TouchMagix Media Pvt. Ltd., based in Pune, is a company forked off the TechnoKarma Labs, an incubator that was established in 2002 with a vision to design and deliver world-class innovations to masses. TouchMagix builds products that enable brand owners to engage their consumers in an interaction that will make an everlasting impact in the consumers mind. Their products can convert any surface into an interactive gesture sensing or touch screen, whether it is floor, a wall, a window or even a table. The man behind this innovative technology is a technology prodigy – Anup Tapadia.
- Genesis of the startup: How it started?
Anup Tapadia was drawn towards computers at the age of 7. Tapadia recalls, I was watching the movie Minority Report and was quite fascinated by the screen Tom Cruise plays around with in the movie. As a result, he worked on the technology. Anup’s background in High Performance Computing and Distributed Computing coupled with his interest in art, led to the formation of TouchMagix.
- Challenges faced in the start-up phase?
Anup and his team faced numerous challenges during the start-up phase during the development of the technology. According to Anup, it was like playing the game of snake-and-ladder every single day for almost 2 years! What would work perfectly in the labs would turn out to be a basket of challenges in the field. One of the biggest challenges that Anup and his team had to face was the elimination of pseudo-sensing. Pseudo-sensing is a problem in which the movements of the objects that are in the picture being projected need to be distinguished from the motion of a human. Initially the system used to do false detections on the projected image thinking it was a human motion.
- Business model of your idea?
TouchMagix is focused towards building technologies and services, which will aid brand owners to create an everlasting impression in consumers’ mind. They cater to Advertisers, Creative Agencies, Event Agencies, Retailers, Conferences, Corporate Lobbies & Hotels and Gaming Industry. TouchMagix has 5 products, MotionMagix Floor, MotionMagix Wall, MagixTouch Table, MagixTouch Window and 3D MagixSense. TouchMagix also provides a remote controlled media scheduler for scheduling content on the media. They also have an audience measurement tool that gives web based interaction statistics to an advertiser.
- How to keep abreast with the competitors?
TouchMagix has a superior and cost effective technology than most of the competition around. Technology is just one aspect of the media. According to Anup, “The possibilities with the content that one can build on this media would establish our position. We are offering an Open SDK interface for developers that no other competitor is offering. We also have features like audience measurement, projector correction software and web management, which set us apart. Being in India, we have a cost advantage along with the technology edge to deliver this product to the world. We have a team with diverse experience in technology, advertising and gaming and we believe we can make this happen.”
- What is the role of innovation?
TouchMagix is a technology that allows any projection screen to be made interactive. Imagine a picture being projected on a regular wall, and a person can walk up to the wall and start interacting with the objects in the picture, and they actually react to the touch. TouchMagix technology allows adding such multi-point interactivity to any projected surface i.e. walls, floors or screens. The projected surface reacts to the human gestures. It reacts to a touch, or it can react to gestures from a distance. And this can be done with any existing surface. It is a medium that attracts crowds of all ages and helps brands get noticed with fun and interaction. Anup believes that this is the way brands would communicate to their consumers in future.
- Revenue principles?
TouchMagix’s revenue sources are primarily through equipment sales, event rentals, campaigns and content development services.
- What was your first big success?
Anup believes the first big success was the time when they performed their first prototype installation at a mall in Pune. The team worked for 48 hours straight to get the first installation running, where in comparison these days it just takes less than an hour to get a setup running!
- What is for future?
At TouchMagix, the team is constantly innovating new products along with improving their existing products. We are launching the MagixTable and MagixFone later this month, says Anup.
The core team:
About Anup Tapadia
CEO (Founder), TouchMagix
Anup Tapadia (24 Years) was the world’s youngest origamist at age of 9 and is founder of TechnoKarma Labs and TouchMagix Media Pvt Ltd. He bagged 2 master degrees in Computer Science at the age of 21. Anup is an alumnus of University of California, San Diego. At age of 14 he became the world youngest professional to pass the Microsoft Certifications (MCSD, MCSE, MCDBA). Bill gates, Azim Premji, Dr Irwin Jacobs, President of India and many others have written and appreciated his achievements in the field of technology and science. He started his first venture at the age of 16 which was manufacturing Wireless Mesh Routers and licensing some High Performance Computing algorithms. Anup has a wide experience in consulting to IT start-ups on product development and strategy. His fields of interest are high performance computing, network security, embedded systems and computer vision. Anup has a vision to make India an innovation hub to develop world-class products and start-ups. His recently founded company TouchMagix Media is aimed towards revolutionizing the way brands communicate with their customers through interactive multipoint displays and has sold products to more than 20 different countries (USA, Canada, Brazil, Argentina, Malaysia, HongKong, Israel, Kenya etc…) world-wide. Recently TouchMagix won an award as the best upcoming start-up company in India at Proto.in conference and also won the International Young Creative Entrepreneur award in UK.
Oded Levanon
Vice President – Global Markets, TouchMagix
Oded carries with him an extensive experience of over 15 year in the International software industry. Oded has held several VP Sales positions at International Media & Software companies, and has managed high quality sales teams, helping them to expand the company globally and establish worldwide recognition. Oded is an accredited International Business Coach, member of the International Association of Coaching (IAC) and holds a Bachelors degree in International Business Administration from the Dutch Faculty of Economics and Management in Utrecht. Oded has spent many years as a professional expatriate in Europe and Asia, and is fond of meeting people from various countries by learning and adopting to different their business cultures. In TouchMagix, Oded is responsible for building up a strong international network of distributors, a community of creative developers and more than everything – a large international base of satisfied customers.
Watch the videos:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RgXpFza_IGY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9e83DapOb-E&NR=1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-MZDi7EGmk&feature=related
 About Mridula: Mridula is a freelance writer. She writes on Entrepreneurship and has worked for a start-up in the past. To know more check out her profile at LinkedIn/Mridula Velagapudi |
