Microsoft has implied that it will celebrate the first upcoming birthday of Kinect by announcing the Kinect for Windows commercial program that will launch early next year.
In case you forgot about it, Microsoft released the official Kinect SDK for Windows a few months ago, but it was only intended for non-commercial purposes. Well, starting next year, it looks like we’ll start to see the Kinect being used in a lot more commercial industries and businesses and possibly revolutionizing the way that they work.
The potential for Kinect has always been a focus of Microsoft’s – and the cool elements of a voice and motion sensor are clear. Microsoft, in typical fashion, is keen to build an ecosystem for its products, which shattered consumer electronics records when it arrived for the Xbox 360.
“Six months ago, a diverse group of hobbyists and academics from around the world embraced the possibilities of Kinect”, added Microsoft. “In a wave of creativity, they downloaded the Microsoft Kinect for Windows SDK and began developing creative applications”.
Toyota has already been known to develop a virtual showroom, allowing cars to be explored with gestures, and a Spanish technology group called Tedesys is using a Kinect device linked to a PC and monitor, allowing surgeons “to wave their way through patient records on screen during operations.
But the commercial program aims to offer business the tools to develop application that not only could improve their own operations, but potentially revolutionize entire industries. To date, more than 200 businesses worldwide have joined a Kinect for Windows pilot program to begin exploring its possibilities including: Toyota, Houghton Miffin Harcourt and Razorfish.
