Airborne Power Platforms](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/s-sawes.md) - [Mast-Mounted Wind Generators](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/grain-blanc.md)