The Pixels of Media History: Fall-Out From The Sony Hack
By Andrew Lester
For Digital Times Updates
In a strange turn of history-making events, North Korea broke into Sony Pictures entire corporate file system. Sony’s files and emails were posted on the internet, globally, by the Koreans. The details reveal an intriguing tale of a technologist, named Scott Douglas Redmond, who had built the core internet media technology for Sony. By placing all of Sony Pictures files on public view, one of the biggest secrets in modern media has had new light shed on it.
In the push of a button, Mr. Redmond’s very interesting relationship with Sony Pictures gained a few new facets. When I first contacted Sony representatives, they denied any knowledge of Redmond, but thanks to a dust-up between actor Seth Rogan and the leader of the Korean regime over a movie called: The Interview, the evidence shows that Sony may owe it’s digital future to Redmond.
Let’s start at the beginning…
One of Redmond’s first ventures had developed, manufactured, and sold a variety of wearable media experience devices including what, at the time, was the smallest wearable computer display, delivered as a pair of glasses, and the first 360 degree personal computer-based gyroscopic flight simulator. This was of great interest to Sony because it involved both electronics and movies; two things core to the business of Sony. Sony reached out to Redmond, in the mid 90’s, when he received historical patent issuances, magazine cover stories and TV coverage for his inventions surrounding wearable media and surround-media walk-in VR rooms. On an E! Entertainment TV segment, Redmond is shown demonstrating the VR glasses as the inspiration for the designs in Oliver Stone’s film: Wild Palms.
Redmond’s team is documented in main stream magazines and TV shows as the first to create, engineer, build, patent and sell integrated virtual reality systems. Whereas dread-locked VR promoter Jaron Lanier marketed himself as a VR enthusiast, according to Lanier’s staff, it was his staff, particularly Eric Howlett, according to Mr. Howletts documents and those of his family and associates, that invented the VR glove and the Silicon Graphics computer company who built the graphical glove virtual desktop. Redmond was a partner with Silicon Graphics (As proven in numerous documents and a signed letter from the founder of Silicon Graphics) and his company created the first integrated VR systems, the first VR motion platforms, the first VR tactical mission simulators, the first CAVE walk-in VR projection rooms (Think “Holodeck” as in Star Trek™ ), the first VR extruded shape shifting surfaces and the first VR glasses and computer as glasses. Lanier and his associate Mark Bolas, were aggressively competitive with Redmond’s company.
On Jan. 2, 1994 Redmond demonstrated the first working web connected social media network that used 3D space and live video within an experience space. It was a true pre-VRML networked interactive 3D video world network. The term VRML was coined by Dave Raggett in a paper called “Extending WWW to support Platform Independent Virtual Reality” submitted to the First World Wide Web Conference in 1994, and first discussed at the WWW94 VRML BOF established by Tim Berners-Lee, where Mark Pesce presented the Labyrinth demo he developed with Tony Parisi and Peter Kennard. In October 1995, at Internet World, Template Graphics Software (TGS) demonstrated a 3D/VRML plug-in for the beta release of Netscape 2.0 by Netscape Communications.
In 1994 at a meeting at Apple Computers headquarters in Cupertino, California, Redmond demonstrated interactive frame buffer VGA motion technology prior to the announcement of, or release of Quicktime VR. Apple announces QuickTime VR later that year. Redmond, and his team, Met with the Apple project leads and 5 Apple engineers. On 10/19/01, Redmond signed an NDA with APPLE Corporate Counsel Wendy Howell and emails show that multiple meetings took place.
Redmond’s VR devices were sold to Battele, the U.S. Navy, Edison Brothers, FOX Network, MCI, Spectrum Holobyte and other major entities, and are used globally in defense and entertainment applications. At Spectrum Holobyte Redmond worked with Holobyte founder Gilman Louie on the Star Trek Experience Theme Park. Louie later started and ran Google’s IN-Q-Tel. Remember this factoid. It will become relevant later on.
These devices were based on several of Redmond U.S. issued Patents including: No. 5,759,044 (Method and apparatus for generating and processing absolute real time remote environments -Filed 7/6/95, Issued 6/2/98); No. 5,513,130 (Method and apparatus for generating and processing absolute real time remote environments Filed 10/18/93, Issued 4/30/96); and No. 5,255,211 (Method and apparatus for generating and processing absolute real time remote environments Filed 2/22/90, Issued 10/19/93). In 1996, Redmond sold RPI to a European investment group. He has continued his work in media devices (https://virtualrealitydesigns.wordpress.com) up to today as a consultant and product designer, and filed U.S. Patent App # confirmation 61269822063009 and 17119 USPTO 063009 “Clip-on appliance suite for PDA or cellphone” on the first use of a smart phone as a VR headset, marketed by America Invents. News documentation of Redmond’s invention includes:
In 1993 Redmond demonstrated movies-over-the-web and social media networks for White House staff as acknowledged by the letters on White House letterhead, signed by Vice President Albert Gore.
Redmond launched the first full-screen, low bandwidth, high defintion, standard modem-capable internet video site known as: CLICKMOVIE.COM (http://clickmovie1.wordpress.com/) ClickMovie.com existed years before YouTube Bittorrent, Napster, Hulu, Sony VUE, Vudu, or Netflix Streaming was even formed or existed. It offered every feature that all of those companies offer today, and more.
Redmond’s patents pre-date the formation of Google/YouTube, Sony’s partner, by many years. A half hour broadcast television show on the TV series Silicon Valley Business Report and the vast number of articles, Consumer Electronic Show (CES) presentations and letters documents Clickmovie and proves that ClickMovie was up and running and offering every function that YouTube has ever been known to offer prior to the time that YouTube even existed.
CLICKMOVIE.COM really was the world’s first public full-screen video store, online media channel and self-media distribution outlet. It is fair to say that Redmond’s idea of delivering all media over the internet has been verified as a workable idea by every company that touches the internet including Akamai, Netflix, Bittorrent, Vudu, Hulu, and tens of thousands of others. As hundreds of documents prove, Sony Pictures engaged in extensive contracts, public announcements, meetings, deployments, letters, emails, airplane flights, board and corporate meetings with Redmond (even mentioning Redmond by name, as their source of inspiration, in Sony’s Federal patent filings, which were sold to Dish Network by Sony) to have its first internet video-on-demand hardware and software developed by Redmond. “Clickmovie” and the movie trailer site “Trailer Park” and dozens of App’s produced by Redmond were the first of their kind in the market.
Sony continued their dialogue with Redmond for a lenghty period at the highest levels of the corporation. Was Sony on a “fishing expedition” or truly interested in a partnership. The evidence is revealing.
Today, Sony’s current response is that Sony denies any obligation or monies due to Redmond. The information, recently exposed, though may leave the reader of the material with a differing opinion.
Sony signed multiple confidentiality and intellectual property rights protection agreements and contracts with Redmond, the evidence now reveals. TSA records and receipts show that Sony did indeed fly Redmond to Sony and Sony staff to Redmond’s web broadcasting studios. Shipping records show that Sony did, indeed ship it’s feature film digital masters to Redmond. Most incriminating, Redmond and his team are discussed, by name, hundreds of times in Sony’s internal communications and in Sony’s own United States Government files, which have now also been leaked. In the federal documents that Sony authored, and never showed Redmond, Sony executives are openly discussing how to circumvent Redmond’s patents and intellectual property.
In Sony’s patent filings, now owned by Dish Network and AT&T, Sony desperately tries to minimize the Redmond team scope yet only serves to validate Redmond as the sole outside creator of Sony’s VUE product and internet video products. Sony has had a long-standing relationship with Google and cooperatively syncroniuzed press announcements, lobbying efforts and technology deployment plans to promote Sony, via its partner Googles marketing system.
In the leaks and materials which can now be found online, my researchers and I found the following hard documents.
Redmond is now preparing litigation against Sony and Google based on the new evidence. He seems to be determined to get Sony to pay their bills.
After a lengthy review of leak materials and web searches, discussions with various investigators and some of our own research, we have found an interesting line of events ewhich appears to give Redmond some “Street Cred” in these matters. Redmonds “Click Team” had created the future but Sony seems to have stolen that future from them. The following timeline coincides with emails, contracts, press releases, text records and other physical evidence items:
August 2, 1994 – Redmonds first work on Unifree, a company that offered every function that Google and Youtube now offer and was up, patent filed and fully operational on the internet before Google even existed
November 14, 1996 – Government records show filings for Unifree
November 7, 1997 – Unifree LLC first filed with Secretary of State CA
February 2, 1998 – Daniel Hankins of Yahoo signs NDA with Redmond group. Yahoo discusses video broadcasting technology and social network technology. Met with Daniel and discussed technology. Presented powerpoint.
January 7, 1999 – NDA Executed with Sony Pictures
January 12, 1999 – Additional NDA Executed with Sony. In all, 3 NDA’S and two technology contracts were executed with Sony.
January 1999 – Redmond was asked by Sony Marketing Head: Ira Rubenstein, (He later managed the Google YouTube relationship with Marvel Comics media and Sony Pictures assets) to present to one of the largest corporate meetings Sony had ever called and flown to Los Angeles to demonstrate hardware and software under NDA to the Board and Senior Executives. VP’s were walking in and shaking each others hands and commenting:”oh, I’ve read about you in Variety” Ira Rubenstein said that they had never had so many VP’s and department heads from so many continents in one room. Attendees in these meetings included, but were not limited to: Lawrence Hess- Director, World Wide Pay Per View, Sony; Richard C. Tuner – Senior Attorney, Sony; Thuy T. Nguyen- Director, Marketing, Sony Semiconductor Company; Grace Wei – Product Marketing Manager- Consumer a/v/d, Sony Semiconductor Company; Jerry K. Smith – Sales Manager, Sony; Patrick Kennedy – Vice President, Corporate Development, Sony Pictures; Eric I. Baum – Vice President, Business and Legal Affairs, Assistant General Counsel, Sony Pictures; Ira Rubenstein – Vice President, Marketing, Sony Pictures; Steven C. Tsai – Manager, Corporate Development, Sony Pictures; Andrew Schneider- Director, Marketing, Sony Pictures; Cheryl Koll – Vice President, Sales and Marketing, Pay Television and Airlines, Sony Pictures…
At these meetings Redmond demonstrated hardware, IP set-up box, portable PDA, software and architecture, under NDA, for an entire VOD internet, cable and satellite IP based digital media technology, all of which Sony is using today. In the Sony building Redmond met Mark Gray, one of the names on the patent and a future advocate of the “Passage” Video on Demand product from Sony. Mark C. Gray was Chairman, President & Chief Executive Officer of Kasenna, Inc. later contacted Redmond at the request of Sony. Sony states, in these meetings, that they would like to either purchase Redmond’s company or buy Redmond’s patents. The meetings and discussion with Sony run through a multi-year period.
January of 1999 – Redmond was asked by Sony to present at The Sony Technology Building. The technology leads at Sony stated that Sony had nothing like what Redmond had in development and did not even know where to begin building it. The discussions continued over a month, or longer re: Redmond working as an employee of Sony.
January 1999 through March 1999 – Sony had Redmond meet with: Matt Turner – Senior Director- Product Technology, New Technology Holdings, Sony; Brian Merritt – Director, Internet Architecture, New Technology Holdings, Sony; Simon King – Director, Product Technology,New Technology Holdings, Sony; Dr. Sean Varah – Director Business Development, Internet Architecture, New Technology Holdings, Sony; Carla Lieberman – Director, Product Management, New Technology Holdings, Sony. They told Redmond that the purpose of Sony’s New Technology Holdings group which they worked for, was to “acquire new technologies for Sony’s investors…” Redmond did not, at the time, realize that Google’s investors were Sony’s investors.
January, 21 1999- Sony’s DRM partner, Macrovision, invites Redmond to company meeting. From Macrovision are: Thomas Carroux, William Krepick, David Collier, Victor Viegas. Redmond is asked to present. Part way through CEO John Ryan walks in and listens then stops the meeting saying that our technology is competing. Macrovision later sends letter that they are interested. Redmond discuss technology to make Sony’s products “hacker proof”. Macrovision says their products “can’t be hacked”. Discussions stall due to competitive issues.
March 10, 1999 – At a Variety Magazine event featuring the industry leaders of Hollywood, Ira Rubenstein, as VP Sony, made the following statement in front of a live audience and live cameras: The future of the movies is on the internet and it will be brought to you by Sony Pictures and (Redmond staff) who are standing in the back of the room.
1999-2000 – Sony’s flies multiple parties to Redmond’s San Francisco internet broadcasting studios, possibly the first in the world, connected to the Mae West core internet node. Sony’s states the meetings are for “investment preparations.”
March 22, 1999 – Sony executes agreement with Redmonds Click Team to have them broadcast Sony master feature films on the web using Redmond technologies. Redmond purchases a room-size steel bank safe to safeguard the master videos. Redmond recommends, in writing, technology to prevent Sony assets from ever being hacked or stolen, on-line. Sony’s says they will look into it but never implements. This later turns out to be a disaster, for Sony, when North Korea attacks them in a dispute over a movie featuring the death of the head of North Korea.
April 15, 1999 -Redmond receives a threat letter from the Senior Sony attorney (who was present at the core presentation Redmond did.) Telling him to shut up about the secret deal. The attorney has not realized that it was Ira Rubenstein, their own leader, who had blown the information in public at the Variety show above. Sony may have breached their NDA by making these statements in public. He responded demanding to know who said it from his company. Ira Rubenstein begged Redmond not to say Ira had exposed the secret. Ira said he Redmonds teams ”insider” and their “Buddy” and he would protect them if they protected him!! Redmond did not realize that Rubenstein was filing Sony’s patents with his name as inventor and copying Redmonds disclosures.
May 17, 1999 – GartnerGroup/DataQuest publishes definitive analyst report on Redmond technology and states it is the number one video technology for the internet. Shows fully operational and network operational products
May 24, 1999 – Redmond signs NDA with Trimark Pictures and then goes and spends day with Trimark Senior VP Bruce Eisen. After meeting Bruce Eisen gets so excited he forms Cinema Now and then Leaves Trimark to Run Cinema now as a direct competitor to Redmond
October 23, 1999 – Warner Bros. offers to buy Redmond Click Team technology. Emails with Jim Banister, Jeffrey Calman, Peter Baer, of Warner Bros. confirms discussions. Sony wants Redmond to not make deal with Warner and encourages Redmond to wait until Sony is done figuring out its plan.
January 13, 2000 – Akamai asks Redmond and Click Team to come to their office for meeting with Daniel Lewin, David Hatfield, Hung Xia, Peter Danzig to discuss partnership and use of Redmond technology. Lwein and Redmond begin collaborating to form partnership with Akamai. Lewin is on board the World Trade Center airplane on 9/11 and is lost in the disaster.
February 7, 2000 – Redmonds Click Team signs NDA with Universal Studios via Peter Schoenfield.
February 16, 2000, at 9:46AM – Ira Rubenstein, the Supposed “INVENTOR” on Sony’s patent sends another email, personally, to Redmond advising that he is incapable of using computers and that he does not understand computers. One must now ask, If Ira is so technologically challenged, how could he have invented one of the leading internet technologies?
June 21, 2000 – Sony boss Larry Hess sends Redmond a letter notifying of his departure from Sony. He has kept in touch with Redmond to advise that Click Team should “watch their ass”.. and that Sony is not respectable in these matters”
July 25, 2000 – Senior Executive Takashi from Sony Corporate contacts Redmond to discuss the media device He presented at the January meeting. As we now know, Sony’s mobile devices are all about VOD on a hand-held.
November 9, 2000 – Sony Music Venture Capital Investment in San Francisco, who is working with Google, asks Redmond to come in to further discuss the offered investment.
December 28, 2000 – Sony VC group discuss investing, asks us for technology update via email. Also in December of 2000 Sony tests a set-top box in a highly secret test with over 2000 consumers in CableVisions Systems New York Market. Larry Hess advises that the box is the same or identical to that Redmond presented to Sony. Martin Khun, Brian Merritt, Taner Ozcelik, Maekawa, Hideaki Omuro and other Sony VC’s are documented in acquisition and VC offers with Redmond at this time.
August 17, 2001- Afterdawn.com reports that it was Sony who developed all of the technology for MovieFly/MovieLink administrated by Ira Rubenstein
January 2002 – Sony sells the core VOD technology solution to In-Demand, Inc. to be used for their VOD system
February 11, 2002 – Sony Pictures Launches New Online Promotions Unit in (SPIN) Culver City, Calif. With Ira Rubenstein as head. http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/020208/laf061_1.html
March 1, 2003 – Cable & Satellite International publishes article on Sony VOD”Passage” product
May 1, 2003 – Rite of Passage: Sony Lays Down Cable’s Future – Article published
November 11, 2004 – Sony generates revenue selling VOD technology via MovieCo in Europe, of which it is a co-owner. Sony assures Redmond: “not to worry, we are still developing our business plan but you are in it”
August 26, 2005 -Sony Provides internet VOD technology and content to European VOD effort. Sony is now certainly generating revenue from VOD
April 4, 2006 – Press reports that Sony has been selling a movie on demand service ations for at least years with the brand name of “Passage”. Sony is covertly generating revenue from VOD.
April 4, 2006 – Patent # 7,024,466 is issued to Sony via its owned entity MovieLink, with the inventors listed as: Outten; Todd Avery (Los Angeles, CA); Spaulding; Bryan Gentry (San Francisco, CA); Sherr; Redmond Jeffrey (Brentwood, CA); Rubenstein; Ira Steven (Los Angeles, CA); Landau; Yair (Pacific Palisades, CA); Chey; Douglas Daiseung (Santa Monica, CA); Arrieta; Michael R. (Rolling Hills Estates, CA); Mandyam; Harish (Playa del Rey, CA); Rodriguez; Thomas M. (Culver City, CA).. almost all of whom were either in the Redmond presentation in January 1999 or had staff in the room.
The Sony patent was filed April 6, 2001. It, and other federal documents, mention Redmond over and over as the only outside entity in the world, that Sony was talking to. Redmond is not yet aware of this patent.
April 24, 2006 – Sony Corporation and bitWallet, Inc. show an IP set top box identical to that shown by Redmond in 1999 meeting.
2007 – Remember the earlier reference to Google’s In-Q-Tel? Leak and Congressional investigation records show what appears to show that In-Q-Tel assists Sony in getting exclusive rights to the Bin Laden story for Sony’s production of the feature film: ZERO DARK THIRTY. A congressional investigation is later called over misuse of public resources in the manner in which Sony acquired the film data.
July 15, 2008 – Sony announces PS3 movie download service. Company also reveals 80-gigabyte PS3 model for $399. MSNBC News Services. 2:57 p.m. PT, Tues., July. 15, 2008
January 7, 2008- Digital Hollywood Events at CES. Monday, January 7th -1:30 PM – 2:30 PM, Session B – DH3 – Digital Hollywood. Ira Rubenstein Spoke at this event about how Sony invented internet video
April 25, 2008- Marvel Comics hires Ira Rubenstein as digital media VP to put Marvel Media products on Google’s YouTube. Sony continues to reassure Redmond that “Sony is still developing the opportunity” and not to worry.
August 22, 2008 – Reported as speaker at event Ira Rubenstein, EVP, Global Digital Media Group, Marvel Entertainment, Inc.
2011- Hit jobs launched against Redmond, by, at the time, an unknown corporate entity. Media attacks were embedded in Google servers but were traced by federal law enforcement to third party. Redmond team hire forensic experts to track the attacks deeper.
2014 – North Korea thought to have begun hacking of every digital file, document and email Sony had
Redmond Appeals to George Clooney’s talent agent, a close connection to Sony’s CEO, to ask for Clooney’s agent to enter discussions with Sony CEO to try to mediate the dispute between Redmond and Sony
Sony CEO fired for horrific and abusive emails discovered in the leak
August 29, 2014 – Redmond contacts Allen, Luis Edward, Senior Vice President, Legal Affairs – Motion Pictures, Sony Pictures and charges Sony with lying and obfuscation in order to avoid payment of long overdue consulting and licensing fees. Redmond asks why Ira Rubensteins name is on Sony’s patents and not Redmond?
January 1, 2015 – Sony deploys Sony VUE internet video-on-demand service and VR movie headset products. This is the work effort that Redmond developed now launched by Sony as a fully commercialized product. As of this point, there can no longer be any “smoke-screen”, by Sony about Sony “still thinking about it”, or “being in development”. Sony has now breached all agreements with Redmond, is exploiting Redmond IP and clearly profiting from work performed by Redmond. Sony is now marketing through its partner: GOOGLE! and has transferred tens of millions of dollars back and forth between Google and Sony.
Redmond has provided evidence showing that Sony is using the technology to distribute movies and software on the Sony Playstation , Sony VUE, SONY VR, Sony Clie, PS VITA and other devices.
To date: Sony has paid Redmond ZERO dollars and has made over $30 billion on the technology according Sony’s own financial records, disclosed in the leaks. Google remains a partner of Sony. Redmond has been issued dozens of patents on the technologies. Sony refuses to have a mediation discussion or engage in discussion phone calls. Sony’s only official written response to Redmond was a short “we didn’t do nuthin’ wrong” paragraph. The staff of Sony’s VP of litigation advised: “Just sue us, we know how to handle litigation. It is hard for us to just talk to people.” That suggestion carries a $2 million dollar bill. Sony has a reputation for fighting hard and dirty. So far, the $2M in legal fees, that Redmond needs to sue Sony, is sitting in Sony’s bank vaults.
While Sony’s fishing expeditions and stone-walling have now resulted in all of the products Redmond worked on being commercially shipped by Sony, as of 2015, Sony can no longer say they are “researching”, “in development” or “just thinking about it” regarding the Redmond products.
Changing times, though, have brought new opportunity. A new class of crowd-funding and a new type of investor called a “litigation investor” have emerged on the scene. If a backer will loan the legal costs in exchange for 40% of Redmond’s multi-billion dollar claim against Sony, the action might get some action.
If Redmond can get “his day in court”, his investigative team feels confident a jury will have no difficulty coming to a fair decision.
Reference documents also included some of these items:
“You peer through the goggles, seeing a town far below. Then with a quick twist of the wrist, you’re diving toward Main Street, swooping and banking through the sleepy village. It’s like a dream of flying but with complete control. Stepping back from the viewer in the local office of Silicon Graphics Inc. is disorienting. So that’s what they mean by “virtual reality.” It’s a stunning experience. But equally astonishing is the idea that fantastic voyages formerly reserved for high-tech researchers will soon be possible in the local mall, or even your living room. “The hype is over and the real applications are coming in the very immediate future,” says Redmond Redmond, president of Redmond in San Francisco. A bevy of companies – Silicon Graphics among them- are designing home terminals for the information highway, but Redmond is likely to be at the forefront when it comes to bringing virtual reality gaming, education, conferencing, and the like into the home. The company has been building arcade games for 20 years; last week it showed the industry its CyberPod, a 3-D system that can be used as the core of a variety of games. More importantly, it’s been creating a variety of pieces – stereo goggles, dual-image computer display adapters, and a consumer-oriented simulation network – that will let couch potatoes fly. Mr Redmond said his company, which consists of a core of 10 employees working with 150 contract developers, is in talks on licensing of the ImagiNET technology with most of the large telecommunications companies that are planning high-capacity data pipes into the home.The way to make it make sense to the volume user just kind of “clicked in’ in the boardrooms recently,” he said, “Interactive, as opposed to “pump at you,” hadn’t been in the business plan.”…But it became apparent that we were seeing a “sociological and industrial revolution,” he said.Redmond’s home gear relies on its patented Head Mounted Sensory Interface, which provides high-resolution stereo video and sound, linked to the position of the wearer’s head. For starters, (the network) lets owners of moderately powerful PCs call in and romp through “synthetic digital worlds” with others around the world. In the future, Mr. Redmond sees it as a “one-stop source” – the gateway to theme parks, video on demand, shopping, training, and other information-based activities. Mr. Redmond said that 150 game titles are in development”
– Baltimore Sun, August, 1993
Redmond is featured on a special segment of E! Entertainment News Network, broadcast globally, describing his consulting work for Oliver Stone’s virtual reality video feature film series: “Wild Palms”. – E! Entertainment Network, broadcast
“Redmond showed us a prototype of the tactile feedback wall modules. The unit we saw was an aluminum box with one face covered in a soft, compliant rubber-like material, about two-thirds the size of a brick. An antenna protruded from one end, and, according to Redmond, received DXF file descriptions, which were displayed on the soft face as 3D representations of silhouette-like shapes. We saw (or rather, felt) a small box and a crescent wrench displayed. The system changed rapidly, in about one second or less. It appeared that the display was made of an array of small pins, but Redmond would not comment on its workings….”Redmond’s future is in telecommunication. “All of this is telecom technology, not just simulation technology,” Redmond explained. They are working with several entertainment and telecom companies to provide networked, wide-area VR. They want to provide a “Put it on, turn it on, and go” technology that will empower its users as controllers of their media environments. Toward that end, Redmond and several partners are working to establish a basis for interconnects (local phone companies) to use a standard telecom interface to VR technology. This is necessary to enable on-line services to thrive.
– CyberEdge Journal, July, 1993
“Redmond is a supplier of some of the most advanced computer assisted interactive visualization systems. The visualization industry incorporates elements of multimedia, simulation, virtual reality, 3-D computing and telecommunications. The intuitive nature of Redmond’s products allow the integration of the computer application and the user, with the goal of responding to the sociological need to become emotionally involved with the working environment. Redmond has a number of unique selling positions that provide the Company with one-of-a-kind potential.”
– Virtual Reality News, March, 1993
“Redmond’s Cyberchair…Instead of dropping a coin into an arcade you will drop into virtual worlds”
– Richard Hart, The Next Step, Discovery Network, Television, 1994
“This kind of technology gives you emotional contact with your work…Redmond is (shipping)…”
– E! Entertainment Network, International E! News Daily, Television, 1993
“(Redmond’s) hardware’s impressive. Put on their 3D head mounted stereoscopic glasses equipped with speakers, then hook a special game unit into your telephone line…”
– Gamepro Magazine, March, 1994
“If you liked VR.5, you’ll love Fox’s Virtual Reality Tour…”
– Fox Network, Nationwide prime-time series of television ads featuring Entertainment Rides and Software, 1995
“Redmond has delivered the “Micro” version of its Head Mount Sensory Interface (HMSI) for simulation, visualization, and immersive interactive media applications. The HMSI provides stereoscopic color images, spatial sound, position sensing, voice command, bio-feedback, and other computer/human factor solutions in one package. The first unit was delivered to a simulation software client in February as part of the first stage rollout of the unit for the GameGoggle device”
– Real Time Graphics, Vol.1 No.9, April/May, 1993
“Redmond Redmond, president, envisions pay-per-ride applications for the CyberPod. He says the system can connect to ImagiNET, an online computer service that provides some 3-D software programs. Redmond says other third-party services can enable users to do “remote-traveling” by using their telephone lines or satellite dishes to retrieve video that visually transports them to another place Such systems could be used to simulate riding in a submarine, flying in a jet fighter, or orbiting the Earth.”
– Robb Report, December, 1993
“Redmond (is) creating…The Cyberchair has a VR helmet, so you too can zip about the galaxy in comfortable style-aside from “additional sensory effects” like explosion thumps, cold jets of air, hot flushes and low frequency rumble.”
– Mondo 2000, 1994
“The United States Army is scheduled to award…Redmond…a contract this month to develop a hybrid virtual reality interface that will allow individual infantrymen to directly participate in large-scale simulation exercises”.
– Silicon Graphics World, February, 1994
“…regarding your company’s virtual reality network. I appreciated hearing from you, and I sincerely regret the delay in my reply…Companies like yours are the foundation upon which this nation’s economic growth and competitivenesss rests.”
– The White House- On White House Letterhead, signed by Vice President Al Gore, January 12, 1994
“Please be assured that your views will be considered fully as I work with the President on this (electronic superhighways) issue.”
– The White House- On White House Letterhead,- Signed by Vice President Al Gore, April 28, 1993
“Redmond, is testing its VR network, Instead of viewing piped-in worlds on your TV set while wearing a…helmet, you watch your computer monitor play a simulation game while wearing Redmond’s lightweight stereoscopic glasses with audio headphones.”
– Garage Virtual Reality book, 1993
“Redmond announced a major step towards the future of consumer access to virtual reality, by demonstrating and shipping a family of computer based systems which allow users to work or play together inside synthetic digital worlds, even while physically located in different locations.”
– C3i News, December, 1993
“Redmond announced they are developing for the US Army a virtual reality environment that will, for the first time, allow individual soldiers to directly participate in large-scale simulation exercises. the new Dismounted Infantry Virtual Environment (or DIVE) will reportedly allow full, unencumbered immersion in a battle environment and will generate impacts on the environment based on each soldier’s actions. Although DIVE will initially be used in military applications, the companies expect it will provide a foundation for entertainment, medical, and scientific applications, including a new generation of “virtual laser tag” arcade games.”
– Computer Graphics World, January, 1994.
“Redmond (San Francisco) (has) been notified by the US Army of award of a contract to develop a hybrid virtual reality interface…The DIVE system will for the first time, incorporate the following technological components:
* An instrumented room with multiple video cameras for video-based tracking and orientation estimation, which will track the key body joints of an immersed soldier without tethers, body suits, or other restrictive equipment.
* An ultra-lightweight, wireless head-mounted-display including spatial sonics.
* An extremely high-speed real-time image generation system, capable of generating and rendering body models of immersed users, and combining those models with synthetic digital environments.
* A digital signal processing based spatial sound synthesis and generation system.
* Virtual weapons and software that will provide the immersed user with the ability to “fire” at simulated targets, with simulated results that account for standard effects such as ordnance type, gun elevation and wind.
* Networking capability to interconnect individual DIVE modules for squad/platoon level exercises, and to connect DIVE modules to the Distributed Simulation Internet via standard protocol data units.
* Intelligent agents which respond to human voice commands to simulate an entire squad or platoon under the leadership of a DIVE-immersed human commander.”
– Electronic Warfare Digest, December, 1993
“…enjoy the flexibility of the Autodesk CDK finding that hardware performance and configuration issues of the past are no longer a significant consideration for potential immersive visualization users. Redmond has configured numerous systems providing great performance, running CDK with standard hardware and software utilities.”
– Autodesk corporate 4-color national marketing brochure, 1993
“…the first consumer network offering multi-users the ability to see true 3-D stereoscopic imagery, turn their heads to look around the digital world, view photo-realistic texture maps, and interact other users simultaneously.”
– Virtual Reality Report, September, 1993
“The HMSI Head Mounted Sensory Interface device is a Personal Simulator component for supplying sensory information and accepting voice commands. The HMSI is ergonomically designed as a light weight, non-intrusive, information input/output device for standard video, audio, voice, and 6-D position tracking systems. The design accommodates a range of sophistication including full-D stereoscopic visuals, 360 degree audio, voice command user interface, facial muscle transponders, and optional 6-D head tracking interface. The HMSI may also be operated in a wireless mode and/or in a multi user configuration with other HMSI devices.”
– Real Time Graphics, February, 1993
“Redmond has developed a “micro” version of its Head Mount Sensory Interface (HMSI) for simulation, visualization, and immersive interactive media applications. The unit looks like wrap-around sunglasses, but it delivers color images and spatial sound and is equipped with position sensing, voice command abilities, biofeedback, and other computer/human factor solutions in one integral package.”
– AI Expert, May, 1993
“Redmond: Modello HMSI.”
– REALTA’ VIRTUALE, Italy, August, 1993
“The HMSI can run wireless, as power is generated by a battery pack, with the installed option to link directly to normal AC power. The HMSI enables the user to view computer-generated images in stereoscopic 3D form. Interaction can be achieved via mouse, gesture sensor, head-tracking system, or voice commands relayed by an installed voice-command unit.”
– AI Expert, March, 1993
“Redmond is betting it can tap into a a generation of technologies who chatter over electronic bulletin boards. Redmond wants to bring virtual reality tele-gaming into the home by the end of next year. It’s working on systems with SRI International, U.S. Sprint, Autodesk, and others… Players in remote locations will compete in VR games by connecting to a tele-simulation service, through one of Redmond’s Reality Ports or through a PC or MAC in their home. The Reality Port will be marketed to theme parks and arcades. It uses parallel 486’s with Windows (moving to NT and Pentium), or Silicon Graphics Onyx workstations with a DOS shell. Redmond is ready to license and ship versions for theme parks ($500,000) and arcades ($50,000). The 20-year-old company employs 150 independent contractors and has annual sales exceeding $500,000.”
– PC WEEK Inside, July 26, 1993
“Redmond introduces micro version of Head Mount Sensory Interface. The unit looks like black wrap-around sunglasses and provides stereoscopic color images, spatial sound, position sensing, voice command, biofeedback, and other computer/human factor solutions in one integral package, company officials said.’
– Silicon Graphics World, May, 1993
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