Basic HTML Version
As far as Aviad Maizels is concerned, the
days of the traditional keyboard and remote
control are numbered. The co-founder and
CEO of PrimeSense, a Tel Aviv–based com-
pany that specializes in gesture-recognition technology, is particularly interested in making
devices easier to use—and that starts with the interface.
It’s about time, he says, because gadgets have become increasingly complex. “The con-
sumer electronics industry pushes so many new features into devices that people forget
how to operate them,” says Maizels, who previously worked as the head of research and
development at the Israeli Ministry of Defense. “It happened in mobile phones, and it hap-
pened in gaming.”
Maizels’ focus on user-friendly interfaces is one reasonMicroso chose PrimeSense to
work on its bestselling Kinect controller, whose 3-Dmotion-sensor camera lets users play
everything from racing games to Netflix movies just by moving their body. Now PrimeSense
is developing next-generation gesture-based interfaces for smart TVs. “When you’re talking
about 100,000 movie titles to choose from,” Maizels says, “surfing around your TV for con-
tent isn’t linear anymore,”
which is another reason
why interfaces and remote
controls need to evolve.
Like the Kinect, which
also has a voice-activation
component, the ideal next-
generation interface won’t
just be gesture-based. “In
the same way that people
communicate face to face,
it should be a mixture,” says
Maizels, “something that
replicates what we read
from eye contact and facial
expressions.” For an example,
he points to the fictitious
interfaces in
IronMan 2
,
which are essentially 3-D
versions of an iPad touch-
screen, allowing for grabbing,
swiping and resizing of
virtual three-dimensional
icons and objects to control
a computer.
The point, says Maizels,
is that interfaces should
let us use what we already
know rather than force us to
learn a series of commands.
“Soon,” he quips, “machines
will start to bow to humans.”
SHORT
STORIES
To get kids interested in
learning, Sharon Kan
had an idea: Help them
write their own books
A er stepping down as
CEO of her third startup
(which had just been
acquired by Microso ),
serial entrepreneur
Sharon Kan took some
time off. “I was figuring
out what to do next, and
then I got pregnant,”
she recalls. A couple of
years later, Kan noticed
her daughter making up
stories instead of reading
the books in front of her
at a local bookstore.
“The general thinking
then was that adults are
the storytellers,” recalls
Kan. “But we know that
kids are great storytellers,
too.” With that in mind,
in 2007 Kan hired a
team of engineers from
MIT to create so ware
to help kids write their
own books. The result is
Tikatok, which provides
these tools both at
tikatok.com and in a series
of boxed kits available at
Barnes & Noble stores (the
book retailer purchased
Tikatok in 2009).
On virtual page a er
virtual page, kids are
prompted to complete
empty text segments
(“Describe the car,” says
the prompt on one page)
and add pictures and
illustrations. It’s like Mad
Libs but withmini writing
assignments, rather than
randomwords, to fill in
the blanks. “We provide
a scaffolding element
that gives hints so kids
can choose characters
or genre,” says Kan, “but
that ultimately doesn’t
take anything away from
the stories they come
up with. The idea is to
prompt imagination and
creativity.”
While accessing the site
is free, turning a story into
a hardcover book starts
at $18 (paperbacks at $15).
Titles are also available in
e-reader form via the Tika-
tok Android app for the
Nook Color for $2.99 each.
Online versions of books
can be shared on Facebook
and Twi er; directly with
friends and family; and on
the Tikatok website, where
a “Tikatok Picks” section
highlights the latest and
best examples.
Yes, there’s an
e-commerce element,
but the end result is a
boon for budding creative
writers. Tikatok is also
teaming up with textbook
publisher Pearson for
Tikatok-powered books
on social studies, science
and other subjects; in this
scenario, kids might write
a book about, say, George
Washington. “We want
to help kids love to learn
versus learning to pass
a test,” Kan says. “I think
this is where we need to
make the change in our
education system.”
Meaningful Gesture
inside aviad maizels’ quest to render
your remote control deader than the vcr
SHARON KAN
/
AGE
42 /
FROM
TEL AVIV /
LIVES
IN
BOSTON /
PREVIOUS GIG
CEO OF ZOOMIX
AVIAD MAIZELS
/
AGE
35 /
FROM
TEL AVIV /
LIVES IN
TEL AVIV /
PREVIOUS GIG
HEAD OF TECHNICAL RESEARCH
AND DEVELOPMENT AT THE ISRAELI MINISTRY OF DEFENSE
HEMISPHERESMAGAZINE.COM
/
JANUARY 2012
GUIDO VITTI
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