As an MIT grad student, Pranav Mistry invented SixthSense, a wearable device that enables new interactions between the real world and the world of data.
Pranav Mistry demos several tools that help the physical world interact with the world of data — including a deep look at his SixthSense device and a new, paradigm-shifting paper “laptop.” In an onstage Q&A, Mistry says he’ll open-source the software behind SixthSense, to open its possibilities to all.
Why you should listen
When Pranav Mistry was a PhD student in the Fluid Interfaces Group at MIT’s Media Lab, he worked with lab director Pattie Maes to create some of the most entertaining and thought-provoking interfaces the world had ever seen. And not just computer interfaces, mind you — these are ways to help the digital and the actual worlds interface. Imagine: intelligent sticky notes, Quickies, that can be searched and can send reminders; a penthat draws in 3D; and TaPuMa, a tangible public map that can act as Google of physical world. And of course the legendary SixthSense, which is now open sourced
Before his studies at MIT, he worked with Microsoft as a UX researcher; he’s a graduate of IIT. Now, as director of research at Samsung Research America, Mistry heads the Think Tank Team, an interdisciplinary group of researchers that hunts for new ways to mix digital informational with real-world interactions. As an example, Mistry launched the company’s smartwatch, the Galaxy Gear, in 2013.
