Kinect to be Adopted in Healthcare, Education

Looks like Microsoft is sensing a market opportunity for Kinect that goes beyond letting families wiggle their bodies for extended periods of time - the company is looking to release a Business-focused Software Development Kit in 2012.

This will allow the 200+ companies that Microsoft is working with, in 25 industries from healthcare to education, to take advantage of the motion-sensing tech. Spanish technology group Tedesys has demonstrated the camera's use in the operating theatre, using a PC monitor to browse patient records.

Kinect team leader Alex Kipman has declared that "I can guarantee you that 12 months from now, educational, academic and commercial applications will look nothing like what they are today." According to Microsoft, the Kinect's $150 price point makes for an attractive incentive for businesses to take advantage of motion sensing in the workplace.

The peripheral, released in late 2010, quickly became a favourite with PC bedroom coders as modders tinkered around with the innards of the device. It's not surprising to see Microsoft follow through with this and try to take an iPad-style route with the Kinect. Let's see if it becomes successful.

Source: FT