News Archive
Joe Grand’s Discovery Channel Debut on Prototype This
Joe Grand of Grand Idea Studio is a co-host of Prototype This, a new engineering entertainment program for Discovery Channel. The show is centered around the conception, design, and testing of gadgets, machines, and robots, and aims to follow the real-life engineering process of a unique prototype every episode. Joe is the team’s electrical engineer and hardware hacker and is flanked by a software designer, materials scientist, and special effects builder. Filming will soon conclude for the first season of 13 episodes and the show will premiere on October 15, 2008. [ continue ]
RFID Reader Module with USB Interface Released
Grand Idea Studio’s RFID Reader Module, exclusively manufactured and distributed by Parallax, Inc., is available in a new version with a USB interface. Previously only available in a simple 4-wire serial interface, the RFID Reader Module is a low-cost solution to read passive RFID transponder tags from up to four inches away and can be used in a wide variety of hobbyist and commercial applications, including access control, automatic identification, robotics, navigation, and inventory tracking. [ continue ]
Patent Granted for Virtual Camera Control Technology
Joe Grand of Grand Idea Studio along with David Morelock and David MacIntosh have been granted patent #7,403,220 by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. The patent, entitled Apparatus, Methods, and Systems for Viewing and Manipulating a Virtual Environment, describes a camera control technology for controlling virtual cameras within virtual environments. The technology is owned by Gamecaster and is implemented in its Cybercam/GCS3 product line. [ continue ]
Patent Granted for Low-Cost Heads-Up Display Technology
Joe Grand of Grand Idea Studio along with David Morelock, Gil Manalo, and Ricardo Cruz, have been granted patent #7,249,846 by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. The patent, entitled Eyewear with an Image Projected off of an Unassisted Eyewear Lens to the User, describes a low-cost method of displaying information optically on an existing eyewear lens. This method and design is in stark contrast to the more complicated and expensive heads-up displays currently available. Grand Idea Studio is looking for licensing opportunities for this patent and its associated technology. [ continue ]
Grand Idea Studio Donates to Tour of California Charity Event
Grand Idea Studio has proudly donated over $2,500 to the 2008 Amgen Tour of California Time Trial Charity Challenge. Proceeds benefit the Palo Alto Recreation Foundation, a non-profit, publicly-supported group that promotes the social, cultural, and recreational needs of local youths and residents of Palo Alto and neighboring communities. In exchange for this donation, on Sunday, February 17, Joe Grand will be competing next to the world’s top professional cyclists in the Prologue Time Trial stage of the Amgen 2008 Tour of California, the largest professional cycling event in the United States. [ continue ]