York technology acquired by promising new app

With each scientific development York manages to sell or push into society, the school is assisting its own cycle of bigger and better development in the future.
Last month came the exciting news that Calgary-based startup Slyce had collaborated with the MaRS Centre and Lassonde Engineering Professor John Tsotsos to acquire a promising technology from York, a technology that will allow Slyce to accurately identify items placed in front of a camera
In addition, the company hired Tsotsos’ co-developer, York Ph.D. student Ehsan Fazl-Ersi, as the new head of research and development.
Slyce’s original product allows smartphone users to find whatever they want whenever they want in the world of online retail.
When you see an object you want, be it books, devices, or furniture, you can take a picture of it, and Slyce will locate that item on the internet for you to buy.
Slyce has even been brought up in major fashion articles, as it could possibly pave the way for that industry: the company is pioneering a future where you can see an article of clothing you like, snap a photo, and instantly buy that clothing yourself.
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Slyce’s technology examines an object and then carries out a series of steps that slowly narrow down exactly what the object is. It understands first what the object is in the broadest sense (a table, for example), and then moves through a checklist to pinpoint the exact model.
This has been met with obvious comparisons to the already successful Amazon Flow, a product which serves the same basic purpose. However, Slyce is arguably the superior application. Amazon Flow requires that objects be in their original packaging, and only shows their listing on Amazon.
Slyce, meanwhile, is completely free of the packaging restriction, and aims to be compatible with many other retail websites, which will likely allow it to more frequently recognize rarities and antiques (perhaps the biggest draw for an application of this type).
However, the complex algorithms required for Slyce’s technology were stalling the company. York’s technology has come to the rescue, as it will help narrow down the application’s “understanding” of what it is looking at.
The Financial Post described the acquisition as a “pair of glasses… in software form.” Fazl-Ersi explained the innovation in a YFile article: “Our technology will provide higher accuracy when quickly identifying retail items, so consumers can choose among similar items according to style, colour, or pattern using a mobile device.”
Fazl-Ersi and Tsotsos have found a way to reduce mobile cameras’ confusion—often due to other objects littering the frame—and to focus the camera on the single object of interest. It’s worth noting this innovation isn’t only beneficial to Slyce, but is a generally beneficial advance.
Slyce is currently worth several million dollars (it finished its A round in venture capital funding at $10.75 million), and its recent purchases—the York one gaining the most media attention—will further raise the company’s value.
While this is good news for Slyce, it’s great news for York. The school uses a multi-faceted system called Innovation York to promote, sell, and buy technologies. This notable payoff for the branch will hopefully draw more attention to some of the university’s other research and innovation.
Speaking about the Slyce deal, Tsotsos says, “Such things are always good. As far as I am concerned, anything that shows how York excels is good for York and by extension good for everyone at York. If we help York look good, we all benefit.”
Tsotsos sees this news as both a leap for the school’s reputation and a source of inspiration for aspiring inventors and scientists, as well as their instructors.
“This particular deal, that shows York can innovate in the technology sector, provides encouragement and a path forward for others, students and faculty alike, with great ideas,” he says.
He goes on to say, “It’s a success story that York Innovation can use to build its track record in the area, thus more easily enabling future successes.”
Dustin Dyer
Features Editor