Disney Accelerator encourages development of new technology
by Tom Anstey | 16 Jul 2015
Last year, TYFFON's 'Show Your Disney Side' app for Walt Disney Parks and Resorts was downloaded more than 1.25 million times in two weeks.
Walt Disney has selected 10 startup companies for a three-month accelerator programme, designed to push new technologies to develop new platforms, artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics.
The 2015 Disney Accelerator programme, kicked-off on 9 July and concludes with a demonstration of all the products on 6 October.
Each of the 10 companies receive a sum of up to US$120,000 (€109,000, £77,000) in investment capital to develop their concepts, with mentor support coming from executives including Disney chair and CEO, Robert Iger, and top names from Pixar, Marvel, Lucasfilm, ESPN and Walt Disney Imagineering, among others.
Companies selected for the 2015 programme include:
• EMOTIV – a company experimenting with using electroencephalography (EEG) to use the power of the mind to control or track mental performance, emotions, and virtual or physical objects.
• MakieLab – a company that used 3D printing to allow kids to build customisable toys through creative games and mobile apps.
• imperson – an AI platform that will enable people to have real conversations with virtual characters from film and television.
• Decisive – an SaaS (software as a service) platform that uses real-time data to create targeted advertising based on user engagement.
• FEM – a developer of personalised video engagement based on mapping emotional dimensions using neuroscience and psychology.
• HYP3R – a real-time marketing platform that allows brands to identify influential customers and to engage them in real time.
• Littlestar – uses a device agnostic (a computing component that works with various systems without requiring any special adaptations) and distribution platform to aggregate virtual reality content.
• Open Biotics – a robotics company developing affordable 3D-printed bionic hands for amputees, researchers and makers.
• Pundit – an app that combines Twitter with a radio experience, allowing users to host audio events using their Twitter network, specifically Ask Me Anything (AMA) sessions.
• StatMuse – currently developing an AI platform that allows sports fans to explore data using simple language.
“Last year’s Disney Accelerator exceeded our expectations on many fronts,” said Kevin Mayer, chief strategy officer at Disney. “We are excited to roll up our sleeves again this year and help these cutting-edge startups achieve their goals.”
Of last year’s picks, many have gone into or are about to go into Disney’s visitor attractions, with app creator TYFFON the prime example after it released the “Show Your Disney Side” app for Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, which was downloaded more than 1.25 million times in its first two weeks.
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Walt Disney has selected 10 startup companies for a three-month accelerator programme, designed to push new technologies to develop new platforms, artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics. The 2015 Disney Accelerator programme, kicked-off on 9 July and concludes with a demonstration of all the products on 6 October. Each of the 10 companies receive a sum of up to US$120,000 (€109,000, £77,000) in investment capital to develop their concepts, with mentor
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