By Rob Potter
LIBERTY — April 16, 2004 – Josh Edwards is hoping that an idea that came to him in a dream a few months ago will soon become a reality.
The reality would be a product to assist avid hunters like himself.
“I woke up one morning with a good idea and I wrote it down on a piece of paper,” said Edwards, who is a Recreation Program Assistant with the Town of Liberty Parks and Recreation Department.
What Edwards scribbled down on that piece of paper was a concept for a product to document the hunting experience for both bow and rifle hunters.
He then contacted Invention Technologies, Inc., a Coral Gables, Fla. based company, after seeing a TV commercial about the firm.
“I talked with them about my idea and they helped me register a patent for it,” said Edwards, a 1999 graduate of Liberty Central School.
Edwards came up with the Video Sight, a product specially designed to adapt to a hunter’s bow or gun to record their hunt. The device offers features similar to a conventional video camera.
“It’s small and lightweight,” Edwards said. “It’s under a pound and can be connected to a bow or rifle.”
After securing the patent, Invention Technologies, Inc. began offering Edwards’ original idea for licensing to manufacturers interested in new product development. Edwards noted that the company is currently using his computer animated designs to pitch the concept of the Video Sight to companies in the hunting industry. Invention Technologies will be showing his designs next week at a manufacturing trade show in Chicago.
Edwards, who attended SUNY Cobleskill for two years and plans to finish his bachelor’s degree in fisheries and wildlife management during the upcoming fall semester at Sullivan County Community College, said that he developed a love of fishing and hunting as a youngster growing up in Parksville.
“I often went hunting and fishing with my Dad,” the 22-year-old explained, referring to his father Douglas Edwards. “I do a lot of hunting and fishing. I just love the outdoors.”
Josh Edwards noted that the Video Sight is a device that will allow hunters to capture all the action of their hunt electronically without the need to carry larger, bulkier video cameras or other photography equipment with them into the woods.
“There are a lot of different possibilities for this concept,” he said.
For now, Edwards is patiently waiting as Invention Technologies helps to get his Video Sight design out there for possible manufacturers. He is hoping to have the Video Sight in full production and available to the public within the very near future.
He is also very appreciative to family members and friends who encouraged him to pursue his idea for the Video Sight.
“I have to give a special thanks to my parents,” he said of his father, Douglas and his mother, Mary.
Josh Edwards added that he also received a great deal of support for his idea from his sister Jennifer and all of his friends, especially Michelle Millspaugh.