Richard Francis Lyon
Encyclopedia
scientist, and engineer, noted for having invented the optical mouse.
He has worked in many aspects of signal processing and was a co-founder of Foveon
Foveon
Foveon, Inc., is the company that makes the Foveon X3 sensor, which captures images in digital single-lens reflex cameras such as the Sigma Corporation SD9, SD10, SD14 and SD15 as well as in the compacts DP1, DP2 and Polaroid X530....
Inc.,
a digital camera and image sensor
Image sensor
An image sensor is a device that converts an optical image into an electronic signal. It is used mostly in digital cameras and other imaging devices...
company.
Life
Lyon grew up in El Paso, TexasEl Paso, Texas
El Paso, is a city in and the county seat of El Paso County, Texas, United States, and lies in far West Texas. In the 2010 census, the city had a population of 649,121. It is the sixth largest city in Texas and the 19th largest city in the United States...
, one of nine children.
He received a B.S. from Caltech
California Institute of Technology
The California Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Pasadena, California, United States. Caltech has six academic divisions with strong emphases on science and engineering...
in 1974
and a M.S. in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
in 1975.
Lyon has worked at a number of Silicon Valley
Silicon Valley
Silicon Valley is a term which refers to the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area in Northern California in the United States. The region is home to many of the world's largest technology corporations...
companies,
including Stanford Telecommunications, Xerox
Xerox
Xerox Corporation is an American multinational document management corporation that produced and sells a range of color and black-and-white printers, multifunction systems, photo copiers, digital production printing presses, and related consulting services and supplies...
, Schlumberger
Schlumberger
Schlumberger Limited is the world's largest oilfield services company. Schlumberger employs over 110,000 people of more than 140 nationalities working in approximately 80 countries...
, Apple, Foveon
Foveon
Foveon, Inc., is the company that makes the Foveon X3 sensor, which captures images in digital single-lens reflex cameras such as the Sigma Corporation SD9, SD10, SD14 and SD15 as well as in the compacts DP1, DP2 and Polaroid X530....
, and Google
Google
Google Inc. is an American multinational public corporation invested in Internet search, cloud computing, and advertising technologies. Google hosts and develops a number of Internet-based services and products, and generates profit primarily from advertising through its AdWords program...
.
Inventions and research
In 1981, Lyon built the first optical mouse, at Xerox,for which he was awarded two U.S. patents, now expired.
He also did pioneering work in the following areas:
- GPSGlobal Positioning SystemThe Global Positioning System is a space-based global navigation satellite system that provides location and time information in all weather, anywhere on or near the Earth, where there is an unobstructed line of sight to four or more GPS satellites...
: Lyon designed early Global Positioning System test transmitterTransmitterIn electronics and telecommunications a transmitter or radio transmitter is an electronic device which, with the aid of an antenna, produces radio waves. The transmitter itself generates a radio frequency alternating current, which is applied to the antenna. When excited by this alternating...
s. - Ethernet hardwareEthernetEthernet is a family of computer networking technologies for local area networks commercially introduced in 1980. Standardized in IEEE 802.3, Ethernet has largely replaced competing wired LAN technologies....
: Lyon invented the first single-chip Ethernet device. - Digital memoryData storage devicethumb|200px|right|A reel-to-reel tape recorder .The magnetic tape is a data storage medium. The recorder is data storage equipment using a portable medium to store the data....
: Lyon did early work on static CMOSCMOSComplementary metal–oxide–semiconductor is a technology for constructing integrated circuits. CMOS technology is used in microprocessors, microcontrollers, static RAM, and other digital logic circuits...
memory and designed the most efficient large CMOS address decoder. - Auditory processing: Lyon invented a cochleaCochleaThe cochlea is the auditory portion of the inner ear. It is a spiral-shaped cavity in the bony labyrinth, making 2.5 turns around its axis, the modiolus....
r model that is used as the basis of much auditory research today. - Digital color photographyDigital photographyDigital photography is a form of photography that uses an array of light sensitive sensors to capture the image focused by the lens, as opposed to an exposure on light sensitive film...
: Lyon invented optical and integrated-circuit techniques that allow digital cameras to be denser and more accurate.
Miscellaneous
- Lyon was elected to be an IEEEInstitute of Electrical and Electronics EngineersThe Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers is a non-profit professional association headquartered in New York City that is dedicated to advancing technological innovation and excellence...
Fellow in 2003 "for contributions to VLSI signal processing, models of hearing, handwriting recognition, and electronic color photography." - In 2005, Lyon was awarded the Progress Medal of the Royal Photographic SocietyRoyal Photographic SocietyThe Royal Photographic Society is the world's oldest national photographic society. It was founded in London, United Kingdom in 1853 as The Photographic Society of London with the objective of promoting the Art and Science of Photography...
, along with Carver MeadCarver MeadCarver Andress Mead is a US computer scientist. He currently holds the position of Gordon and Betty Moore Professor Emeritus of Engineering and Applied Science at the California Institute of Technology , having taught there for over 40 years.Mead studied electrical engineering at Caltech, getting...
and Richard B. MerrillRichard B. MerrillRichard Billings Merrill was an American inventor, engineer, and photographer.Merrill was born in New York City, the son of Dr. Frederick Hamilton Merrill and Joan Williams Merrill. He was the adoptive grandson of Richard Billings Richard Billings Merrill (aka Dick Merrill) (1949–2008) was an...
of Foveon, for the development of the Foveon X3 sensorFoveon X3 sensorThe Foveon X3 sensor is a CMOSimage sensor for digital cameras, designed by Foveon, Inc. and manufactured by National Semiconductorand Dongbu Electronics....
. - In 2010 he was named a Fellow of the Association for Computing MachineryAssociation for Computing MachineryThe Association for Computing Machinery is a learned society for computing. It was founded in 1947 as the world's first scientific and educational computing society. Its membership is more than 92,000 as of 2009...
"for contributions to machine perception and for the invention of the optical mouse." - Lyon is one of the persons featured in George GilderGeorge GilderGeorge F. Gilder is an American writer, techno-utopian intellectual, Republican Party activist, and co-founder of the Discovery Institute...
's book, The Silicon Eye. - Lyon is married to Margaret Asprey; they have two children.