What is this website?
This website is a personal effort by the inventor of the extraordinary robotic
vehicle and the game
AI Command which uses the robotic vehicle in the course of game play.
The web pages explain the technology and
processes as they relate to the multi-player amusement game
and the capabilities of the vehicle.
Why is this website on the World
Wide Web?
- To present the CyberTank and AI Command
- To be a starting point for discussion between venture capital
investors and the inventor
Who is the inventor?
Bernard Sayers is the inventor of the vehicle and the game which
is described in these pages. Mr. Sayers has been inventing for over 40
years. He holds patents in the fields of electronics and aerodynamics.
Patents specific to the vehicle and the game mentioned in these pages
are in various stages of development. See his
RESUME HERE.
A short history by Bernard Sayers...
I am fortunate to have been born into
a highly creative and entrepreneurial golf club manufacturing family
which spans five generations.
In 1876, Ben Sayers, my great-grandfather
and namesake, started the oldest, continually
operating, golf club manufacturing business in the world which is
located in North Berwick, Scotland.
For over 130 years, the Sayers name
has been world famous in the
field of golf for the manufacture of custom-made golf clubs,
inventive golf products, superior quality, innovative teaching methods and
golf course architecture.
In addition to being the founder of the
Ben Sayers club manufacturing company, Ben Sayers was the architect of
many golf courses in Europe.
A web page about Ben Sayers can be seen
by clicking
HERE. [You'll
be leaving this website so click
your 'back' button to return here.]
I began working in the Sayers club making
business during my early teens. I spent my early childhood and teen
years with the Merion Golf Club, where my grandfather had been
professional for 32 years, essentially in our back yard. I had to pick up errant
golf balls from our lawn before cutting the grass. When I wasn't
involved with wresting or football I was working in the family business after high
school classes.
My time in the family business
was spent working as an apprentice to my grandfather,
George Sayers. In addition to learning how to make custom golf clubs, I spent many hours
listening to him talk golf and business with celebrities and
business owners from all over the world.
My granddad
made the following statement quite often regarding the under utilized
assets of a golf course:
"Bernard, find a way to make money on a golf course all year
around, and
after dark, and you'll make a fortune for yourself and others."
After you have read about the vehicle and the game
described in these web pages, I think you will agree that I have
accomplished what my grandfather challenged me to do.
I have created a
way to make money on a golf course year around and at night...and play golf on the course during the day!
The game I have created certainly does not have
to be played only on a golf course; any suitable large, open area
is appropriate. A
golf course always has interesting terrain, the overall infrastructure
in place to
accommodate people...and the owners may want additional income from
their course. I have
designed vehicles which will allow for golf play during the day and AI
Command game play after dark.
The dual 'Golf and Game' vehicle
has the innovative "TeleCaddy" capability which permits golf
playing partners to drive the vehicle using a fob similar to the device
used to lock and unlock a car. Instead
of 'lock' and 'unlock', the buttons are 'right', 'left', 'slower',
'faster' and 'Stop'. Either player can drive the vehicle from within the
vehicle or from anywhere on
the fairway.
The "TeleCaddy" version will decrease the
amount of time for a total round of golf by speeding up play, and
therefore, it will increase the number of players who can enjoy the
game...and it will increase course revenue by permitting faster play,
and more players, on courses that charge
by the day.
The different vehicle versions and the game are an
out-growth of a robotic surveillance and security system that I designed and
built for Sperry Defense Systems of Great Neck,
Long Island.
My computer consulting company installed
systems and designed programming for Sperry which was a prime U.S. Naval
contractor. In addition to Sperry's U.S. Navy contracts, the company had
contracts for surveillance, security and asset protection from the Saudi Arabian
Navy.
We created and
maintained a back-channel market and order-tracking system as well as a world-wide
personnel tracking system for Sperry. During lunch with a Sperry Vice-president
and other Sperry managers at which an up-coming contract was discussed, I
suggested that Sperry consider including my surveillance robot as an
additional capability when in
contract talks with the Saudis.
By the end of the lunch, I was given
carte blanche to enhance my prototype, man-carrying vehicle
with the goal of
augmenting or eliminating human sentry duties.
I assembled a fantastic team of seven
rather young people and we built a working, man-carrying vehicle in a little
over one year. The vehicle could roam autonomously, be controlled
remotely or driven from within by security personnel. Although we
severely modified the vehicle and added total computer control,
collision avoidance and navigation systems, the initial platform used
for the vehicle was a golf cart.
Sperry decided to use the vehicle as a contract sweetener in
what turned out to be a very contentious bidding war for a multi-billion dollar security
and surveillance contract to be awarded by the Saudi Arabian government.
Unfortunately for me and for my employees,
Sperry lost the contract bidding war to the Bechtel Corporation.
After a period of time thinking
about how I could capitalize on the sophisticated device that I created, I
designed a game system around the vehicle while also keeping the
vehicle capabilities on the cutting-edge technically.
All of the original security and surveillance
capabilities exist with the current design; but, in my opinion, computer
gaming is a very much larger, and more lucrative, market than security
and surveillance.
I don't mean to downplay the security and
surveillance market in today's post 2001 anti-terrorist world--that
market is huge--but I think a gaming application of the vehicle and
technology is much more lucrative.
Within the game environment, a team of two
human participants learn how to control and interplay with the
Artificial Intelligence of the vehicle as they endure various scenarios
which escalate in difficulty for the players as their skill and
experience increases.
The two humans learn about the AI as the
AI learns about the two humans.
Without giving away any of the game ideas
or telling how the vehicle does what it does until I have things covered
by intellectual property protection, imagine yourself
sitting in a vehicle which you can control by voice command, joystick, game
controller or any USB game device.
Now, imagine yourself, your partner and your AI
on a very important and challenging mission.
To learn more...CLICK
HERE
Comments from Bernard Sayers...
If you have read this far, thank you!
These pages are written to introduce my vehicle,
my game and myself to potential investors and business partners.
I apologize for not being more specific in
regard to the vehicle, the game and the total business model but
prudence is important when dealing with ideas. I must have intellectual
property protection before discussing the concepts in detail.
After review by legal counsel future material
in these pages will change to accommodate the direction we are taking.
Until then, poke around...dance on The Edge.
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