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{{Infobox company
{{Infobox company
| name = Applied Minds, LLC
| name = Applied Minds, LLC
| logo = Applied_Minds_logo.svg
⚫
| type = [[Private company|Private]]
| image = Applied Minds (8982360883).jpg
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| foundation = 2000
| image_caption = Interior of Applied Minds in 2013
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| location_city = [[Burbank, California|Burbank]], [[California]]
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| type = [[Private company|Private]]
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| foundation = 2000
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| location_city = [[Burbank, California|Burbank]], [[California]]
| location_country = US
| location_country = US
| key_people = [[Bran Ferren]], Co-Chairman <br/> [[Danny Hillis]], Co-Chairman
| key_people = {{ubl|[[Bran Ferren]], co-chairman|[[Danny Hillis]], co-chairman|[[Story Musgrave]], Imagineer}}
| industry = [[Electronics]]<br />[[Software]]<br />[[Consultant|Consulting]]<br/>[[Biotechnology]]<br />[[Architectural Design]]
| industry = {{ubl|[[Electronics]]|[[Software]]|[[Consultant|Consulting]]|[[Biotechnology]]|[[Architectural design]]}}
| products =
| products =
| subsid =
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| homepage = {{url|appliedminds.com}}
| subsid =
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| footnotes =
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| homepage = {{url|appliedminds.com}}
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| footnotes =
}}
}}
'''Applied Minds''', LLC is an American technology studio founded in 2000 by [[Bran Ferren]], [[Danny Hillis]], and [[Doug Carlston]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite magazine |last=Raftery |first=Brian |title=The Most Insane Truck Ever Built and the 4-Year-Old Who Commands It |url=https://www.wired.com/2014/04/worlds-biggest-rv/ |access-date=July 8, 2024 |magazine=Wired |language=en-US |issn=1059-1028}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web |date=April 5, 2019 |title=Peek Inside the Applied Minds Innovation Factory |url=https://www.ca.com/us/modern-software-factory/content/peek-inside-the-applied-mindsinnovation-factory.html |access-date=July 8, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190405121010/https://www.ca.com/us/modern-software-factory/content/peek-inside-the-applied-mindsinnovation-factory.html |archive-date=April 5, 2019 }}</ref> The company provides a range of services for government and commercial customers, including technology design and development, [[rapid prototyping]], engineering, research and development (R&D), and consulting. The company is headquartered in Burbank, California,<ref name=":1" /> with offices in [[New York City]] and [[Washington, D.C.]].


==History and culture==
'''Applied Minds, LLC.''' is an American [[company (law)|company]] founded in 2000 by ex-[[The Walt Disney Company|Disney]] [[Imagineers]] and [[Bran Ferren]], [[Danny Hillis]], and [[Doug Carlston|Douglas Carlston]] that provides [[technology]], design, R&D, and [[Consultant|consulting]] services to multiple firms, including [[General Motors Corporation|General Motors]], [[Intel]], [[Northrop Grumman]], [[Lockheed Martin]], [[Herman Miller (office equipment)|Herman Miller]], [[Harris Corporation]], [[Sony]], and [[Sun MicroSystems]]. The company's headquarters are in [[Burbank, California]], and it maintains offices in New York and Washington DC.
Bran Ferren and Danny Hillis worked together at [[Walt Disney Imagineering]], where Ferren was president of research & development and creative technology and Hillis his vice president,<ref name=":2" /> when they decided to start a new venture that would serve wider industries beyond entertainment.<ref name=":2" /> When the pair left to start Applied Minds in 2000, they rented the new company's first warehouse space from Disney.<ref name=":0" />


Applied Minds "quickly acquired a reputation as a sort of [[Arms industry|military-industrial]] toy shop."<ref name=":0" /> The culture at the company has been described as "laid back, more [[Startup company|startup]] than military, with employees in casual clothes and readily available snacks."<ref name=":1" /> According to Applied Minds co-founder and chief creative officer Ferren, potential projects are evaluated on the basis of three criteria: “design and technical excellence, making the world a better place, and making more money than [the company] spends."<ref name=":1" /> Ferren "takes a unique approach to building his team" by likening the process to casting roles for "engineers, designers, military strategists, and rocket scientists."<ref name=":1" />
It supplies [[Product (business)|product]]s and services in [[software]], aerospace, entertainment, [[electronics]], [[biotechnology]] and [[architectural design]]. It has spun out several companies including [[Metaweb Technologies]] (the creators of [[Freebase (database)|Freebase]], which was acquired by Google), TouchTable, and Applied Proteomics.
In 2005, the team building a new centralized database to improve Internet searches spun off from Applied Minds to create a separate company called [[Metaweb]] Technologies.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Deeper understanding with Metaweb |url=https://googleblog.blogspot.com/2010/07/deeper-understanding-with-metaweb.html |access-date=July 8, 2024 |website=Official Google Blog |language=en}}</ref> Metaweb's database, [[Freebase (database)|Freebase]], structured information as millions of related entities, so that software could generate shorter, more relevant responses to users' search queries.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Markoff |first=John |date=March 9, 2007 |title=Start-Up Aims for Database to Automate Web Searching |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/09/technology/09data.html |access-date=July 8, 2024 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> [[Google]] acquired Metaweb in 2010 and stated part of the acquisition was to improve search and make the web richer and more meaningful for everyone.<ref name=":4">{{Cite web |last=Rao |first=Leena |date=July 16, 2010 |title=Google Acquires Metaweb To Make Search Smarter |url=https://techcrunch.com/2010/07/16/google-acquires-metaweb-to-make-search-smarter/ |access-date=July 8, 2024 |website=TechCrunch |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=NOSOWITZ |first=DAN |date=July 16, 2010 |title=Google Buys Metaweb, the One Company That Could Revolutionize Google Search |url=https://www.fastcompany.com/1671024/google-buys-metaweb-one-company-could-revolutionize-google-search}}</ref>


The firm has spun out as several companies, including [[Metaweb Technologies]],<ref name=":4"/> TouchTable,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Terrain, Touch and Symbolic Tables |url=https://walkerart.org/magazine/art-com-northrop-grumman-and-audiopad |access-date=July 8, 2024 |website=walkerart.org}}</ref> which specializes in interactive mapping visualizations, and Applied Proteomics, whose early-stage cancer diagnostics business was acquired by DiscernDx in 2018.<ref>{{Cite web |date=July 11, 2020 |title=Applied Proteomics Sells Assets to DiscernDx for $1.85M {{!}} GenomeWeb |url=https://www.genomeweb.com/proteomics-protein-research/applied-proteomics-sells-assets-discerndx-185m |access-date=July 8, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200711030153/https://www.genomeweb.com/proteomics-protein-research/applied-proteomics-sells-assets-discerndx-185m |archive-date=July 11, 2020 }}</ref>
==Activities==
Applied Minds has been chosen to do major renovations to the [[Renwick Gallery]] in Washington, DC.<ref name="SI 2013">{{cite web | url=http://newsdesk.si.edu/releases/smithsonian-american-art-museum-selects-winner-renwick-gallery-grand-salon-design-competiti | title=Smithsonian American Art Museum Selects Winner for Renwick Gallery Grand Salon Design Competition | publisher=Smithsonian Institution | date=June 14, 2013 | accessdate=18 July 2013 | pages=SI-241-2013}}</ref> [[Elizabeth Broun]], the Margaret and Terry Stent Director of the [[Smithsonian American Art Museum]] said that the "Applied Minds concept is that it encourages visitors to come back again and again to see the many new and ever-changing presentations there."<ref name="SI 2013" />


In 2014 Danny Hillis split off his portion of the company and founded a new company Applied Invention.
In 2014, Danny Hillis spun off a portion of the company into a venture called [[Danny Hillis#Applied Invention|Applied Invention]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Danny Hillis - Co-Founder at Applied Invention {{!}} The Org |url=https://theorg.com/org/applied-invention/org-chart/danny-hillis}}</ref>

==Projects==
[[File:Eric Angelson, Bran Ferren, US Airforce Applied Minds visit.jpg|thumb|Maj. Gen. [[Michael Carey (United States Air Force officer)|Michael Carey]], poses with Eric Angelson and [[Bran Ferren]]]]
[[File:CJCS tours Applied Minds 131115-D-KC128-017.jpg|thumb|[[Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff]] Gen. [[Martin Dempsey|Martin E. Dempsey]] tours Applied Minds' interactive 3D maps showcase in 2013]]
Some of the clients involved with Applied Minds include [[General Motors]],<ref name=":2">{{Cite magazine |last=Jardin |first=Xeni |title=Applied Minds Think Remarkably |url=https://www.wired.com/2005/06/applied-minds-think-remarkably/ |access-date=July 8, 2024 |magazine=Wired |language=en-US |issn=1059-1028}}</ref> [[Intel]],<ref name=":1" /> [[Smithsonian]],<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |last=Institution |first=Smithsonian |title=Smithsonian American Art Museum Selects Winner for Renwick Gallery Grand Salon Design Competition |url=https://www.si.edu/newsdesk/releases/smithsonian-american-art-museum-selects-winner-renwick-gallery-grand-salon-design-competiti |access-date=July 8, 2024 |website=Smithsonian Institution |language=en}}</ref> [[Northrop Grumman]],<ref name=":2" /> [[Lockheed Martin]],<ref name=":1" /> [[Herman Miller (manufacturer)|Herman Miller]],<ref name=":2" /> [[Harris Corporation]],<ref>{{Cite web |date=March 10, 2005 |title=Harris to build software interface for NSA |url=https://www.militaryaerospace.com/rf-analog/article/16712447/harris-to-build-software-interface-for-nsa |access-date=July 8, 2024 |website=Military Aerospace |language=en}}</ref> [[Sony]],<ref name=":1" /> [[Sun MicroSystems]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=Sun Modular Datacenter |url=https://www.technifex.com/portfolio/sun-modular-datacenter/ |access-date=July 8, 2024 |website=Technifex |language=en-US}}</ref> and every branch of the [[United States military]].

In 2005, through a partnership with Herman Miller, Applied Minds created a technology to scramble conversations for the privacy and productivity of office workers. Called Babble, the device uses a sound processor to capture voices within range and then repeats back random segments of speech to create an undecipherable hum of background noise.<ref name=":2" /><ref>{{Cite news |last=Markoff |first=John |date=May 30, 2005 |title=No Privacy in Your Cubicle? Try an Electronic Silencer |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/30/technology/no-privacy-in-your-cubicle-try-an-electronic-silencer.html |access-date=July 8, 2024 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Jardin |first=Xeni |date=June 14, 2005 |title=Talk Freely Behind the Fortress of Babble |url=https://www.npr.org/2005/06/14/4702851/talk-freely-behind-the-fortress-of-babble |website=[[NPR]]}}</ref> Babble earned several awards for Herman Miller in 2005: the Best of Innovations Award from the Consumer Electronics Association,<ref>{{Cite web |title=New in Box Herman Miller Babble Voice Privacy System |url=https://acmemidcentury.com/products/new-in-box-herman-miller-bable-voice-privacy-machine |access-date=July 8, 2024 |website=Acme Mid-Century + Modern |language=en}}</ref> Best of NeoCon Gold Award in Workplace Technology,<ref>{{Cite web |date=June 17, 2005 |title=NeoCon'05: A Gold award for Babble by Sonare, voice privacy without walls |url=https://www.fmlink.com/articles/neocon05-a-gold-award-for-babble-by-sonare-voice-privacy-without-walls/ |access-date=July 8, 2024 |website=FMLink |language=en-US}}</ref> and inclusion on Esquire Magazine's annual "Best and Brightest" list.<ref>{{Cite web |date=February 25, 2007 |title=Innovations of the Year: Babble |url=https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/a2298/esq1205babble/ |access-date=July 8, 2024 |website=Esquire |language=en-US}}</ref>

The [[Air Force]] through its [[Air Force Research Laboratory|Air Force Research Lab]] were researching ways to minimize and prevent helicopter [[Brownout (aeronautics)|brownout]] conditions, which occur when rotors kick up fine sand, dust, and debris, reducing visibility and leading to three out of four chopper accidents overseas.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ray |first=Jonathan |date=April 1, 2010 |title=Beating Brownout |url=https://www.aviationtoday.com/2010/04/01/beating-brownout/ |access-date=July 8, 2024 |website=Avionics International |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":5">{{Cite web |date=August 28, 2007 |title=AFRL Develops Partial Solution to Helicopter Brownout |url=https://www.wpafb.af.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/401207/afrl-develops-partial-solution-to-helicopter-brownout/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.wpafb.af.mil%2FNews%2FArticle-Display%2FArticle%2F401207%2Fafrl-develops-partial-solution-to-helicopter-brownout%2F |access-date=July 8, 2024 |website=Wright-Patterson AFB |language=en-US}}</ref> Applied Minds produced a prototype for a Photographic Landing Augmentation System for Helicopters (or PhLASH),<ref>{{Cite web |date=October 27, 2006 |title=AFRL Looks to Camera to Solve Brownout |url=https://www.airandspaceforces.com/1070afrl/ |access-date=July 8, 2024 |website=Air & Space Forces Magazine |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=October 1, 2009 |title=Flying Blind in Iraq: U.S. Helicopters Navigate Real Desert Storms |url=https://www.popularmechanics.com/military/a5540/4199189/ |access-date=July 8, 2024 |website=Popular Mechanics |language=en-US}}</ref> which uses high-intensity infrared strobes to capture a series of high-resolution images of the landing area before brownout occurs.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Colucci |first=Frank |date=August 1, 2007 |title='Sandblaster' Gives Helicopter Pilots Hope for Safer Landings |url=https://www.nationaldefensemagazine.org/articles/2007/8/1/2007august-sandblaster-gives-helicopter-pilots-hope-for-safer-landings |access-date=July 8, 2024 |website=www.nationaldefensemagazine.org}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last= |date=May 29, 2007 |title=Brown, not out - helicopter shoot-downs in Iraq |url=https://www.flightglobal.com/brown-not-out-helicopter-shoot-downs-in-iraq/73971.article |access-date=July 8, 2024 |website=Flight Global |language=en}}</ref> The system then processes these images into a video-like display that is geo-rectified to the aircraft's current position, so the pilot can navigate the simulated landing area from the instrument panel regardless of visibility conditions outside.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ray |first=Jonathan |date=April 1, 2010 |title=Beating Brownout |url=https://www.aviationtoday.com/2010/04/01/beating-brownout/ |access-date=July 8, 2024 |website=Avionics International |language=en}}</ref> In 2007, the [[Office of the Secretary of Defense]] selected the PhLASH "see and remember" prototype system to receive quick-reaction funding to develop a permanent installation onboard military helicopters.<ref name=":5" />

In 2010, a Mayflower test satellite built by Applied Minds in partnership with [[Northrop Grumman]] became the first commercial [[CubeSat]] deployed into orbit by [[SpaceX]],<ref>{{Cite web |last=ShareX |date=May 12, 2011 |title=Northrop Grumman/Applied Minds announce success of Mayflower test microsatellite launched on Falcon 9 in December |url=https://twitter.com/spacex/status/68700511670517760}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Newsroom |url=https://news.northropgrumman.com/ |access-date=July 8, 2024 |website=Northrop Grumman Newsroom |language=en}}</ref> and the first spacecraft to prove the viability of a novel solar cell deployment system.<ref>{{Cite web |date=May 11, 2011 |title=Mayflower Test Satellite, Jointly Developed by Northrop Grumman and Applied Minds, Proves Successful During Recent SpaceX Mission |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna42990390 |access-date=July 8, 2024 |website=NBC News |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=MAYFLOWER: NEXT GENERATION CUBESAT FLIGHT TESTBED |url=https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=&httpsredir=1&article=1124&context=smallsat |website=digitalcommons.usu.edu}}</ref>
In 2013, an Apple lawsuit against Samsung over the pinch-to-zoom feature was invalidated because the function was previously patented to Applied Minds cofounders Ferren and Hillis in 2005 to describe multi-touch gestures.<ref name="Patent">{{Cite patent|number=US7844915B2|title=Application programming interfaces for scrolling operations|gdate=2010-11-30|invent1=Platzer|invent2=Herz|inventor1-first=Andrew|inventor2-first=Scott|url=https://patents.google.com/patent/US7844915/en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Mueller |first=Florian |title=Tentatively invalid: the most valuable multitouch patent asserted by Apple at Samsung trial |url=http://www.fosspatents.com/2012/12/tentatively-invalid-most-valuable.html |access-date=July 8, 2024}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Rougeau |first=Michael |date=July 30, 2013 |title=Apple's pinch-to-zoom patent meets its second end |url=https://www.techradar.com/news/phone-and-communications/mobile-phones/apple-loses-another-patent-relevant-to-samsung-case-1169838 |access-date=July 8, 2024 |website=TechRadar |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":1" />

To enable troops to build on-demand solutions to their challenges, Applied Minds worked with the [[United States Army|Army's]] [[Rapid Equipping Force]] (REF) to create deployable Expeditionary Lab – Mobile (ELM) modules.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Parsons |first=Dan |date=May 1, 2013 |title=3D Printing Provides Fast, Practical Fixes |url=https://www.nationaldefensemagazine.org/articles/2013/5/1/2013may-3d-printing-provides-fast-practical-fixes |access-date=July 8, 2024 |website=www.nationaldefensemagazine.org}}</ref> Enclosed in a standard 20-foot container that can be transported by helicopter, the ELMs include 3D printers, CNC machines, laser cutters, plasma cutters, welding equipment, and other rapid prototyping tools.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Cox |first=Matthew |date=October 31, 2017 |title=Mobile Labs Build On-the-Spot Combat Solutions |url=https://www.military.com/daily-news/2012/08/17/mobile-labs-build-on-the-spot-combat-solutions.html |access-date=July 8, 2024 |website=Military.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Barrie |first=Allison |date=March 24, 2015 |title=Star Trek replicators for the Army |url=https://www.foxnews.com/tech/star-trek-replicators-for-the-army |access-date=July 8, 2024 |website=Fox News |language=en-US}}</ref> The mobile laboratories enable engineers to design and fabricate technologies to address the problems they encounter in remote outposts, where it typically takes years to deliver new technologies.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Tarantola |first=Andrew |date=August 22, 2012 |title=The Army's New Mobile Fab Lab Is a Front Line MacGyver Factory |url=https://gizmodo.com/5936350/the-armys-new-mobile-fab-lab-is-a-front-line-macguyver |website=Gizmodo}}</ref> The first ELMs were deployed to forward operating bases by the Army in 2012 and 2013.<ref>{{Cite web |title=US army sent 2nd mobile 3D printing lab to Afghanistan |url=http://www.3ders.org/articles/20130114-us-army-sent-2nd-mobile-3d-printing-lab-to-afghanistan.html |access-date=July 8, 2024 |website=3ders.org |language=en-US}}</ref>

In 2015, Applied Minds debuted the KiraVan at the [[SEMA (association)|Specialty Equipment Market Association]] (SEMA) Show in [[Las Vegas]],<ref>{{Cite web |date=2015 |title=Travel Channel to Film Special Episode of "Extreme RVs" at the SEMA Show |url=https://www.sema.org/news-media/enews/2015/43/travel-channel-film-special-episode-extreme-rvs-sema-show |website=SEMA}}</ref> after five years of development on the custom built expedition mobility platform.<ref name=":0" /> The KiraVan is a 51,700-pound expedition vehicle that serves as a public showcase and experimental demonstrator for technologies developed by Applied Minds.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Crucchiola |first=Jordan |title=A 51,000-Pound RV Made for a Little Girl Is Coming to Vegas |url=https://www.wired.com/2015/11/a-51000-pound-rv-made-for-a-little-girl-is-coming-to-vegas/ |access-date=July 8, 2024 |magazine=Wired |language=en-US |issn=1059-1028}}</ref> It is a successor to the earlier MaxiMog<ref>{{Cite web |title=MAXIMOG |url=https://www.maximog.com/ |access-date=2024-07-08 |website=www.maximog.com}}</ref> vehicle that was showcased at the [[Museum of Modern Art]] in [[New York City|New York]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-11-22 |title=HISTORY |url=https://unicatexpeditionvehicles.com/history/ |access-date=2024-07-08 |website=passion for perfection |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Kipnis |first=Jeffrey |date=2001-06-01 |title="Workspheres" |url=https://www.artforum.com/events/workspheres-176972/ |access-date=2024-07-08 |website=Artforum |language=en-US}}</ref>

Applied Minds lead design work on the [[Clock of the Long Now]] ("10,000-year clock") for the [[Long Now Foundation]],<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Sterling |first=Bruce |title=The Long Now Clock. They're actually building it. |url=https://www.wired.com/2011/06/the-long-now-clock-theyre-actually-building-it/ |access-date=2024-07-13 |magazine=Wired |language=en-US |issn=1059-1028}}</ref> which was founded by Hillis in 1996.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2013-07-31 |title=The Clock Of The Long Now |url=https://blog.sciencemuseum.org.uk/the-clock-of-the-long-now/ |access-date=2024-07-13 |website=Science Museum Blog |language=en-GB}}</ref> He had already began working on the clock back in 1989.<ref>{{Cite web |title=10,000 Year Clock |url=https://www.10000yearclock.net/learnmore.html |access-date=2024-07-13 |website=www.10000yearclock.net}}</ref>

===Awards===
The [[Smithsonian American Art Museum]] named Applied Minds as the winner of its international design competition to renovate the Renwick Gallery's Grand Salon in 2013.<ref name=":3" /> The company's concept proposes deploying high-definition projectors and speakers to create an immersive and changeable display environment without altering the building's historic structure.<ref>{{Cite web |last= |date=June 15, 2013 |title=American Art Museum Announces Winner for Renwick Gallery Grand Salon Design Competition |url=https://museumpublicity.com/2013/06/15/american-art-museum-announces-winner-for-renwick-gallery-grand-salon-design-competition/ |access-date=July 8, 2024 |website=Museum Publicity |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Institution |first=Smithsonian |title=Renwick Grand Salon - Capitol |url=https://www.si.edu/newsdesk/photos/renwick-grand-salon-capitol |access-date=July 8, 2024 |website=Smithsonian Institution |language=en}}</ref>

In 2016, Applied Minds was awarded the Coolest Tech Award at the [[Consumer Electronics Show]] in Las Vegas, Nevada for its submission in partnership with [[Genworth Financial|Genworth]], a long-term care insurance company.<ref>{{Cite web |date=January 7, 2016 |title=Digital Trends Top Tech of CES 2016 award winners |url=https://www.digitaltrends.com/cool-tech/top-tech-of-ces-2016-award-winners/ |access-date=July 8, 2024 |website=Digital Trends |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":1" /> The Genworth R70i Aging Experience is a wearable exoskeleton designed to provoke a national conversation about aging by simulating its effects on the wearer's hearing, vision, and mobility.<ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=January 7, 2016 |title=CES 2016: The Coolest Technology We've Seen So Far |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Technology/ces-2016-coolest-technology/story?id=36099118 |access-date=July 8, 2024 |website=ABC News |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=April 20, 2016 |title=I Aged 40 Years In A Minute & Here's What I Learned |url=https://www.bustle.com/articles/151649-i-aged-40-years-in-a-minute-heres-what-i-learned |access-date=July 8, 2024 |website=Bustle |language=en}}</ref>


==References==
==References==
{{reflist}}
<references />


==External links==
==External links==
* {{official|http://www.appliedminds.com/}}
* {{official|http://www.appliedminds.com/}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20051001050615/http://battellemedia.com/archives/000712.php A tour of the Applied Minds site]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20051001050615/http://battellemedia.com/archives/000712.php A tour of the Applied Minds site]
* [[Wired Magazine]] article: [http://archive.wired.com/science/discoveries/news/2005/06/67951 "Applied Minds Think Remarkably"]
* [[Wired Magazine]]: [http://archive.wired.com/science/discoveries/news/2005/06/67951 "Applied Minds Think Remarkably"]
* [[CA Technologies]]: [https://web.archive.org/web/20190405121010/https://www.ca.com/us/modern-software-factory/content/peek-inside-the-applied-mindsinnovation-factory.html "Peek Inside the Applied Minds Innovation Factory"]
* ''[[The New York Times]]'' article about an Applied Minds product, Babble: [https://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/30/technology/30hillis.html "No Privacy in Your Cubicle? Try an Electronic Silencer"]
* [[PCMag]]: [https://www.pcmag.com/news/a-conversation-with-applied-minds-chief-bran-ferren "A Conversation With Applied Minds Chief Bran Ferren"]

* Cathy Lazere and [[Dennis Shasha]], ''Out of Their Minds: The Lives and Discoveries of 15 Great Computer Scientists,'' 1995. ({{ISBN|978-0-387-98269-4}})
{{Commonscat|Applied Minds}}
[[Category:Companies based in Burbank, California]]
[[Category:Companies based in Burbank, California]]
[[Category:Technology companies of the United States]]
[[Category:Technology companies of the United States]]


{{service-company-stub}}

Latest revision as of 21:18, 22 September 2024

Applied Minds, LLC
Company typePrivate
Industry
Founded2000
Headquarters
Burbank, California
,
US
Key people
Websiteappliedminds.com

Applied Minds, LLC is an American technology studio founded in 2000 by Bran Ferren, Danny Hillis, and Doug Carlston.[1][2] The company provides a range of services for government and commercial customers, including technology design and development, rapid prototyping, engineering, research and development (R&D), and consulting. The company is headquartered in Burbank, California,[2] with offices in New York City and Washington, D.C..

History and culture

[edit]

Bran Ferren and Danny Hillis worked together at Walt Disney Imagineering, where Ferren was president of research & development and creative technology and Hillis his vice president,[3] when they decided to start a new venture that would serve wider industries beyond entertainment.[3] When the pair left to start Applied Minds in 2000, they rented the new company's first warehouse space from Disney.[1]

Applied Minds "quickly acquired a reputation as a sort of military-industrial toy shop."[1] The culture at the company has been described as "laid back, more startup than military, with employees in casual clothes and readily available snacks."[2] According to Applied Minds co-founder and chief creative officer Ferren, potential projects are evaluated on the basis of three criteria: “design and technical excellence, making the world a better place, and making more money than [the company] spends."[2] Ferren "takes a unique approach to building his team" by likening the process to casting roles for "engineers, designers, military strategists, and rocket scientists."[2]

In 2005, the team building a new centralized database to improve Internet searches spun off from Applied Minds to create a separate company called Metaweb Technologies.[4] Metaweb's database, Freebase, structured information as millions of related entities, so that software could generate shorter, more relevant responses to users' search queries.[5] Google acquired Metaweb in 2010 and stated part of the acquisition was to improve search and make the web richer and more meaningful for everyone.[6][7]

The firm has spun out as several companies, including Metaweb Technologies,[6] TouchTable,[8] which specializes in interactive mapping visualizations, and Applied Proteomics, whose early-stage cancer diagnostics business was acquired by DiscernDx in 2018.[9]

In 2014, Danny Hillis spun off a portion of the company into a venture called Applied Invention.[10]

Projects

[edit]
Maj. Gen. Michael Carey, poses with Eric Angelson and Bran Ferren
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Martin E. Dempsey tours Applied Minds' interactive 3D maps showcase in 2013

Some of the clients involved with Applied Minds include General Motors,[3] Intel,[2] Smithsonian,[11] Northrop Grumman,[3] Lockheed Martin,[2] Herman Miller,[3] Harris Corporation,[12] Sony,[2] Sun MicroSystems,[13] and every branch of the United States military.

In 2005, through a partnership with Herman Miller, Applied Minds created a technology to scramble conversations for the privacy and productivity of office workers. Called Babble, the device uses a sound processor to capture voices within range and then repeats back random segments of speech to create an undecipherable hum of background noise.[3][14][15] Babble earned several awards for Herman Miller in 2005: the Best of Innovations Award from the Consumer Electronics Association,[16] Best of NeoCon Gold Award in Workplace Technology,[17] and inclusion on Esquire Magazine's annual "Best and Brightest" list.[18]

The Air Force through its Air Force Research Lab were researching ways to minimize and prevent helicopter brownout conditions, which occur when rotors kick up fine sand, dust, and debris, reducing visibility and leading to three out of four chopper accidents overseas.[19][20] Applied Minds produced a prototype for a Photographic Landing Augmentation System for Helicopters (or PhLASH),[21][22] which uses high-intensity infrared strobes to capture a series of high-resolution images of the landing area before brownout occurs.[23][24] The system then processes these images into a video-like display that is geo-rectified to the aircraft's current position, so the pilot can navigate the simulated landing area from the instrument panel regardless of visibility conditions outside.[25] In 2007, the Office of the Secretary of Defense selected the PhLASH "see and remember" prototype system to receive quick-reaction funding to develop a permanent installation onboard military helicopters.[20]

In 2010, a Mayflower test satellite built by Applied Minds in partnership with Northrop Grumman became the first commercial CubeSat deployed into orbit by SpaceX,[26][27] and the first spacecraft to prove the viability of a novel solar cell deployment system.[28][29]

In 2013, an Apple lawsuit against Samsung over the pinch-to-zoom feature was invalidated because the function was previously patented to Applied Minds cofounders Ferren and Hillis in 2005 to describe multi-touch gestures.[30][31][32][2]

To enable troops to build on-demand solutions to their challenges, Applied Minds worked with the Army's Rapid Equipping Force (REF) to create deployable Expeditionary Lab – Mobile (ELM) modules.[33] Enclosed in a standard 20-foot container that can be transported by helicopter, the ELMs include 3D printers, CNC machines, laser cutters, plasma cutters, welding equipment, and other rapid prototyping tools.[34][35] The mobile laboratories enable engineers to design and fabricate technologies to address the problems they encounter in remote outposts, where it typically takes years to deliver new technologies.[36] The first ELMs were deployed to forward operating bases by the Army in 2012 and 2013.[37]

In 2015, Applied Minds debuted the KiraVan at the Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) Show in Las Vegas,[38] after five years of development on the custom built expedition mobility platform.[1] The KiraVan is a 51,700-pound expedition vehicle that serves as a public showcase and experimental demonstrator for technologies developed by Applied Minds.[39] It is a successor to the earlier MaxiMog[40] vehicle that was showcased at the Museum of Modern Art in New York.[41][42]

Applied Minds lead design work on the Clock of the Long Now ("10,000-year clock") for the Long Now Foundation,[43] which was founded by Hillis in 1996.[44] He had already began working on the clock back in 1989.[45]

Awards

[edit]

The Smithsonian American Art Museum named Applied Minds as the winner of its international design competition to renovate the Renwick Gallery's Grand Salon in 2013.[11] The company's concept proposes deploying high-definition projectors and speakers to create an immersive and changeable display environment without altering the building's historic structure.[46][47]

In 2016, Applied Minds was awarded the Coolest Tech Award at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Nevada for its submission in partnership with Genworth, a long-term care insurance company.[48][2] The Genworth R70i Aging Experience is a wearable exoskeleton designed to provoke a national conversation about aging by simulating its effects on the wearer's hearing, vision, and mobility.[49][50]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d Raftery, Brian. "The Most Insane Truck Ever Built and the 4-Year-Old Who Commands It". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Retrieved July 8, 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Peek Inside the Applied Minds Innovation Factory". April 5, 2019. Archived from the original on April 5, 2019. Retrieved July 8, 2024.
  3. ^ a b c d e f Jardin, Xeni. "Applied Minds Think Remarkably". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Retrieved July 8, 2024.
  4. ^ "Deeper understanding with Metaweb". Official Google Blog. Retrieved July 8, 2024.
  5. ^ Markoff, John (March 9, 2007). "Start-Up Aims for Database to Automate Web Searching". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved July 8, 2024.
  6. ^ a b Rao, Leena (July 16, 2010). "Google Acquires Metaweb To Make Search Smarter". TechCrunch. Retrieved July 8, 2024.
  7. ^ NOSOWITZ, DAN (July 16, 2010). "Google Buys Metaweb, the One Company That Could Revolutionize Google Search".
  8. ^ "Terrain, Touch and Symbolic Tables". walkerart.org. Retrieved July 8, 2024.
  9. ^ "Applied Proteomics Sells Assets to DiscernDx for $1.85M | GenomeWeb". July 11, 2020. Archived from the original on July 11, 2020. Retrieved July 8, 2024.
  10. ^ "Danny Hillis - Co-Founder at Applied Invention | The Org".
  11. ^ a b Institution, Smithsonian. "Smithsonian American Art Museum Selects Winner for Renwick Gallery Grand Salon Design Competition". Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved July 8, 2024.
  12. ^ "Harris to build software interface for NSA". Military Aerospace. March 10, 2005. Retrieved July 8, 2024.
  13. ^ "Sun Modular Datacenter". Technifex. Retrieved July 8, 2024.
  14. ^ Markoff, John (May 30, 2005). "No Privacy in Your Cubicle? Try an Electronic Silencer". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved July 8, 2024.
  15. ^ Jardin, Xeni (June 14, 2005). "Talk Freely Behind the Fortress of Babble". NPR.
  16. ^ "New in Box Herman Miller Babble Voice Privacy System". Acme Mid-Century + Modern. Retrieved July 8, 2024.
  17. ^ "NeoCon'05: A Gold award for Babble by Sonare, voice privacy without walls". FMLink. June 17, 2005. Retrieved July 8, 2024.
  18. ^ "Innovations of the Year: Babble". Esquire. February 25, 2007. Retrieved July 8, 2024.
  19. ^ Ray, Jonathan (April 1, 2010). "Beating Brownout". Avionics International. Retrieved July 8, 2024.
  20. ^ a b "AFRL Develops Partial Solution to Helicopter Brownout". Wright-Patterson AFB. August 28, 2007. Retrieved July 8, 2024.
  21. ^ "AFRL Looks to Camera to Solve Brownout". Air & Space Forces Magazine. October 27, 2006. Retrieved July 8, 2024.
  22. ^ "Flying Blind in Iraq: U.S. Helicopters Navigate Real Desert Storms". Popular Mechanics. October 1, 2009. Retrieved July 8, 2024.
  23. ^ Colucci, Frank (August 1, 2007). "'Sandblaster' Gives Helicopter Pilots Hope for Safer Landings". www.nationaldefensemagazine.org. Retrieved July 8, 2024.
  24. ^ "Brown, not out - helicopter shoot-downs in Iraq". Flight Global. May 29, 2007. Retrieved July 8, 2024.
  25. ^ Ray, Jonathan (April 1, 2010). "Beating Brownout". Avionics International. Retrieved July 8, 2024.
  26. ^ ShareX (May 12, 2011). "Northrop Grumman/Applied Minds announce success of Mayflower test microsatellite launched on Falcon 9 in December".
  27. ^ "Newsroom". Northrop Grumman Newsroom. Retrieved July 8, 2024.
  28. ^ "Mayflower Test Satellite, Jointly Developed by Northrop Grumman and Applied Minds, Proves Successful During Recent SpaceX Mission". NBC News. May 11, 2011. Retrieved July 8, 2024.
  29. ^ "MAYFLOWER: NEXT GENERATION CUBESAT FLIGHT TESTBED". digitalcommons.usu.edu.
  30. ^ US7844915B2, Platzer, Andrew & Herz, Scott, "Application programming interfaces for scrolling operations", issued 2010-11-30 
  31. ^ Mueller, Florian. "Tentatively invalid: the most valuable multitouch patent asserted by Apple at Samsung trial". Retrieved July 8, 2024.
  32. ^ Rougeau, Michael (July 30, 2013). "Apple's pinch-to-zoom patent meets its second end". TechRadar. Retrieved July 8, 2024.
  33. ^ Parsons, Dan (May 1, 2013). "3D Printing Provides Fast, Practical Fixes". www.nationaldefensemagazine.org. Retrieved July 8, 2024.
  34. ^ Cox, Matthew (October 31, 2017). "Mobile Labs Build On-the-Spot Combat Solutions". Military.com. Retrieved July 8, 2024.
  35. ^ Barrie, Allison (March 24, 2015). "Star Trek replicators for the Army". Fox News. Retrieved July 8, 2024.
  36. ^ Tarantola, Andrew (August 22, 2012). "The Army's New Mobile Fab Lab Is a Front Line MacGyver Factory". Gizmodo.
  37. ^ "US army sent 2nd mobile 3D printing lab to Afghanistan". 3ders.org. Retrieved July 8, 2024.
  38. ^ "Travel Channel to Film Special Episode of "Extreme RVs" at the SEMA Show". SEMA. 2015.
  39. ^ Crucchiola, Jordan. "A 51,000-Pound RV Made for a Little Girl Is Coming to Vegas". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Retrieved July 8, 2024.
  40. ^ "MAXIMOG". www.maximog.com. Retrieved July 8, 2024.
  41. ^ "HISTORY". passion for perfection. November 22, 2021. Retrieved July 8, 2024.
  42. ^ Kipnis, Jeffrey (June 1, 2001). ""Workspheres"". Artforum. Retrieved July 8, 2024.
  43. ^ Sterling, Bruce. "The Long Now Clock. They're actually building it". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Retrieved July 13, 2024.
  44. ^ "The Clock Of The Long Now". Science Museum Blog. July 31, 2013. Retrieved July 13, 2024.
  45. ^ "10,000 Year Clock". www.10000yearclock.net. Retrieved July 13, 2024.
  46. ^ "American Art Museum Announces Winner for Renwick Gallery Grand Salon Design Competition". Museum Publicity. June 15, 2013. Retrieved July 8, 2024.
  47. ^ Institution, Smithsonian. "Renwick Grand Salon - Capitol". Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved July 8, 2024.
  48. ^ "Digital Trends Top Tech of CES 2016 award winners". Digital Trends. January 7, 2016. Retrieved July 8, 2024.
  49. ^ "CES 2016: The Coolest Technology We've Seen So Far". ABC News. January 7, 2016. Retrieved July 8, 2024.
  50. ^ "I Aged 40 Years In A Minute & Here's What I Learned". Bustle. April 20, 2016. Retrieved July 8, 2024.
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