kinect

It's nice to think each of us is entirely unique, a one-of-a-kind aggregate of life experiences colliding with genes that set us apart from everyone else. And while this is true to an extent, it's also true that certain telltale blueprints exist for us, all the way down to the way we move our faces if we are, say, depressed.

So researchers at the University of Southern California's Institute for Creative Technologies are developing a Kinect-driven avatar they call SimSensei to track and analyze in real time a person's facial movements, body posture, linguistic patterns, acoustics, and behaviors such as fidgeting which, taken together, signal psychological distress.… Read more

Microsoft is continuing a push to turn its Kinect motion-sensing game controller into a natural user-interface device for PCs, by sharing samples of the Kinect for Windows code under an open source license.

The idea is to give developers the opportunity to reuse the code and help Microsoft figure out how to improve it, Ben Lower, Kinect for Windows developer community manager, wrote in a blog post last week.

The company has posted 22 samples -- including code for face tracking, its skeletal viewer, and slideshow gestures -- in C#, C++, and Visual Basic. The code is available under an … Read more

Microsoft's Kinect might eventually reduce your reliance on the mouse.

At Microsoft's TechFest this week at its headquarters in Redmond, Microsoft is showing off an update to its software development kit that will allow developers to add more hand-gesture functionality to their programs. According to The Verge, which tried out the hand detection, the technology allows users to pinch-to-zoom with their hands and pan around the screen. All of that is done by simply waving and clenching their hands in front of the Kinect.

Microsoft's Kinect was first delivered to gamers by connecting it to the Xbox … Read more

The Xbox 720 rumor floodgates are pouring over. A source speaking to Kotaku has reportedly obtained two Xbox 720 development kits, as well as system overview documents, which detail the specifications of Microsoft's still-unannounced next-generation platform.

The first bit of information from the source, who goes by the name SuperDaE, claims the Xbox 720 will require Kinect to function. According to the source, an updated and improved version of Kinect will ship with every unit sold and will not be an optional accessory, as the motion-sensing device currently is for Xbox 360. … Read more

LAS VEGAS--Touchless gesture control may soon be possible on Apple's iOS devices, thanks to a startup that will be releasing a software development kit enabling the technology.

For some time, Israeli company PointGrab has been making its technology -- which allows users to control activity onscreen with little more than a wave of the hand -- available on a series of platforms, namely Windows 8, Android, and Linux. And next month, Apple's iOS will join the party.

In a demo at CES here today, Assaf Gad, PointGrab vice president of marketing and product, showed CNET how the technology … Read more

Microsoft has offered a glimpse into what the future of gaming may look like. The company's Research team has detailed on its Web site a visual IllumiRoom system that combines the virtual and physical worlds using a Kinect camera.

The system can alter the appearance of a room, trigger apparent motion, and extend a field of view, all in the name of enabling new gameplay experiences. … Read more

LAS VEGAS--I avoid buying new hardware whenever possible, so if I can add functionality to my existing gear with a simple software solution, I'm interested.

Extreme Reality (XTR3D) does just that. It turns your run-of-the-mill 2D camera into a full-body motion control system for fully interactive gaming.

The idea is you can forget Microsoft's Kinect. … Read more

Leap Motion, which created an innovative gesture control technology that measures users' movements to an accuracy of a hundredth of a millimeter, is expanding its developer program and releasing a new software development kit.

According to Michael Buckwald, CEO of the San Francisco startup, Leap Motion is giving 10,000 developers free Leap units over the next two weeks in a bid to dramatically increase the number of potential applications being designed to work with the new technology.

All told, 40,000 people have applied to be part of Leap Motion's developer program, in part because the number of … Read more

You gotta love the Xbox. Even after all these years, it's still rocking great new games (Dishonored, anyone?), still evolving with accessories like the Kinect, and still the best Media Center Extender you can buy.

The entry-level Xbox typically runs around $200, but while supplies last, Fry's Electronics has the Xbox 360 (4GB) for $149.99 (plus sales tax in some states). Shipping adds another $10.54, unless you're lucky enough to have a Fry's store near you, in which case you can pick it up. (The Xbox, not the store.)

If you're the least … Read more