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 Inside Orchard Mall • West Bloomfield, Michigan Orchard Lake Road, North of Maple 248-626-0886 COLORWORKS STUDIO OF INTERIOR DESIGN Robert Stewart Photography If you're considering building a new home we invite you to inquire about our New Construction services: from pre-planning your purchase agreement, to blueprint review, from specifications, and selections, to cabinetry design, from hardware choices to finished trim... these are the details to make a house your home. 32506 Northwestern Highway • Farmington Hills, MI • (248) 851-7540 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 c/\