“Beyond transforming the way you play games and experience entertainment, Kinect is being used in creative new ways from applications in healthcare, education, the arts and more. We will be combining the ingenuity of these eleven startups, the best of the Kinect technology, other Microsoft technologies such as Windows Azure and the mentor driven TechStars approach to foster a new generation of businesses. The Kinect Accelerator is a Microsoft Accelerator powered by TechStars, leveraging the successful TechStars model and bringing a talented team to run this accelerator for Microsoft.”Each team gets a collection of perks including $20k, mentorship, hosting, etc (check out the FAQ for more details). There’s a lot of press out there summarizing the products/solutions/applications these companies are offering. They show some a nice cross-section of what the future may hold for the Kinect and the emerging field of 3D depth capture and new-user interfaces (NUI). Check out the links for more details on the companies and their unique Kinect programs.
Alces holds a complimentary vision wherein projection technology provides a platform for ubiquitous display and fills a greater role in the display ecosystem. New products, new markets, and big opportunities are on the horizon for projection display but it will require new paradigms and new technologies. By combining unique camera and computer-interface technology like the Kinect, and new projection technologies, such as high-power LEDs/lasers and new scalable microdisplays) emerging projectors will undoubtedly find many new users and applications.
Alces is actively developing software tools for the Kinect to showcase potential applications for new projector systems, provide the framework to describe our own 3D depth capture hardware concepts, and to expand the commercialization efforts of our own projection technology. For more information check out the other areas of our site or get in touch.
