Executive summary
Introduction
Visual perception (VP) is the brainchild of Evangelos (Vangelis) Pappas-Katsiafas, a visionary
software and networks engineer with more than ten years industrial experience as a consultant,
researcher and developer. VP is the result of his quest to advance human computer interaction by
exploiting the human perception mechanism and the potential of 3D computer graphics. VP offers
innovative user interface methods and software components which typically utilise three dimensional
graphics to improve the efficiency of specific user tasks, e.g. photo browsing. These methods are
believed to have high commercial value as well as valuable Intellectual Property Rights (IPR).
Graphical user interfaces revolutionised and changed the way we interact with computers in the early
eighties with the introduction of the Apple Macintosh and the MS Windows operating system. Since
then the computer interface has remained in principle the same, utilising two dimensional windows,
lists and grids. Most recently, a few notable exceptions of three dimensional user interface elements
have started appearing in mass market products like Windows Vista, Apple Macintosh and
iPod/iPhone.
For example the action of browsing through a music collection in the apple iPod and iTunes is carried
out with the ‘Cover Flow’ three dimensional user interface (see Appendix A for an example, and also
the following video at youtube: http://youtube.com/watch?v=mWzvecDkHwE )
The VP effort is based on the enthusiasm and lifelong belief of the founder that human computer
interaction has to be easy, effective, imaginative and fun. The VP effort started at the end of 2007 as a
part-time task. A considerable amount of time as well as private funds have been devoted to the VP
initiative so far.
First Product
One of the first proposed interfaces (the '3D picture browsing') uses novel methods for browsing
through a photo collection in three dimensions. Digital cameras have enabled users to take a huge
amount of pictures and videos through their lives. Managing such a repository of pictures has become a
tedious and time consuming task. The proposed methods provide a visual and interactive solution to
this problem. These browsing methods are also applicable to other items that can have a visual
representation e.g. thumbnail view of a folder, videos, etc.
Most of the suggested methods are new and innovative and as such they can be patented providing VP
with valuable IPR. Apple routinely patents its user interfaces.
VP will be developing further the technology and protecting its intellectual property in the first year.
Revenue is also expected in the first year and the first customer has already been found. High
profitability is expected in the second and third year. The company is also likely to be targeted for
acquisition by bigger software and hardware manufacturers like Nokia, Apple, Microsoft, etc..
Contacts in Nokia and Apple have already been established and interest has been expressed by the
CTO of Nokia and the CEO of Apple.
Unique selling point





Unique visualisation methods with valuable IPR.
Better usage of screen real estate and animation.
Intuitive, unique visual metaphors.
Compelling, high quality implementation.
Visionary, creative, experienced founder.
Timing
The timing for the introduction of three dimensional user interfaces is very appropriate as today the
vast majority of computers include specialised hardware for the display of three dimensional graphics.
In other words 3D computer hardware has become mainstream today. This was not the case three to
five years ago for example. The apple iPhone today has the graphics capability of a Sega Dreamcast
games console in 1998!
Market
Visual Perception’s three dimensional user interfaces for computer displays can target the following
markets:
1. Camera equipped mobile phone users who wish to browse and organize their mobile pictures.
All mobile phone users who browse collections of images, e.g. Google image results, ebay
items, contacts with images, icon-based menus, etc.
2. Notebook, laptop, desktop computer users who need to browse through icon-based collections,
e.g. photo albums, Google image results, ebay items, thumbnail views of folders, etc.
3. Big software manufacturers who want a new way to improve and differentiate their products.
Multimedia software makers (e.g. Adobe) and advanced graphical platform makers (e.g.
Microsoft, Apple, Nokia, SonyEricsson) are particularly interested in such methods and their
implementation.
4. Medium and small software developers who want to easily include such three dimensional
interfaces in their applications or systems. There are three million developers of the Microsoft
software development tool Visual Studio.
There are very few known companies offering novel 3D user interface methods. Most of them are
very new or very small like CoolIris (www.cooliris.com). CoverFlow was bought by Apple at a
very early stage (Appendix A.) A big category of user interface companies offer just 2D graphic
design improvements (beautification) of existing user interfaces (e.g. www.tat.se .)
Cost forecast
Expense type
human
resources
(founder + extra
developer parttime.)
traveling,
meetings
equipment
marketing
accommodation
accounting
legal
insurance
IPR protection
(copyright /
patent)
Totals
Year 1
55K+30K GBP
Year 2
55K+40K GBP
Year 3
70K+70K GBP
15K
30K
30K
10K
10-20K
10K
3K
10K
2K
12-24K
20K
30K
15K
5K
15K
4K
24K
25K
30K
20K
8K
20K
7K
36K
157K – 179K
249K
316K
Revenue forecast
The initial revenue is expected from the first customer who is an early adopter and non-exclusive
licensee. This customer will pay for the development of the photo browsing methods as a product.
Further revenue is expected from a) individual end users of mobile phones and PCs, b) software and
hardware makers who wish to deploy the methods in their products, and c) small software developers
who might want to incorporate the methods in their software as an off-the-shelf component.
Initially multimedia mobile phones and especially smartphones are targeted. Smartphone market
worldwide is about 80 million phones. The iPhone is expected to sell 10 million units by the end of
2008. The Nokia N95 – Nokia’s flagship multimedia phone – has sold 1 million units in the UK alone
and is still selling very well.
Worldwide annual mobile phone sales: 1 billion units. 65% of these are camera phones.
Virtually all families in a developed country own a digital camera and the vast majority stores their
pictures on a PC.
Target market
First customer (development,
licensing)
Home/end user licenses:
10,000 (first year) and
200,000 (second year) 10
GBP per license. Market size
> 1 billion users.
Computer Software
producers (Adobe, Apple,
Microsoft, Nokia, SE etc)
Annual license.
Camera and hardware
makers. (Nikon, Canon, etc.)
Annual license of 250,000
Visual Studio developer
licenses: Assumption:
0.001%, 0.01%, 0.1% (1st,
2nd, 3rd year respectively) of 3
millions visual studio
developers.
Annual revenue
Target acquisition value
(three times the annual
revenue)
Year 1
50,000
Year 2
25,000
Year 3
25,000
10,000 x 10 =
100,000
200,000 x 10 =
2,000,000
400,000 x 10 =
4,000,000
(1,000,000?)
1,000,000
1,000,000 x 2 =
2,000,000
0
250,000 x 2 =
500,000
250,000 x 5 =
1,250,000
0
300 x 350 =
105,000 GBP
3,000 x 350 =
1,050,000 GBP
(1,)150,000
2,500,000 –
3,000,000
3,605,000
6,000,000
8,300,000
16,000,000
Shareholding
At present a single owner and founder. A generous percentage of the business will be offered to the
first investor / seed capital provider.
This is an opportunity for an early investor to get a significant percentage of a potentially very
profitable business with a global market. There is a high probability for early revenue generation even
in the first year so the return on investment might start very early. There is also potential for a quick
and profitable exit if a big market player wishes to license exclusively the core IPR and acquire the
business.
Founder background
The proposed Visual Perception interfaces are based on the same principles as the ones proposed in
Evangelos Pappas-Katsiafas 1995 thesis published in the University of Manchester Institute of Science
and Technology. Evangelos (Vangelis) has been working in the computer and telecommunications
industry for the last eleven years as developer, researcher and consultant. Since an early age Vangelis
has been fascinated by the expressive power of computer graphics and visualisation which have been
his main interest.
Full resumé of Evangelos can be found in Appendix B.
Evangelos (Vangelis) Pappas-Katsiafas
email: vangpk@katsiafas.com
http://www.katsiafas.com/visualperception
Appendix A: Apple iPod Cover Flow
Cover Flow presents a music collection as a pile of record covers which are placed horizontally on a
table at a certain distance among them. They are also positioned slightly oblique to the user gets a good
overview of all covers in the field of view. Cover Flow is used in Apple’s flagship iTunes music
management software and it is also used in the iPod device.
Cover Flow was developed independently by a software developer and a graphic designer and it has
subsequently acquired by Apple Inc.
Appendix B: Resumé of Evangelos (Vangelis) Pappas-Katsiafas
Vangelis acquired his Electrical and Computer Engineering degree from the National Technical
university of Athens (NTUA, 1994,) following the direction of Information Technology & Computer
Engineering.
Subsequently, acquired his MSc degree by research in 1995 from the University of Manchester
Institute of Science and Technology (UMIST.) He continued working in UMIST as a Research
Assistant for the EPSRC (Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council)/ DTI (Department of
Trade and Industry) funded project 'CHRONOS,' until 1997. Subsequently he has worked in Vodafone
UK (mobile operator,) and Petroleum GeoServices (PGS), an oil exploration company. He is also a
PhD candidate in UMIST, and he has published a couple of papers as the main author.
After PGS, Vangelis worked in BT Laboratories (Adastral park) - the Research and Development
department of British Telecom from 1998 until 2000. The subject of his work is distributed systems,
collaborative virtual environments, computer graphics, IP networking, and Quality of Service (QoS.) In
October 2000 he joined Scientific Generics, a Cambridge based, high-tech consultancy, which
promotes and encourages innovative ideas. Vangelis continued his career on a contract basis for
Symbian Ltd (UK) in the multimedia applications team (June 2002 - Dec 2002). The Symbian
Operating System is the leading and dominant smartphone platform in the industry. In January 2003
Vangelis joined Overview limited to design and implement an intelligent, networked, video
surveillance device using embedded linux and secure internet connectivity. This work resulted to a
patent and a working commercial system. Subsequently, in January 2005 he moved to Ubinetics ltd, a
leading company in the area of 3G mobile communications which today exists as Aeroflex Cambridge
ltd.
Throughout his academic and professional career he has developed significant skills and experience in
the fields of distributed computing, 3D graphics and virtual environments, IP networking, video
streaming, and OO programming. Vangelis is actively pursuing the commercialization of his new
visualisation methods, especially for picture browsing which share the same principles as his academic
visualisation work.
http://www.katsiafas.com/