Kinect for Windows commercial program hits next year

The Kinect is about to cross its one-year anniversary on the Xbox 360. With the full-body sensor heading into its second holiday season, Microsoft announced that it intends to bring official motion controller tools to businesses next year.

The Kinect for Windows commercial program will provide businesses with tools for creating industry-focused applications. Microsoft hopes to help "revolutionize entire industries" with its multi-camera peripheral.

Several companies have joined a pilot program before the official launch of the initiative set for early 2012, including Toyota, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, and Razorfish. No example implementations were provided, but Microsoft alluded to the camera's previous use in hobbyist and academic applications, such as implementation in an operating room to view MRI and CT scan data, and environment-aware autonomous toy helicopter flight.

The Kinect's holiday push is being driven by new games supporting the peripheral, including Dance Central 2, Kinect Sports Season 2, Kinect Disneyland Adventures, Forza 4, and Halo: Anniversary. Services such as Comcast, Verizon FIOS, and HBO GO will also join the list of Kinect-enabled applications this fall.