Prototype This
Prototype This, an engineering entertainment program on Discovery Channel, offered a view into the real-life process of designing and building unique prototypes. In this thirteen episode series, the team set out to tackle the problems of today by creating crazy, one-of-a-kind inventions of tomorrow.
Joe Grand of Grand Idea Studio was the team's electrical engineer and hardware hacker, and shared the screen with Zoz, a roboticist and software designer specializing in human-machine interaction, Mike North, a material scientist and mechanical engineer, and Terry Sandin, a special effects veteran.
The following sections contain Joe's technical documentation, including schematics, source code, and development notes, that he personally contributed to each build. The information is for educational purposes only, cannot be used for any commercial endeavor without prior approval from Grand Idea Studio, and is unsupported.
Episode 9: Wearable Airbag
The engineers attempt to invent an airbag designed to protect workers from falls greater than thirty feet. This wearable airbag must sense freefall and deploy within a second, but can the team make it work in only two weeks?
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Episode 8: Automated Pizza Delivery
The team of engineers attempts to bring pizza delivery into the 21st century via an assortment of robots, blimps and a self-driving car that must cross the Bay Bridge. [ continue ]
Episode 7: Get Up and Go
The team of engineers attempts to invent a space-age sleeping pod that gets you up, fed, showered, groomed, dressed, informed and out the door in a matter of minutes. [ continue ]
Episode 6: Robotic Firefighter Assistant
The team attempts to build a hi-tech PyroPack to help firemen see in burning buildings and a robotic fireman to carry gear up flights of stairs and a victim back down. [ continue ]
Episode 5: Backyard Waterslide Simulator
The team of inventors takes on the future of thrill rides. Can they engineer a waterslide simulator that replicates the water park experience from the comfort of home? [ continue ]