> PRANAV MISTRY Technology as an Afterthought more likely than not concealed in the button of a shirt or blouse, picks up on this gesture and promptly takes the picture and crops it to remove the hands from the image. More than just a smart camera, SixthSense is the common denominator of a vast array of technologies that aim to reduce computers to near invisibility and integrate their unobtrusive, yet powerful, remains into wearables. SixthSense bridges the gap between the digital and physical worlds. While at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Mr Mistry came up with thirdEye: a pair of glasses that allows for the delivery of graphic information to be customised. Not to be confused with the ill-fated Google Glass, thirdEye is less intrusive, ambitious, and socially awkward. Mr Mistry’s glasses merely aim to adjust the information displayed to personal preferences. As such, it allows viewers to simultaneously display different channels on a single television screen. To reiterate the life-affirming notions of the politically incorrect: while dad watches his sports game, mom may enjoy the latest episode of Downton Abbey while the kids are entrusted to the wholesome entertainment provided by the Disney Channel – all on a single set offering quality time for the entire family. Both Sony and Samsung took note and are in the final stages of developing thirdEye-enabled flat screens due for release in 2016.
Science fiction fails to impress him, yet Pranav Mistry sees no reason to wait for tomorrow when the future may be had today. Instead of dreaming about technological marvels yet to come, the Indian computer scientist has set out to just make it happen. Sometimes that leads to gadgets vanishing altogether: the ubiquitous mouse, deemed indispensable until recently, is one such a device Mr Mistry made disappear. A laser beam and a miniscule infrared camera, both tucked away inside a display, track hand motions just as well. Mr Mistry is the quiet genius behind many of the innovations launched by South Korean electronics behemoth Samsung as it battles for high-tech supremacy against US rival Apple. In 2012, Mr 38
Mistry was invited to lead Samsung’s research department. He has since become the company’s global vice-president. Pranav Mistry is widely considered the Asian counterpart of Apple’s much more media-savvy CEO Tim Cook. Where Mr Cook clearly revels in playing his audience for added suspense and marketing impact, Mr Mistry prefers a low-key approach. Mr Mistry is perhaps best known for his work on the perfection of SixthSense – a suite of technologies powered by a gestural interface. For the geek-speak challenged: SixthSense uses body motions to interact with gadgets. So, instead of pointing a camera to take a picture, SixthSense enables users to frame an image with the thumb and index finger of both hands. The camera, CFI.co | Capital Finance International
Mr Mistry has a great many other tricks – and gadgets – up his sleeve such as a system that allows files to be transferred between devices by finger touch. One of the hottest names in today’s high-tech sphere, Mr Mistry is, refreshingly enough, not out to make a bundle. In fact, he flatly refuses to even contemplate setting up shop and raking in the millions: “I just like to think outside the box, see where that takes me, and then figure out a way to actually get there.” While so engaged, Mr Mistry is also expending considerable effort at making technology more accessible: “It is all very nice that Appel keeps updating its iPhone continuously, but how is that relevant to a villager in India?” When he moves his thinking out of the box, it is mostly about leaving the container behind that traditionally housed the computer – laptop or desktop. Mr Mistry argues that increased mobility is key: “we even need to go past the notion that technology is all about computers. The mobile era is about the integration and minimisation of technology in such a way that it no longer intrudes on our lives but merely complements it.” IT as an afterthought, albeit a rather sophisticated one.