Garrett Brown, the man behind the Steadicam

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Interesting MSNBC article

Garrett Brown, the man behind the Steadicam

The Steadicam is now almost 30 years old. During that time, Brown has amassed 50 patents worldwide for camera devices, including the Steadicam JR for camcorders; the Skycam, which flies on wires over sporting events; The Divecam (an Emmy for that one); the SuperFlyCam for airplanes; and the Mobycam, an underwater camera that follows swimmers at the Olympics.

Brown also has been working on other stuff to fill voids in the universe that he’s found — like an unbelievably easy way to make large, high-powered binoculars easy to use (it involves a piece of masking tape and allows you to balance the binoculars on two fingers), and a tiny pair of reading glasses that you can’t forget because they fit in your wallet.

The one device that he’s been perfecting for years is the human-powered walking machine. Years before the Segway was a gleam in anyone’s eye, Garrett was working on a human-powered walking machine that weighs less than 10 pounds, can fold up in seconds, climb and descend curbs, and most importantly, look cool. The prototype looks like wheels you attach to your shoes; it’s still a work in progress