New York City launches its own Media Lab

New York launched its own Media Lab on Tuesday aiming to build stronger connections between academic researchers and media companies seeking to draw on emerging technologies.

The NYC Media Lab is modelled on similar efforts at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Stanford University and is the first government-supported laboratory for media innovation in the United States, city officials said.

The new laboratory is a consortium of the New York City Economic Development Corporation, the Polytechnic Institute of New York University and Columbia University.

Its aim is to "drive new technology research and connect companies looking to advance new media technologies with local academic institutions undertaking related research," a statement from the new lab said.

"Many of New York City's 100 universities and colleges are conducting new media-related research within areas that the city's 10,000 media companies are looking to expand, but all too often that connection is made slowly or never at all. The NYC Media Lab will bring these two forces together," said Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

"And by sponsoring its own independent research driven by private sector interests, the NYC Media Lab will further establish the City as a center for next-generation media research and commercial development."

The MIT Media Lab has gained notoriety as a center for research projects ranging from biomechanics to music technology to personal robots. Stanford's MediaX has been involved in technology applied to education, art, business, commerce, entertainment, communication, national security and other fields.

(c) 2010 AFP