Why is Microsoft running the Kinect Accelerator?

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People often ask me why I work for Microsoft. Well, the reason I do work for Microsoft is that every once in a while, you have an opportunity to do something at scale that changes the world.  My team has been able to do that with BizSpark and we are just getting started!

We are entering a new era of computing.  Touch, voice control, motion control, wearable devices, are all becoming integrated parts of our daily lives.  The era of interacting with your computer, or the internet for that matter, while tapping on a keyboard, is starting to fade.  Creating these kinds of innovative applications and experiences, such as those based on the Kinect, is not easy.  The technology of developing Kinect motion control is challenging:

·         the paradigm is new

·         the mathematics is tough

·         think robotics control, but inverted

·         there are no patterns to follow

·         the consumer is being trained

·         investors think it’s too early

·         no models to build upon

And thus the Kinect Accelerator was born as a means to an end.  Let’s innovate into the next generation of computing.  Now is the time and a "mentor driven" startup accelerator is the method.

·         Who are the most creative business builders? 
Entrepreneurs. 

·         Who is the best at the technology? 
Microsoft, the guys who built Kinect, and made it affordable. 

·         What is the best way to rapidly launch and scale a business? 
A mentor driven startup accelerator, aka, TechStars.

Mix it all together, put it in an oven for 3 months and let it bake.  I have no idea what is going to come out, but I know one thing.  What will emerge will be applications and business scenarios we have not seen before. 

What kinds of solutions are we talking about?  Here is one, FittingReality, who recently launched at DEMO Fall 2011, and is now one of my BizSpark One companies:

 

I don’t know if FittingReality will be in the Kinect Accelerator, but they are one of the few companies out there pressing innovation and being entrepreneurial enough to build our next generation of experiences on Kinect.

I do believe, we can change the world.

Published: 11/21/2011 2:38 PM