Editing Applied Minds

{{Short description|American technology studio, founded 2000}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2024}}
{{Infobox company
| name = Applied Minds, LLC
| logo = Applied_Minds_logo.svg
| image = Applied Minds (8982360883).jpg
| image_caption = Interior of Applied Minds in 2013
| type = [[Private company|Private]]
| foundation = 2000
| location_city = [[Burbank, California]]
| location_country = US
| key_people = {{ubl|[[Bran Ferren]], co-chairman|[[Danny Hillis]], co-chairman|[[Story Musgrave]], Imagineer}}
| industry = {{ubl|[[Electronics]]|[[Software]]|[[Consultant|Consulting]]|[[Biotechnology]]|[[Architectural design]]}}
| products = 
| subsid = 
| homepage = {{URL|appliedminds.com}}
| 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==
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" />
 
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 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>

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]], 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 |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 [[United States Air Force|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://www.wpafb.af.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/401207/afrl-develops-partial-solution-to-helicopter-brownout/ |access-date=July 8, 2024 |website=Wright-Patterson AFB |language=en-US}}{{dead link|date=March 2025|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</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>

In 2011, it was announced that Applied Minds was leading the 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/ |date=Jun 18, 2011 |access-date=2025-04-23 |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 begun working on the clock 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==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* {{official website|http://www.appliedminds.com/}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20051001050615/http://battellemedia.com/archives/000712.php A tour of the Applied Minds site]
* [[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"]
* [[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}})
{{Commons category|Applied Minds}}

[[Category:Companies based in Burbank, California]]
[[Category:Technology companies of the United States]]