Partners Deliver Custom Solutions that Use Kinect for Windows

Kinect for Windows demos at Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference

Kinect for Windows partners are finding new business opportunities by helping to develop new custom applications and ready-made solutions for various commercial customers, such as the Coca-Cola Company, and vertical markets, including the health care industry.

Several of these solutions were on display at the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference (WPC) in Toronto, Canada, where Kinect for Windows took the stage with two amazing demos as well as strong booth showings at the Solutions Innovation Center.

"Being part of the WPC 2012 event was a great opportunity to showcase our Kinect-based 3-D scanner, and the response was incredibly awesome, both on stage when the audience would spontaneously clap and cheer in the middle of the scan, and in the Kinect for Windows trade show area where people would stand in line to get scanned," said Nicolas Tisserand, co-founder of the France-based Manctl, one of the 11 companies in the Microsoft Accelerator for Kinect program.

Manctl's Skanect scanner software uses the Kinect sensor to build high quality 3-D digital models of people and objects, which can be sent to a 3-D printer to create detailed plastic extruded sculptures. "Kinect for Windows is a fantastic device, capable of so much more than just game control. It's making depth sensing a commodity," Tisserand added.

A demo from übi interactive in Germany uses the Kinect sensor to turn virtually any surface into a 3-D touchscreen that can control interfaces, apps, and games. "Kinect for Windows is a great piece of hardware and it works perfect[ly] with our software stack," reported übi co-founder David Hajizadeh. "As off-the-shelf hardware, it massively reduced our costs and we see lots of opportunities for business applications that offer huge value for our customers."

Snibbe Interactive created its SocialMirror Coke Kiosk to deliver a Kinect-based game in which players aim a stream of soda into a glass and then share videos of the experience with their social networks. "We were extremely excited to show off our unique Coca-Cola branded interactive experience and its unique ability to create instant ROI [return on investment] through our viral marketing component," reported Alan Shimoide, director of engineering at Snibbe.

InterKnowlogy developed KinectHealth to assist doctors with motion-controlled access to patient records and surgery planning tools. "A true game changer, Kinect for Windows allows our designers and developers to think differently about business cases across many verticals," noted Kevin Custer, the director of strategic marketing and partnerships at InterKnowlogy. "Kinect for Windows is not just how we interact with computers, but it offers unique ways to add gesture and voice to our natural user-interface designed software—the combination of which is changing lives of customers and users alike."
 
"Avanade has already delivered several innovative solutions using Kinect, and we expect that demand to keep growing," said Ben Reierson, innovation manager at Avanade, whose Kinect for Virtual Healthcare includes video chat for connecting clinics to remote doctors for online appointments. "Customers and partners are clearly getting more serious about the possibilities of Kinect and natural user interfaces."

Kinect for Windows Team

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