kinect-accelerator
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Microsoft startup incubator yields real-world Kinect ideas
Microsoft's Kinect accelerator program, furnished by entrepreneurship incubator TechStars, recently gave 11 teams 13 weeks and $20,000 each to polish their motion-sensing ideas and present them to a team of investors this Thursday in Seattle. The startups range from a system that allows surgeons to navigate MRI and CT scans in the operating room, to an in-store camera system that tracks shoppers' behavior. Another turns any surface into a 3D, multi-touch screen for Windows.Many of the startup ideas offer an attempt to bring Kinect into the wider, physical world, rather than limit it to living rooms and virtual baby tigers. Of the final creations, three are made for the medical field, four are based in tracking or innovating consumer behavior, two are animation-based, one can help athletes train and one is that awesome 3D surface app.Microsoft is accepting applications for its fall 2012 accelerator class, Windows Azure and cloud-based startups, right here. Below check out the full descriptions of all 11 entrants, as provided by Microsoft.
Kinect Accelerator company profiles: Freak'n Genius, GestSure Technologies, Kimetric and Styku
Microsoft's Kinect Accelerator program kicked off over a month ago, but at the time we were only made aware of the participant start-ups' names, not their innovations. So, when Microsoft offered us the opportunity to talk with the folks behind four of the program's participants -- Freak'n Genius, GestSure Technologies, Kimetric and Styku -- we jumped at the chance. Join us after the break to see what this quartet of fledgling companies has planned to propogate the Kinect effect further than ever.
Microsoft kicks off Kinect Accelerator program to take 11 Kinect-centric start-ups to the next level
Microsoft unwittingly created quite the hacking cottage industry when it first introduced Kinect. Though it took awhile for the company to come to grips with the amazing inventions enabled by its sensor bar, Redmond eventually released Kinect for Windows. Now, the Kinect Accelerator program is here to take Kinect development even further. Kinect Accelerator is a three-month long incubator of sorts for folks with Kinect-basted start-ups. It works by providing the chosen ones with mentors from Microsoft Research, Microsoft Studios, Kinect for Windows and the Xbox team to provide support and knowledge to refine and improve their Kinect apps. Additionally, venture capitalists and entrepreneurs will be available to give advice help the teams craft business plans to help them become profitable. We had the opportunity to chat with Craig Eisler -- who heads up the Kinect for Windows team and is heavily involved with Kinect Accelerator -- about this new venture. Eisler told us that Microsoft's been planning the program since last summer after witnessing all the Kinect innovations that have been percolating organically. So, the Accelerator gives Microsoft the opportunity to find some of the best ideas and speed up their development. Microsoft wound up receiving almost 500 applicants to the program, and winnowing it down to a final 11 was no easy task -- the final 50 ideas were apparently all quite good, and the initial plan was to only take ten into the program. The 11 who made the cut hail from across the globe (US, Canada, Argentina, France, and Germany), and will receive $20,000 and office space, plus Kinect hardware and development software to get their ideas off the ground. Unfortunately, we couldn't get Eisler to tell us exactly what each team is working on, but he did say they'll benefit the medical, retail, fashion, and even farm industries when all is said and done. Specifics about the inventions will come later, once the mentors have worked their magic and the apps are closer to their final forms, so stay tuned. You can learn more about the Kinect Accelerator and the chosen teams at the source link below and PR after the break.
Kinect for Windows uses a new Kinect camera
Microsoft's Kinect for Windows program doesn't just involve new firmware for PCs. There will be a new version of the Kinect hardware designed for Windows, with "improvements" like a shorter USB cable ("to ensure reliability across a broad range of computers") and a smaller USB dongle to better share space. The firmware includes support for a new "Near Mode," designed to see objects as close as 50 centimeters away from the camera ("with graceful degradation down to 40 centimeters," Windows Kinect GM Craig Eisler notes). It makes sense for a device you would use while sitting at the computer. In advance of the Kinect for Windows launch (early 2012), Microsoft has launched the "Kinect Accelerator" program, which will give $20,000 each to ten startups using Kinect, along with Microsoft development tools, "marketing visibility" and mentoring.
Turn your Kinect hack into a startup with Microsoft's Accelerator program
Wanna turn your Kinect hack into, um, money? Microsoft can help you out, now that it's teamed up with TechStars to launch the Kinect Accelerator -- a program designed to turn Kinect-based ideas into real world startups. To participate, innovators must first apply to the Accelerator before the January 25th deadline. Ten applicants will then be accepted to a three-month incubation program, and rewarded with $20,000 in seed money. To participate, however, you'd have to relocate to Seattle for the duration of the program, scheduled to kick off this Spring. Plus, if you manage to bring your company to market, you'll have to set aside a six percent common stock stake for TechStars, which is both funding and spearheading the initiative. For more details on how to apply, hit up the source link below.
