Industry forefather set to receive National Medal of Technology

In a ceremony to be held at the White House on February 13th, industry forefather Ralph Baer will receive the 2004 National Medal of Technology - America's most prestigious honour for science and technology.

Baer, whose multiple game-related inventions include the handheld electronic game and seventies cultural icon Simon, will be honoured for producing work which became the basis for seminal home computer game, Pong.

The inventor began developing the idea of playing games on a television set as early as 1966, and created a fully functional electronic ping-pong game just two years later. The Magnavox Odyssey version was released in 1972 and Baer then licensed the ping-pong patent to a number of companies including Atari, spawning the creation of the interactive entertainment industry.

Baer has been developing and marketing new and innovative toy and game ideas in partnership with Bob Pelovitz from MicroPROS Technology Solutions since 1983, and currently holds over 50 US patents for game-related innovations.

The medal is awarded to "individuals who embody the spirit of American innovation and who have advanced the Nation's global competitiveness", and is America's highest honour for science and technology. The ceremony, which will also see awards handed out to six other recipients, will be led by President George W. Bush and the event, which kicks off at 10.40amÃ'Â EST, is due to be webcast on the official White House website.