Extreme Reality makes your camera a 3D gaming system
Bye-bye Kinect? This software-only approach gives you full-body control for games with your standard Webcam.
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.
At CES 2013, Israel-based Extreme Reality showed off the software on Windows and Android systems with several motion-oriented games like Current Circus' Beat Booster.
The package requires a quick full-body calibration in which users raise their arms before starting a game like PandaMania, which has you controlling a dancing panda avatar.
The motion-capture isn't the most sensitive but it does a decent job for the hardware it's using. It did register my movements in Beat Booster pretty well; for instance, when I leaned forward to accelerate, my avatar complied nicely.
The palm-tracking Extreme UI gesture control interface allows you to use hand gestures in lieu of a mouse.
Extreme hasn't released software for consumers, but the software is already in Samsung Series 5 and Series 7 Windows 8 PCs, as well as some NEC PCs.
It's also coming out on Haier smart TVs with a full game bundle.
Check out the promo vid below.