The Accidental Inventor: An Interview with Hal Philipp
On this episode, hosts Robert J. Marks and Bradley Norris begin a conversation with Hal Philipp, the man behind the modern touchscreen and a prolific inventor with an impressive 98 U.S. patents. Hal shares his story and some of the lessons he’s learned over a career in invention. Hal’s journey began with a stint at the National Bureau of Standards working on cutting-edge fusion plasma physics, before moving to Tektronix. There, he developed the “time base” for the world’s first Optical Fiber Time-Domain Reflectometer (OFTDR), a radar for fiber optics that shoots out light pulses to spot problems like breaks or weak signals. This earned him his very first patent. Hal goes on to tell the story of his other major inventions, including an optical sensor system for football recruiters and a photon bridge sensor that would improve automatic sliding doors and automatic faucets. Hal also mentions his groundbreaking capacitive sensor technology, born from the need for a low-power solution, and the “accidental” creation of his company to meet overwhelming demand for the resulting low-cost microchip. This is Part 1 of a three-part interview.
Additional Resources
- Watch this interview on YouTube: Stories and Startup Tips from Hal Philipp, Inventor of the Touch Screen
- Hal Philipp’s publication with Robert J. Marks II
- H. Philipp and Robert J. Marks II “Microprocessor based light bridge sensors,” Industrial Optical Sensing, SPIE vol.961, pp.28-34, 1988 (The Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers, Bellingham, WA)
- Robert J. Marks II at Discovery Institute
- Bradley Norris at Baylor University
- Hal Philipp at Michigan Tech
