Vikki came across this the other day, and I instantly loved it. Be sure to check the videos on the site of people trying this fan out.Yes, it's a fan.
With no blades.
I loved it because it illustrates one of the most powerful and enduring principles of innovation. At least I think it does. I'm no James Dyson, but my take on this extraordinary item of kit is that it reminds me of a tornado. Tornadoes are rotating columns of air which suck more air in a downforce down a funnel. Make one really small, turn one on its side and point it at someone, and you've got a fan. Better, you've got a fan which you can build in a bunch of colours and retail for £199.
Though whether the market for desktop fans at this price is as robust as it once was is debatable.
Maybe I'm making it up about the tornado. Tornadoes, obviously, have a habit of destroying Kansas towns and sucking up herds of cows, gas stations, police cars, Dorothy's house, all those kinds of things. I guess Dyson has ironed out any tendency of this thing to pull the face off those enjoying its cooling breeze. Indeed the air comes out at them. Like a fan.
But the point is...so much innovation comes from looking at something and thinking "What if you did that with it...".
Connecting the hitherto unconnected.
So I do hope someone somewhere at Dyson is a closet storm chaser...
