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Eye Hear You

Artificial eyes that respond to the human voice are
taking their inventor into the new and frightening
world of business.

NICKY BLACKBURN SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS

oony Avital takes a blue-
and-white bear called Do-
ogy out from the shopping
bag next to her and starts
talking to it. No one at the tables
nearby raises so much as an eye-
brow.
For a moment, Doogy's eyes
swivel in his head as if he's think-
ing, then he stares up at Avital,
looking for all the world as if he's
taking in every word she says.
If this sign of adoration isn't
enough, Doogy also says, "I love
you," just to endorse the message.
It's hard not to fall victim to the
charms of such a bear, even if
you're an avowed cuddly-toy
hater. Doogy moves his eyes in a
way that suggests he really is lis-
tening and when Avital stuffs
him unceremoniously back into
the bag, it's as if, somehow, you've
lost an audience.
This is Avital's latest inven
tion, what she calls "eye hear you"
technology. Essentially, this Tel
Aviv inventor has developed
unique artificial eyes that, when
electronically activated, respond
to the human voice by looking in
the direction of the speaker.
While Doogy isn't alone, and has
friends such as Toody and Poogy
to keep him company, cuddly toys
are only the first application of
Avital's patent. Next in the cards
are high-tech toys such as robots,
and on a more practical level, ar-
tificial eyes for humans. Avital,
who is in her late 40s, certainly
doesn't look like a mad inventor.
Trim, elegant and neat, she
wouldn't be out of place in the
fashion world, or as manager of
a high-tech company.
Over the last 10 years she has
come up with numerous inven-
tions, mostly for the toy industry.
Born in Egypt, Avital emigrat-
ed to Israel in 1957. She first be-
came interested in the toy market
when she was pregnant and
studying at the Bezalel School of
Art and Design in Jerusalem. She
now has two children.
From 1982 to 1986, she worked
as chief designer of stuffed toys
at Israel's Toyland company be-
fore deciding to devote herself
full-time to inventions of her own.
Her first successful project was
a doll that turned into a jacket
that children could wear. Sounds
like an improbable combination,
but somehow Avital made the
convertible doll work and sold the
idea to the Eisenberg Corpora-
tion. The product is now being
produced in China and sold all
over the world.

N

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Next came a bag that could
turn into a four-sided bed large
enough for babies. "It's an excel-
lent product for the first three
months of a baby's life," Avital
says. "It's very light. A mother
can carry it with her wherever
she goes and put the baby to bed
without worrying about him
falling out." The invention was
bought by luggage company Sam-
sonite and is now on sale.
While Avital, who has also
worked with toy companies Mat-
tel and Fisher Price, doesn't like
to talk about her failures, not all
her projects have made it. One —
a pair of light-up Cinderella shoes
for dolls — was bought by toy gi-
ant Hasbro, but never reached
the market.
Avital's new artificial-eye de-
velopment could turn out to be
her most successful invention yet.

A toy inventor is
moving up.

She came up with the idea after
studying the stuffed toy market.
"I researched the behavior of chil-
dren with stuffed toys. When they
are young, the softness of the toy
relaxes them. But as the child
grows, that's not enough. They
need more than a toy that they
can hug-, they need to be involved.
They need more animation."
In 1990, the first talking ted-
dy bear, Teddy Ruxpin, came out
on the market. "I was looking for
the next step, something that
would give more life and move-
ment," says Avital. "Then I real-
ized that one of the most
important things for a baby is
eye-contact with the mother. I
wanted to bring a connection be-
tween toys and eyes."
In 1995, Avital's idea was ac-
cepted by the technology incuba-
tor in Arad and, after employing
four Russian immigrants, she be-
gan work on the artificial eyes.
Eighteen months later, with the
electronic and mechanical sys-
tems of the eyes developed, she
left the incubator and was given
financing by Motorola to put to-
gether her cuddly, battery-driven
prototypes.
To get the eyes moving, a child
needs only to press a switch hid-
den in the bear's left ear and the
eyes will automatically follow the
speaker. After a few minutes of
silence the toy automatically
turns off. El
Jerusalem Post 1997