Ralph Osterhout
Encyclopedia
Ralph Osterhout is an inventor, designer and entrepreneur. During his 40+ year career he has developed a range of products spanning toys, consumer electronics, dive equipment, furniture to devices for the Department of Defense.

Early life

Ralph Osterhout was born in Seattle, Washington
Seattle, Washington
Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...

 in 1946 and moved to Santa Cruz, California
Santa Cruz, California
Santa Cruz is the county seat and largest city of Santa Cruz County, California in the US. As of the 2010 U.S. Census, Santa Cruz had a total population of 59,946...

 at the age of 1. He attended Soquel High School
Soquel High School
Soquel High School is a high school in Soquel, California, located on Old San Jose Road. It currently has 1,200 students and was established in 1962. The school is operated by the Santa Cruz City High School District. The school mascot is the Knight....

 graduating in 1964 and later went on to San Jose State University
San José State University
San Jose State University is a public university located in San Jose, California, United States...

 graduating in 1969.

A pivotal point in Osterhout’s life was at the 1969 boat show, where he showcased the first of a kind diver propulsion vehicle
Diver Propulsion Vehicle
A diver propulsion vehicle is an item of diving equipment used by scuba and rebreather divers to increase range underwater...

 (DPV) named the MK I. The Navy subsequently purchased the MK II in 1970.
With the purchase of the DPV, Osterhout founded the scuba
Scuba set
A scuba set is an independent breathing set that provides a scuba diver with the breathing gas necessary to breathe underwater during scuba diving. It is much used for sport diving and some sorts of work diving....

 equipment company Farallon Industries and began a career in product development and design.

Osterhout Design Group (ODG)

High Tech Product Design - CEO/Founder. 1999 to Present.
Osterhout Design Group (ODG) is a product development company that incubates new companies by integrating new and emerging technologies in Consumer, Industrial, Defense and Toy markets.

Sierra Nevada Corporation

Sr. VP - Advanced Technology Group, corporate wide. 2003 to 2008.
Sierra Nevada Corporation purchased Inter-4 in 2003.

Inter-4

Defense Contractor - CEO/Founder. 2000 to 2003.
As a defense contractor, Osterhout designed a wide range of products spanning: military computers, PDA
PDA
A PDA is most commonly a Personal digital assistant, also known as a Personal data assistant, a mobile electronic device.PDA may also refer to:In science, medicine and technology:...

s, electro-optic sensors, robotic vehicles, underwater navigation systems, laser rangefinders, day/night soldier vision systems, unattended ground sensors, broadband
Broadband
The term broadband refers to a telecommunications signal or device of greater bandwidth, in some sense, than another standard or usual signal or device . Different criteria for "broad" have been applied in different contexts and at different times...

 wireless networks and mini-UAVs.


Products:
  • Simple Key Loader :(SKL or AN/PYQ-10
    AN/PYQ-10
    The AN/PYQ-10 Simple Key Loader is a ruggedized, portable, hand-held fill device, for securely receiving, storing, and transferring data between compatible cryptographic and communications equipment...

    ): Hand held encrypted-key loading computer for communications and weapons systems.
  • Tacti-Net: Broadband, wireless mesh network – The root of Tacti-Net is based in a mesh network that connects forward troops, reinforcements and central command to a single network that shares essential data on multi-function devices. US Army.
  • Tacti-Sight: Multi-spectral helmet
    Helmet
    A helmet is a form of protective gear worn on the head to protect it from injuries.Ceremonial or symbolic helmets without protective function are sometimes used. The oldest known use of helmets was by Assyrian soldiers in 900BC, who wore thick leather or bronze helmets to protect the head from...

    -mounted soldier
    Soldier
    A soldier is a member of the land component of national armed forces; whereas a soldier hired for service in a foreign army would be termed a mercenary...

     displays compatible with the Tacti-Net mesh network for live video relays from a war fighter to other war fighters viewed on Tacti-Comp computers well as command positions on T-5 computers. US Army.
  • Tacti-Comp (T1.5): Ruggedized hand held computers with Tacti-Net mesh network radios. Featured GPS with live maps showing others on network, touch screen text messaging, send/receive video and voice capabilities on a 256-bit AES encrypted radio on the mesh network. The Tacti-Comp also had the ability to control unmanned vehicles such as the Tacti-Bot. US Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines.
  • Tacti-Comp 5 (T5): Mobile touchscreen combat computer. Larger and more powerful Tacti-Comp with same mesh communication and GPS location abilities. A "T-5 Bio Accessory" could be snapped into the unit for biometrics data collection, including a fingerprint
    Fingerprint
    A fingerprint in its narrow sense is an impression left by the friction ridges of a human finger. In a wider use of the term, fingerprints are the traces of an impression from the friction ridges of any part of a human hand. A print from the foot can also leave an impression of friction ridges...

     scanner and camera for mobile facial and iris recognition
    Iris recognition
    Iris recognition is an automated method of biometric identification that uses mathematical pattern-recognition techniques on video images of the irides of an individual's eyes, whose complex random patterns are unique and can be seen from some distance....

    . US Army.
  • Tacti-Bot: A wireless 6-wheel drive, 4-wheel steering robotic vehicle with a 5-axis arm designed to disarm IED
    Improvised explosive device
    An improvised explosive device , also known as a roadside bomb, is a homemade bomb constructed and deployed in ways other than in conventional military action...

    ’s and inspection of threatening devices while being operated remotely for over 5 miles. US Army, Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA).
  • Micro Mesh Router: A miniature wireless mesh transceiver that relays data up to 30 miles which links squads in the field to command centers and gives situational awareness in real-time data transmissions. US Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines.
  • Ballistic Camera/LCD Display Goggles: Special Operations Command
    United States Special Operations Command
    The United States Special Operations Command is the Unified Combatant Command charged with overseeing the various Special Operations Commands of the Army, Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps of the United States Armed Forces. The command is part of the Department of Defense...

    .
  • GPS/IMU-guided Underwater Navigation-Board: Special Operations Command.

Machina/Team Machina

Consumer Electronics - CEO/Founder. 1990 to 1999.
Created products under the Machina brand and developed products for other brands under the company Team Machina. Together the companies sold over 500 million in consumer goods. Some of the clients of Team Machina included: Tiger Electronics
Tiger Electronics
Tiger Electronics is an American toy manufacturer, best known for its handheld LCD games, the Furby, and Giga Pets. When Tiger was an independent company, Tiger Electronics Inc., its headquarters were in Vernon Hills, Illinois....

, Brookstone
Brookstone
Brookstone is a chain of retail stores in the United States. Its first store was opened in 1973 in Peterborough, New Hampshire. Its headquarters are currently located in Merrimack, New Hampshire....

, Specialized
Specialized Bicycle Components
Specialized Bicycle Components, more commonly known simply as Specialized, is a major American brand of bicycles and related products. It was founded in 1974 by Mike Sinyard and is based in Morgan Hill, California-History:...

, Sega
Sega
, usually styled as SEGA, is a multinational video game software developer and an arcade software and hardware development company headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan, with various offices around the world...

, Nike
Nike, Inc.
Nike, Inc. is a major publicly traded sportswear and equipment supplier based in the United States. The company is headquartered near Beaverton, Oregon, which is part of the Portland metropolitan area...

, Playmates Toys
Playmates Toys
Playmates Toys is a Costa Mesa, California toy manufacturer and a subsidiary of Hong Kong-based Playmates Holdings Ltd , which was founded in 1966.-Proprietary brands:*Amazing Dolls*Amazing Pets*Kinder-Garden Babies*R.E.V.s*Waterbabies*WOW Pals...

, Tonka
Tonka
Tonka is an American toy company most known for its signature toy trucks and construction equipment.-History:On September 18, 1946 Mound Metalcraft was created in Mound, Minnesota with three men as partners, Lynn Everett Baker , Avery F. Crounse, and Alvin F. Tesch. The first products produced by...

, Yes!
Yes!
Yes! is a Hong Kong teen lifestyle magazine with a slogan "All-weather Youth Magazine" . Founded by Joe Nieh and Simon Siu on 20 November 1990, it was originally a semimonthly magazine published on every 5th and 20th of each month and priced at HK$10...

, Milton Bradley
Milton Bradley
Milton Bradley , an American game pioneer, was credited by many with launching the board game industry in North America with Milton Bradley Company....

, Ray-o-Vac, Lockheed Martin
Lockheed Martin
Lockheed Martin is an American global aerospace, defense, security, and advanced technology company with worldwide interests. It was formed by the merger of Lockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta in March 1995. It is headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, in the Washington Metropolitan Area....

, Fisher-Price
Fisher-Price
Fisher-Price is a company that produces toys for infants and children, headquartered in East Aurora, New York. Fisher-Price has been a wholly owned subsidiary of Mattel since 1993.-History:...

, Hasbro
Hasbro
Hasbro is a multinational toy and boardgame company from the United States of America. It is one of the largest toy makers in the world. The corporate headquarters is located in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, United States...

, Ban Dai
Ban Dai
Ban Dai is a village and tambon of Mae Sai District, in Chiang Rai Province, Thailand. In 2005 it had a total population of 4117 people. The tambon contains 8 villages....

 and Eddie Bauer
Eddie Bauer
Eddie Bauer Holdings Inc. is a holding company that operates the Eddie Bauer clothing store chain, headquartered in Bellevue, Washington, United States. EBH was formed after Eddie Bauer's former parent company, Spiegel, Inc., went bankrupt in 2003...

.


Products:
  • Power Penz: Ball-point pens that fly, shoot, spy, speak and write in invisible ink.
  • Wrist Com: Wrist-worn gaming system with snap in game modules.
  • Talkboy
    Talkboy
    The Talkboy was a portable variable speed cassette player and recorder manufactured by Tiger Electronics in the early 1990s. Much like other Tiger Electronics devices of the era, this device was primarily marketed to children and teens....

     pens
    : A line of pens that have keyboards and voice modulation.
  • Air-Vectors: Cars that transform into aircraft and fly 20 feet (6.1 m).
  • Pen Pointer 2: Laser
    Laser
    A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of photons. The term "laser" originated as an acronym for Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation...

     pointer/Pen.
  • CARDCORDER 90: Credit card sized voice recorder.
  • Talking Tonka Truck: Currently in the National Toy Hall of Fame.
  • Handheld games: Virtual Cop, Dragon Heart and WARHAWK made for Tiger Electronics
    Tiger Electronics
    Tiger Electronics is an American toy manufacturer, best known for its handheld LCD games, the Furby, and Giga Pets. When Tiger was an independent company, Tiger Electronics Inc., its headquarters were in Vernon Hills, Illinois....

    .
  • AirPix: RF touchpad and LCD screen and diary. Made for Sega
    Sega
    , usually styled as SEGA, is a multinational video game software developer and an arcade software and hardware development company headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan, with various offices around the world...

    .
  • Yapper: Telephone mounted voice changer. Made for Sega
    Sega
    , usually styled as SEGA, is a multinational video game software developer and an arcade software and hardware development company headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan, with various offices around the world...

    .
  • Yak Bak
    Yak Bak
    Yak Bak is the general name given to a series of handheld electronic voice-recording line of toys developed by Ralph Osterhout at Team Machina for Yes! Gear in the mid-to-late 1990s. Several versions of the toy were developed which include the Yak Bak, Yak Bak 2, Yak Bak WarpR, Yak Wakky, Yak Bak...

    , Mega Mouth, Radical Air Weapons (RAW)
    : Made for Yes!
    Yes!
    Yes! is a Hong Kong teen lifestyle magazine with a slogan "All-weather Youth Magazine" . Founded by Joe Nieh and Simon Siu on 20 November 1990, it was originally a semimonthly magazine published on every 5th and 20th of each month and priced at HK$10...


Knoll Furniture

Office and Lighting Designer. 1990–1992.
Designed modular office furniture and lighting systems. The designs won an Industrial Designers Society of America
Industrial Designers Society of America
Industrial Designers Society of America is an organization of professional industrial designers primarily in the United States. Recently IDSA has started chapters in Canada and in China...

 (IDSA) gold award in 1992.

S-Tron

Defense Contractor - CEO/Founder.1985 to 1990.

Products:
  • PVS-7 Night Vision
    Night vision
    Night vision is the ability to see in low light conditions. Whether by biological or technological means, night vision is made possible by a combination of two approaches: sufficient spectral range, and sufficient intensity range...

     Goggle
    : Its revolutionary design used new composite material
    Composite material
    Composite materials, often shortened to composites or called composition materials, are engineered or naturally occurring materials made from two or more constituent materials with significantly different physical or chemical properties which remain separate and distinct at the macroscopic or...

    s developed specifically for this application and weighed less than half as much as the PVS-5A goggles at only 1.5 pounds. It was designed, engineered and tooled in just 3 months and has been used in 3 wars since its inception. US Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines.
  • TD 110 Dual wavelength Laser Aiming System: Allows for successful targeting at 650 meters. US Special Operations Command.
  • Laser Hardened Telescopic Sight: 6 inches long and mounts on an M16 rifle
    M16 rifle
    The M16 is the United States military designation for the AR-15 rifle adapted for both semi-automatic and full-automatic fire. Colt purchased the rights to the AR-15 from ArmaLite, and currently uses that designation only for semi-automatic versions of the rifle. The M16 fires the 5.56×45mm NATO...

     or M4 carbine
    M4 carbine
    The M4 carbine is a family of firearms tracing its lineage back to earlier carbine versions of the M16, all based on the original AR-15 designed by Eugene Stoner and made by ArmaLite. It is a shorter and lighter variant of the M16A2 assault rifle, with 80% parts commonality.It is a gas-operated,...

    . Specially coated lenses that protect a soldier’s eye by turning opaque to the exposure of laser rangefinders within milliseconds on the battlefield. Designed and Fielded in 52 days. US Army.
  • Closed-Circuit Mixed Gas Rebreather: MK-19 was designed to allow a combat swimmer to lock out of a submarine
    Submarine
    A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability...

     at depths greater than 300 feet and disable mines. It features a non-magnetic, non-acoustic construction that does not emit bubbles, allowing the swimmer to operate in a stealth manner for >8 hours at a time. US Navy.
  • Pilots automatic life-preserver system(LPU-9) is a first of a kind, compact life preserver system that is designed to be worn by Navy pilots and to automatically inflate in the event of a splash down. US Navy.
  • Diver Propulsion Vehicle
    Diver Propulsion Vehicle
    A diver propulsion vehicle is an item of diving equipment used by scuba and rebreather divers to increase range underwater...

    s
    or DPV: US Navy.
  • Diver Active Thermal Protection System or DATPS: This unit circulates warm water through a closed-circuit, combat diver’s suit in order to maintain a constant body temperature by burning magnesium
    Magnesium
    Magnesium is a chemical element with the symbol Mg, atomic number 12, and common oxidation number +2. It is an alkaline earth metal and the eighth most abundant element in the Earth's crust and ninth in the known universe as a whole...

     at 5,000 degrees, controlled by a micro-controller and thermister array. The unit is used for surveillance
    Surveillance
    Surveillance is the monitoring of the behavior, activities, or other changing information, usually of people. It is sometimes done in a surreptitious manner...

    , sub and mine
    Naval mine
    A naval mine is a self-contained explosive device placed in water to destroy surface ships or submarines. Unlike depth charges, mines are deposited and left to wait until they are triggered by the approach of, or contact with, an enemy vessel...

     counter-measures operations in freezing temperatures. Special Operations Command.
  • Special Operations Modular Assault Vest: Special Operations Command.
  • Diver Transport Vehicles: US Navy.
  • Full Face Mask/Regulator System: US Navy.
  • Integrated Ballistic
    Terminal ballistics
    Terminal ballistics, a sub-field of ballistics, is the study of the behavior of a projectile when it hits its target. It is often referred to as stopping power when dealing with human or other living targets. Terminal ballistics is relevant both for small caliber projectiles as well as for large...

     Helmet
    : Special Operations Command.
  • Offensive Handgun Systems Laser Sights: Special Operations Command.

Tekna

Sport Scuba Diving Equipment and Consumer Products, Founded by Ralph Osterhout, Co Founded by Hank Fagundes. 1976 to 1990.

Tekna knives and flashlights are valued by outdoor enthusiasts and scuba divers for their innovative designs and ruggedness. In 1990 Ray-o-Vac purchased Tekna and continued to produce these items. Later an ex-Tekna design engineer bought the company and created the Ocean Reef scuba company, re-manufacturing the products with the original quality, while Oceanic Worldwide
Oceanic Worldwide
Oceanic is a company which currently designs and manufactures sport-type scuba gear. They were founded by Bob Hollis in 1972 and are based in San Leandro, California, USA.-Rebreathers:...

 purchased the Tekna Dive Vehicle.


Products:
  • Tekna- Knife: A favorite among divers because of its versatile design and solid, one-piece skeleton construction.
  • Tekna-Lite: The original tactical
    Tactical light
    A tactical light is a flashlight used in conjunction with a firearm to aid low light target identification, allowing the marksman to simultaneously aim and illuminate the target. Tactical lights can be handheld or mounted to the weapon with the light beam parallel to the bore...

     flashlight and the first light to have a battery indicator. These lights have been dropped from a 7 story building, run over by an 8-ton dump truck and operated from the top of Mt. Everest to 2000 feet (609.6 m) below water, whilst surviving the abuse. The flashlight assembly was featured on the TV program How Its Made.
  • Tekna Wilderness Edge Survival Knife: A utility knife that has many components in it, from saw blades to a fishing reel. These are standard issue under the seats of Japanese Defense Forces Planes.
  • Tekna Computek: A first of its kind dive computer that precisely calculates the divers depth, maximum depth, bottom time, surface intervals, tank pressure, remaining air time, and decompression status that are displayed pictographically.
  • Tekna Dive Vehicle: A diver propulsion vehicle that was injection-molded.
  • Tekna Mini-Piloted Scuba Regulator: This ultra miniature diver’s regulator
    Diving regulator
    A diving regulator is a pressure regulator used in scuba or surface supplied diving equipment that reduces pressurized breathing gas to ambient pressure and delivers it to the diver. The gas may be air or one of a variety of specially blended breathing gases...

     caused a revolution in regulator design by performing No. 1 in Navy tests. It’s the only regulator that actually got easier to breathe at increased depth.

Farallon Industries

Diver Propulsion Vehicles – CEO/Founder. 1970–1976.
Farallon is a scuba equipment company that developed the first widely used diver propulsion vehicle
Diver Propulsion Vehicle
A diver propulsion vehicle is an item of diving equipment used by scuba and rebreather divers to increase range underwater...

 (DPV). The DPV’s were originally made for the Navy but has been adapted by commercial and sport divers.


Products:
  • MK I, MK II, MK III, MK IV, MK V and MK VI: A first of a kind DPV that used an electric motor in a watertight aluminum case, to propel divers through water.
  • MK Sled Transport: Is a neutrally buoyant platform that harnesses two DPV’s to transport a diver and a payload.
  • Shark Dart: First designed for the US Navy Seals as a silent/bloodless weapon that premiered in the movie Jaws
    Jaws (film)
    Jaws is a 1975 American horror-thriller film directed by Steven Spielberg and based on Peter Benchley's novel of the same name. In the story, the police chief of Amity Island, a fictional summer resort town, tries to protect beachgoers from a giant man-eating great white shark by closing the beach,...

     as the harpoon
    Harpoon
    A harpoon is a long spear-like instrument used in fishing to catch fish or large marine mammals such as whales. It accomplishes this task by impaling the target animal, allowing the fishermen to use a rope or chain attached to the butt of the projectile to catch the animal...

    -like weapon that helped defeat the shark. This product is used by divers, military and researchers.

Films and Television

Designed and built equipment that appeared in/on:
  • James Bond
    James Bond
    James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...

    : The Spy Who Loved Me
    The Spy Who Loved Me (film)
    The Spy Who Loved Me is a spy film, the tenth film in the James Bond series, and the third to star Roger Moore as the fictional secret agent James Bond. It was directed by Lewis Gilbert and the screenplay was written by Christopher Wood and Richard Maibaum...

    , propulsion system on submarine car and chase mini-subs.
  • James Bond
    James Bond
    James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...

    : Never Say Never Again
    Never Say Never Again
    Never Say Never Again is a 1983 spy film based on the James Bond novel Thunderball, which was previously filmed in 1965 as Thunderball...

    , underwater vehicles that transported bad guy’s atomic warheads.
  • Jaws
    Jaws (film)
    Jaws is a 1975 American horror-thriller film directed by Steven Spielberg and based on Peter Benchley's novel of the same name. In the story, the police chief of Amity Island, a fictional summer resort town, tries to protect beachgoers from a giant man-eating great white shark by closing the beach,...

  • How Its Made: Season 8 Episode 3 - Flashlights Video Clip
  • The Long Kiss Goodnight
    The Long Kiss Goodnight
    The Long Kiss Goodnight is a 1996 action thriller film starring Geena Davis and Samuel L. Jackson, written by Shane Black and directed by Renny Harlin.-Plot:...

  • Law & Order
    Law & Order
    Law & Order is an American police procedural and legal drama television series, created by Dick Wolf and part of the Law & Order franchise. It aired on NBC, and in syndication on various cable networks. Law & Order premiered on September 13, 1990, and completed its 20th and final season on May 24,...

  • Jurassic Park
    Jurassic Park (film)
    Jurassic Park is a 1993 American science fiction adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg. The film is based on the novel of the same name by Michael Crichton. It stars Sam Neill, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum, Richard Attenborough, Martin Ferrero, and Bob Peck...

  • Jacques Cousteau Series
  • ABC World News Tonight
  • PBS
  • NPR
    NPR
    NPR, formerly National Public Radio, is a privately and publicly funded non-profit membership media organization that serves as a national syndicator to a network of 900 public radio stations in the United States. NPR was created in 1970, following congressional passage of the Public Broadcasting...

  • n3TV City TV

Lectures

  • TED
    TED (conference)
    TED is a global set of conferences owned by the private non-profit Sapling Foundation, formed to disseminate "ideas worth spreading"....

     - Technology, Education & Design Conference
  • D.I.C.E. Summit
    D.I.C.E. Summit
    D.I.C.E. Summit is an annual multi-day gathering of video game executives held in Las Vegas, Nevada. Established in 2002 by the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences, the conference is host to the annual Entertainment Software Association's Interactive Achievement Awards...

     Video Part 1 Video Part 2 Video Part 3
  • The Electric Playground
    The Electric Playground
    The Electric Playground is a daily news television show on the cable TV network G4 that covers movies, TV shows, comic books, collectibles and gadgets...

     Interview Video
  • Entertainment Gathering Conference Conference Video
  • International Design Conference in Aspen
  • National Conference, Industrial Designer’s Society of America
  • Stanford / MIT Venture Forum
  • Stanford Design Forum
  • By Design Conference
  • MC, World Design Conference
  • Design Innovation Conference - MIT
  • Art Center Forum
  • Innovative Thinking Conference

Patents

U.S. Utility Patents

U.S. Design Patents
  • D380501- Hand-held electronic game housing
  • D376822- Hand-held electronic game housing
  • D364648- Hand-held electronic game housing
  • D367890- Hand-held electronic game housing
  • D364641- Pen recorder housing
  • D301752- Spotlight
  • D302046- Spotlight
  • D287105- Combined packaging and display container
  • D300112- Pocket knife with removable cap
  • D288898- Retractable knife
  • D304154- Foldable knife
  • D336688- Flashlight
  • D457974- Accent light
  • D457667- Accent light
  • D458395- Accent light
  • D457669- Novelty light
  • D312168- Fin sock
  • D330265- Adjustable lamp

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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