Prism Skylabs Disrupts TechCrunch Disrupt

SAN FRANCISCO, CA--(Marketwire - Sep 13, 2011) - TechCrunch Disrupt Conference -- Today, Prism Skylabs debuted at TechCrunch Disrupt with technology that changes how businesses use video and how consumers experience physical spaces online. The closed beta program of its free cloud-based application is now open. To receive an invitation, visit pri.sm/beta.

Prism Skylabs was founded by entrepreneur Steve Russell, the founding CEO and current chairman of intelligent video company 3VR, and Ron Palmeri, the technology visionary behind GrandCentral (now Google Voice) and Scout Labs, with the goal of bringing physical spaces online to create new places for people and businesses to understand and engage each other. Prism Skylabs helps businesses of all kinds use existing video infrastructure to view, understand and share real-world places in ways that are beautiful and informative, as well as ensure customer privacy.

"Forty million cameras are scattered across the globe, and millions of images are being shared online every second. Still, for consumers who increasingly expect the same ease and access we have offline in the online world, we can't move beyond 'street view' to peek inside our favorite venues in real-time. Prism Skylabs is changing that," said Steve Russell, founder and CEO, Prism Skylabs. "We're aiming to transform the world's multi-hundred billion-dollar camera network investment into a platform for online-to-offline commerce that creates new revenue streams and new opportunities for businesses to engage customers."

To use Prism Skylabs, a business or place simply downloads the free software that automatically detects cameras, digital video recorders (DVRs), encoders and mobile devices on its network. Without disturbing any existing equipment, those feeds are linked to Prism Skylabs' cloud infrastructure. Instead of simply streaming high bandwidth video, Prism Skylabs fuses images over time into something more powerful and informative: real-time summaries, or storyboards, that add visual treatments and filters designed to showcase a space while still protecting customer privacy. Businesses are then able to syndicate these real-time views across the websites customers are already using, including Facebook, Twitter and Yelp, to transform how customers explore and engage with their offering in a real way.

Prism Skylabs will be used by all types of businesses, including restaurants, bars, coffee shops, retail chains and other venues, big and small. For a restaurant or bar owner, Prism Skylabs means being able to review a visual heat map of activity to help understand how Yelp ratings affect restaurant traffic. For a retail shop owner, it means comparing recent weather against foot traffic to explain a recent barrage of slow sales totals. On the other hand, for a restaurant goer, it may mean observing a privacy-protected view into the same space to determine how likely they are to find a seat if they stop by, read recent reviews and check out the daily specials, as well as an option to book a table. And for a shopper on a mission to find a specific item, it means the ability to see if a store has restocked it or is still awaiting shipment.

"Every business large and small, from retailers with thousands of locations to your local laundromat or coffee shop -- and everything in between -- will benefit from our offering. We see Prism Skylabs forever transforming the way we all explore and interact with our favorite places, as well as discover new ones," said Ron Palmeri, founder and president, Prism Skylabs.

To get a deeper look at Prism Skylabs or receive an invitation to the closed beta program, head to pri.sm/beta.

Prism Skylabs: Explore Place™
Prism Skylabs brings physical spaces online, creating new places for people and businesses to understand and engage each other. The company is privately held and is based in San Francisco, CA. For more information or to receive an invitation to the closed beta program, visit pri.sm/beta.

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