Motion tech and self-service
Psychotherapist applies science to self-service, putting change in motion.
November 24, 2008 by
Vincent John Vincent is a man with a foot in two worlds — the world of healthcare and the world of business. And Vincent has found a way to marry those two worlds, surprisingly enough, through the incorporation of motion and self-service.
A practicing psychotherapist with an intense love of dance and theater, Vincent founded Toronto-based GestureTek in 2000. "I was interested in the use of the creative arts — such as dance, music, art and movement — in psychotherapy," Vincent said. "I wanted patients to be able to step into and become a part of the creative world. Our vision was to allow people to interact with computers using their bodies, rather than using peripheral tools like keyboards, voice, joysticks and mice."
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The vision led Vincent, along with University of Waterloo classmate Francis MacDougall, to create GestureTek, a company that manufactures gesture-based self-service and digital signage applications, such as wayfinding kiosks and digital displays, that react to user's movements.Today the technology is used by dozens of colleges, universities, public spaces and museums around the world as a self-service wayfinding system.
From the outset, Vincent says both he and MacDougall realized they needed to approach their fledging business as entrepreneurs and not simply treat it as a hobby or project. "Fortunately, we had time to think about how other industries or markets would use the technology in business-wise ways so that we could market it for creative applications, too," said Vincent. Together, Vincent and MacDougall created graphics and virtual worlds in which users could immerse themselves. As they grew the company, Vincent toured on a part-time basis for nearly 10 years, demonstrating the technology through dance and music and using it as a performance tool. To this day, he still unwinds with all sorts of dance. MacDougall developed and patented the company's core single-camera gesture-control technologies and led the creation of the application development engine, tracking engines, and numerous other capabilities that form the base of GestureTek's product offerings. He continues to drive the technology strategy of the company in leading the R&D and production teams, as well as all patenting and licensing activities. Meanwhile, Vincent serves as the creative force and oversees day-to-day operations and sales and marketing. He also leads ongoing market identification, product development in multiple vertical markets, and worldwide installation of the company's systems. One of Vincent's recent installations involved working with the city of Vancouver, British Columbia, to create a dynamic and user-friendly interactive experience to promote the upcoming 2010 Winter Olympics. GestureTek partnered with California-based Xpletive and was able to connect to a real-time rendering of a virtual world of B.C. so that its camera and patented technology could read and analyze the angle of the viewer's hand as it manipulated his "world" and allowed him to fly through 3D versions of various local landmarks.
GestureTek's system, in combination with the latest satellite texture maps of B.C., tracks hand movement in complete 3D space, capturing depth information with accuracy and resolution. The effect is an incredibly authentic 3D interactive experience that can be delivered without the need for a remote control or any other peripheral device. It provides a unique experience for the viewer standing within five feet of a six-foot screen. In addition to its use in promoting the 2010 Winter Games, the system was used at this summer's Olympic games in Beijing. "Video gesture control has to be intuitive so that when a user approaches a kiosk, for example, he or she can walk up and start using the installation," Vincent said. "There isn't time to teach someone how to use the technology." Vincent said his goal is, "to find places where the technology is not only appropriate but also adds value; not expand too fast; and remain open to the creativity and ideas of clients and other employees." GestureTek has had few competitors over the years because Vincent and MacDougall created all of their own technology and have protected their intellectual property with very broad patents, according to Vincent. "We are lucky in that we started a technology category in the late 80s and have had 20 years of experience," he said. "We have created and amassed a large body of knowledge and of markets, uses and environments. We deal with real-world issues and have robust technology that we keep moving ahead." But there's more to Vincent's life than wayfinding kiosks and digital screens. In addition to unwinding through dance, Vincent is an avid reader of science fiction, which he said, "Provides good descriptions of future realities, which is what GestureTek is in the process of helping to create." As for role models, Vincent points to Nolan Bushnell, known as the father of electronic gaming, the inventor of the classic video game Pong and the founder of the Atari video-game system. "Although there may not be a direct logic to why I'm inspired by Bushnell, I admire his creativity in applying technology in different ways and to vertical markets," said Vincent. Vincent says he sees the future of the gesture-recognition industry as one involving increasingly realistic and immersive 360-degree virtual imagery in which users can get lost.
"There will be more dynamic ways to interface with cameras and integration with both voice and gesture," he said. "There will be multiple portals, so that if you are looking at a screen you can connect with and 'meet' people at other screens and expand all kinds of social engagement. We will see more and more large flat screens or projections in public space, especially as installations become more affordable." It may sound like science fiction. But Vincent's not the type to keep both feet on the ground.
Rosalie Catalano is a regular contributor toSelfService.org, where this story originally appeared on Nov. 11. To submit a comment about this story, please contact theeditor. 
