Key Innovations by Tim Black

2000 Differential PWM, a method of high resolution LED color control.

Allows logarithmic brightness control to match the range of the human eye.

1999 A electronic art installation using 400 micro controllers

The L2K project used a high speed, low cost, self-addressing network. This protocol allows a very large lighting control system to be built in the simplest possible manner. (Able to run 20,000 lights on a single twisted pair at 2000 fps)

1998 A fast stereo vision system for tracking objects (patent applied for)

Dual cameras used to locate colored objects in a 2D plane at 60 fps Includes both hardware and software components. Used in a experimental video game created by Kodak Imagination Works. (a short lived research group created by Eastman Kodak)

1996 Pattern matching, search enhanced Web site server.

The "hyperbrowser" database developed by TKO.net. A self-indexing Web server integrating all word searches with real-time hot link generation. Lacking the marketing needed to succeed, we lived through the death of a dot-com years before it became fashionable.

1990 "Live" all word indexing of information from news feeds.

Real time hypertext for news wire data streams. (using DOS based systems)

1989 QueueMaster, a commercial broadcast automation system.

Developed a "vocabulary based" control system for cable and broadcast equipment, using rack mounted DOS computers.

1986 Prolog (AI goal seeking) client workstation for newsroom database servers

Used in four Scripps-Howard television newsrooms. The workstations "knew" how to do some sysadmin actions and hid all UNIX details from the end users.

1984 Modular ROM-based RTOS for distributed computing

Multi-processor networked control systems for automation. An entire product line was created using distributed processing with Z80 and Z8 chips. Used at all Warner-Amex master control rooms in the '80s.

1982 Microprocessor "front end" for IO support in a UNIX system

Used in Master Control for all the Warner-Amex "Cube" cable systems. The front-end processor unloaded the real time I/O from the Unix system, allowing high-resolution time accuracy in spite of the sluggish response of the host system.

1980 The first peer to peer local area network for automation systems.

Used for control of video tape decks in automated playback. Used a network of Z8 microcontrollers to off-load real time tasks to a local device.

1979 The first use of "labeled" keys (that are now used on everything).

The "Smart key" menu system was first used on the Kavtrol automation controller. This was such a new idea at the time that special effort was required to get users to understand that the meaning of the keys changed when the text labels changed.

1978 The first microprocessor energy management system.

16k ROM, 16k non-vol RAM, modular I/O system, First use of a Macro language.

1975 The first complete home computer (the PDC-1)

Based on S100 boards with built in UPS, Video, tape mass storage, a boot ROM and BASIC Processor, Development Corp beat the Apple II by three years, but we were too early for anyone to understand what we were doing and never raised enough money to survive.