Orbbec co-founder Joshua Blake seems pretty certain there’s about to be sea change in the way humans communicate with computers.
The Edmonds, Wash.-resident has been focusing on that interaction since the first time he tried to build a piece of artificial intelligence software at age 11. Today he’s the vice president of engineering at a company that thinks it has found the next big thing in 3D cameras.
Seattle-based Orbbec recently launched the Persee, a small device that works like a Microsoft Kinect with a built-in computer. The camera has the ability to sense depth and can be used to do things like track your cat’s movements, make 3D copies of objects or change slides during a presentation with hand gestures. More importantly, though, Blake thinks the technology just might one day change the way we all interact with machines every day.
The company unveiled Persee on Oct. 1 along with an Indiegogo campaign to raise funds to mass produce the device. That campaign has already more than doubled its goal, raising more than $86,000.
When he’s not thinking about the future of human-computer interaction, Blake is a father of three daughters, a space enthusiast and a diehard Star Trek fan.
Meet our new Geek of the Week, and continue reading for his answers to our questionnaire.
What do you do, and why do you do it? “I’m a developer, a user experience advocate, and a machine learning expert. All considered, I’m a natural user interface, or NUI, nerd. In fact, that’s what’s on my car’s license plate! I’ve been involved in the NUI community for my entire career and have written tons of papers, articles and even some books on it. I remember one of the first meetings I had with my Orbbec co-founders. We each wrote down our personal goal for Orbbec, and we all wrote down pretty much the same thing. We all wanted to make computers more intelligent so they can make our lives easier. So that is our company’s mission, and it’s also my personal mission. I think computers should learn about people, not the other way around. I’ve dedicated my career to advancing NUI and artificial intelligence so we can take computers and push past what we’re used to and create something new and better that will benefit everyone, everywhere.”
What’s the single most important thing people should know about your field? “The next step in computing is the consumer NUI revolution. If we’re going to create artificial intelligence for everyone, we really need computers to be able to see us, see our environments and make sense of the world. And computers need high-quality 3D technology for this to come true. It’s exhilarating to be on the bleeding edge of this revolution. Some people say the benefits of artificial intelligence are really far into the future. But this isn’t true; we’re closer that you think. 3D cameras and depth sensors have been researched in academia for decades. But they have only recently become practical to mass produce small embeddable cameras, at a price that is reasonable for consumers. At Orbbec, we are already building devices that can see, hear, understand, and respond to people and their environments with unprecedented accuracy – and at a price consumers can afford. In the future it’s not going to be possible to buy a computing device without a 3D camera built in. This is what a tipping point looks like— and it’s pretty amazing!”
Where do you find your inspiration? “I’m a Star Trek geek. I grew up watching Star Trek every night and I loved all the futuristic technologies like the warp drives and the teleporters. But what I really loved were the computers, which you never really saw, but they were always there and they were always ready to help you and make your life easier. My interest in artificial intelligence, machine learning and usability grew out of my Star Trek addiction, and it’s still what motivates me to create technologies that can benefit everyone and help all of us reach our true potential.”
What’s the one piece of technology you couldn’t live without, and why? “Netflix. My family and I love watching Netflix together. And think about it: we can sit down, use any of our devices, and watch almost any movie or TV show we like on a whim. We’re living in the future!”
What’s your workspace like, and why does it work for you? “I keep it simple. All I need is a comfortable chair, my MacBook Pro and high-speed internet. But I can pretty much work from anywhere. This summer I relocated from Virginia to Seattle, driving cross-country in our RV, and I caught up on work at night or when we stopped for the day. I finished several major features of the Orbbec Astra SDK from the RV.”
Your best tip or trick for managing everyday work and life. (Help us out, we need it.): “Sleep. Anytime I’m stuck on a problem, I’m always tempted to stay up late until I solve it, but that never works if it requires any amount of creativity. If I put it aside and sleep on it, my subconscious will work on it while my consciousness is defragging itself. More often than not, I’ll wake up with the solution.”
Mac, Windows or Linux? “I taught myself how to program in fourth grade on an Apple. Today I use OS X for day-to-day development. In between those, I’ve also become both a Linux and Windows expert. In college I made a 72-node video wall cluster running Linux. After college, I pushed the boundaries of Windows with some of my multi-touch and NUI apps. Everything has its purpose.”
Kirk, Picard, or Janeway? “Picard, all the way. Janeway is a notable leader, and I know many people love Kirk (and I love Kirk too, old and new). But Picard is an amazing role model in leadership (“It is possible to commit no mistakes and still lose. That is not a weakness; that is life.” S2E21), integrity (“The first duty of every Star Fleet officer is to the truth!” S5E19), diplomacy (“In my experience, communication is a matter of patience, imagination.” S5E02), courage (“There are four lights!” S6E11), and empathy (“Your honor, Starfleet was founded to seek out new life: well, there it sits!” S2E09).”
Transporter, Time Machine or Cloak of Invisibility? “That depends upon if the time machine is like ‘Back to the Future’ with unlimited forward and backward travel, or ‘Primer’ where the machine can only send you back as long as the machine existed. If BTTF-style, definitely time machine. Then I can go forward until the Transporter and Cloak of Invisibility are freely available, then back to use them as I wish. If Primer-style, then I’d go for Transporter. It would revolutionize the transportation industry! With the billions in transporter profits, I’d buy a DeLorean and upgrade it to a time machine, naturally.”
If someone gave me $1 million to launch a startup, I would: “Probably still be doing what I’m doing today! Starting a 3D sensor-fueled intelligent computing revolution.”
I once waited in line for: “To get into Barack Obama’s final campaign rally of 2008, the night before the election, with my wonderful wife, my newborn daughter (that my wife just delivered two weeks prior!), and my 2-year-old daughter, who had just learned to say “O-ba-ma” and was excited to finally see him!”
Your role models: “I think we’ve covered Jean-Luc Picard. In the real world: Bill Gates, for being the prototype alpha-geek entrepreneur and showing us that engineers can run great companies and also be great people who want to make the world a better place. Steve Jobs, for his perseverance and not giving up after he was forced out of his own company, and succeeding in the end. And most importantly, my dad, for showing me by example what a great man is like in everyday life.”
Greatest Game in History: “Roy 2: Dave (from ‘Rick and Morty’). Okay, for serious, the greatest game in history probably hasn’t been created yet, but I bet it will use a combination of VR, brain-computer interface and 3D sensors to track the player’s body and face. Why 3D sensors when we have brain interface? Well, unless you want to implant electrodes into your gray matter, perfect computer telepathy won’t be possible. Total immersion. Total control. Total escapism. Also, it will be a clone of Super Mario Brothers.”
Best Gadget Ever: “Ever? The general-purpose computer. Most gadgets and tools are limited by their design to a very small set of functions. A general-purpose computer, on the other hand, has unlimited potential. With just a computer and enough time, you can bootstrap almost any other human knowledge or invention.
If I had to pick a specific gadget, I’d pick Charles Babbage’s The Analytical Engine. As the first general-purpose computer, the ultimate vaporware (178 years with zero units shipped…), and pre-dating any other general-purpose computer by 100 years, it would have been quite the gadget if he had managed to get the funding.”
First Computer: “Apple, when I was in elementary school. When I was 11 years old, I tried to develop an AI on it, but I needed more RAM.”
Current Phone: “Lumia Icon Windows Phone.”
Favorite App: “I love the concept behind this ‘banned’ app by my friend James George called Free Fall High Score. The idea is you drop the phone or toss it in the air to get the longest free-fall time. The phone records a video of its potentially final moments, then uploads the video and the time to a global leaderboard. Hopefully you catch your phone, or it lands on something soft!”
Favorite Cause: “Alzheimer’s Association. Horrible disease.”
Most important technology of 2015: “Orbbec Persee”
Most important technology of 2017: “Intelligent digital agents — enabled by 3D cameras.”
Final words of advice for your fellow geeks: “Don’t let anyone else ever tell you that you can’t work on a technology you find cool. The only person holding you back is yourself. Make some time, take some risks. Find a way to do what you love!”
