David Fattal (Leia) on the Magic of Lightfields
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The Guest
David Fattal is the founder and CTO of Leia, a company dedicated to revolutionizing visual experiences through light field display technologies. Lightfield displays are able to create 3D images without glasses. You might remember Leia for its work on the LumePad tablets and the Hydrogen One Smartphone from Red.
David is a quantum physicist who got his Ph.D. from Stanford with a focus on Quantum Computing and Quantum Communications. His research experience led him to HP Labs, which was at the forefront of Quantum Information Processing. He co-authored numerous scientific papers at both institutions.
A moment of serendipity while at HP Labs led to the creation of Leia. David spun the company out of HP in 2014 and has been the chief innovator since.
The Conversation
In this conversation, David makes the case for why every screen should be capable of 3D. He goes on to discuss:
the basics of quantum computing,
how his pursuits in quantum computing led to new type of display technology,
what are light fields, why consumer should care and early use cases,
the challenges of bringing light fields to mobile devices and lessons learned from working with Red cameras in building a mobile phone,
and their go-to-market strategy.
Links From The Episode
- Article: Mobile 3D Screen Creates Hologram-Like Effect By Julie Manoharan for NBC News (2013)
- Article: Holographic 3D from HP by Kyle Maxey (2013)
- Article: Red Hydrogen One review: No 3D glasses needed, just a big wallet by Patrick Holland for CNET
- Press Release: Reservations Open for World’s First AI-Powered 3D Tablet: Award-Winning Lume Pad 2 by Leia Inc.
- Video: The First 3D Tablet of Its Kind - Leia Lume Pad 2 | Review! by Kevin Breeze
- Product Page: Leia Chat powered by Zoom
- Article: Leia Lume Pad 2 Review: The Definitive 3-D Content Creation And Consumption Tablet by Anshel Sag for Forbes
- Article: Lume Pad brings back glasses-free 3D -- this time on an Android tablet by Scott Stein for CNET about the Lume Pad 1
- Book: A Crack In Creation: Gene Editing and the Unthinkable Power to Control Evolution by Jennifer A. Doudna and Samuel H. Sternberg
- Book: The Code Breaker: Jennifer Doudna, Gene Editing, and the Future of the Human Race by Walter Isaacson
- Episode Transcript