[phillytom]

This reminds me (somewhat unfortunately) of the Playpump[1] which I saw referenced again in some product reading about really understanding customer and user needs in building new product. The Playpump was a playground toy that pumped water - got great PR and raised lots of money. Unfortunately it was also less efficient than existing pumps, required training, was more expensive and was not field repairable.

[1] http://unitedexplanations.org/english/2012/03/22/the-story-o...