Audi was the first to market with an all LED Headlight system in the A8. When Audi and the Volkswagen of America Electronics Research Laboratory needed help to develop a prototype next generation system using even more ground breaking technology, they turned to Ideal Mechanism for mechanical, thermal, and circuit design. Details are […]

SWARM is an art project consisting of 6 autonomous spherical robots, which are guided by GPS and inertial sensors to create motion evocative of swarming behavior in nature. SWARM was originated by Ideal Mechanism principal Michael Prados, who did the majority of the mechanical design and control systems design. Along with a collaborative […]

Ben Cohen, cofounder of Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream, founded True Majority in order to promote making issues like education, the environment, and health care bigger spending priorities for the federal government. In order to draw attention to these causes, True Majority and its companion organization, Business Leaders for Sensible Priorities, have used creative […]

The Paxscan 4336 is a portable digital radiography panel being developed by Varian Medical Systems in conjunction with Sparkfactor Design. In order to assure that this valuable device can withstand the rigors of the hospital environment, Ideal Mechanism designed shock absorption to meet challenging packaging requirements and conducted drop tests.

In order to improve the functionality of the Volkswagen Electronics Research Laboratories state of the art vehicle simulator cockpit, Ideal Mechanism designed an electronic and mechanical interface to integrate an OEM-style shifter and steering wheel.

LED Wheels is developing a wheel based display to allow drivers to personalize their vehicles with active content and to enable mobile advertising. Ideal Mechanism developed a wheel-based power system for the display which avoids costly modifications to the vehicle electrical system, and designed a persistence-of-vision based display system to provide high resolution while […]

The Serpent Mother is a large scale kinetic fire sculpture built by the Flaming Lotus Girls, a San Francisco based art group. Ideal Mechanism principal Michael Prados was primarily responsible for the 5 degree of freedom, hydraulically actuated head and neck, and for the geometry of the 160 foot long, complexly curved spine.