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
N
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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
eyebrow.
For a moment, Doogy's eyes
swivel in his head as if he's
thinking, 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
listening 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 invention,
what she calls "eye
hear you" technol-
ogy. Essentially,
this Tel Aviv in-
ventor has devel-
oped unique
artificial eyes that,
when electronical-
ly activated, re-
spond to the human
voice by looking in the di-
rection 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 ap-
plication of Avital's patent. Next
in the cards are high-tech toys
such as robots, and on a more
practical level, artificial eyes for
humans. Avital, who is in her
late 40s, certainly doesn't look
like a mad inventor. Trim, ele-
gant 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 indus-
try. Born in Egypt, Avital
emigrated to Israel in 1957. She
first became 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 chil-
dren.
From 1982 to 1986, she
worked as chief designer of
stuffed toys at Israel's Toyland
company before deciding to de-
vote herself full-time to inven-
tions of her own.
Her first successful project
was a doll that turned into a
jacket that children could wear.
Sounds like an improbable com-
bination, but somehow Avital
made the convertible doll work
and sold the idea to the Eisen-
berg Corporation. The product is
now being produced in China
and sold all over the world.
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
Samsonite and is now on sale.
While Avi-
tal, who has
also worked
with toy corn-
panies Mattel
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. She came up with the idea
after studying the stuffed toy
market. "I researched the be-
havior of children 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."
EYE page 68
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