The reality of Project Natal that Microsoft unveiled at E3 this year, Kinect, wasn't exactly what the company promised when the technology was first teased at the E3 prior. One of the biggest omissions was the ability for the camera to detect objects and implement them into games. That wasn't present anywhere at E3 2010, so far as I could tell. So I asked Microsoft where it went.
"The video we unveiled at E3 2009 was intended to demonstrate the technological promise of Kinect for Xbox 360," said a Microsoft spokesperson in a brief statement released to me today. "The possibilities with Kinect are only limited by how far developers can push their imaginations."
There were two examples of Kinect, then Project Natal, putting this idea into practice.
"User Your Own Gear," touted the promotional video, as a young boy held his own skateboarding deck in front of the device. Kinect took the graphics from the deck, brought them into the game (called a "custom scan" in the video) and let to begin playing a skateboarding game with it.
The feature garnered some snide laughs from audience members, given that famed skateboarder Tony Hawk had been on stage just a little bit earlier showing off his expensive new peripheral.
"Facial Recognition" was a separate proposed feature for Kinect, where the device would recognize the individual and bring their Avatar (a more realistic one?) onto the screen automatically.
Microsoft themselves did not show off either of these features at E3, nor did any developers that I'm aware of. Maybe Kinect is capable of doing both to a more limited degree than the promotional video promised (likely, given the disappearing act), but if Microsoft isn't willing to take the lead and show developers it's confident the technology can pull it off, it's no surprise third-parties aren't diving in.
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MavrikM03
Seriously guys, as Jakal already said, they DID show off the facial recognition ability, I think they did it during the Cirque du Soleil (sp?) performance, they had multiple people come onto the stage and wave to sign in. And I may be going out on a limb with this one but if the damn thing can recognize someone's face i'm pretty sure it could recognize a skateboard graphic or some other inanimate object. And for those of you not happy with the price, $150 can buy kinect and support at least 4 people right out of the box. You need $160 to buy two complete Move controllers and that doesn't even include the Eye Toy, so be gracious for that. If you're still not happy, don't buy it. I myself can't wait, see you all online!!
Holesome
As stated before, facial recognition was shown at E3 but I didn't see any object recognition. However, I'm not worried and am sure we will see some object recognition in the near future. The the scanning of objects will not core Kinect functionality but rather it'll be custom MS or 3rd party software developers that will coded this to run on the 360 against the RGB camera video feed and/or the IR feed. Software like this is not easy and would likely be very specific to the implementation required. Be patient.
Twenty_20
ehhhh i think i'll pass on kinect
i wish that mind reading tech was more advanced
thinking of shooting that sniper on the rooftop is waayyyy better then pointin to it or however the other motion controlls work
RockieOllie
I still find it odd how Kinect can scan a skateboard right through the fingers holding it up and get the full design
blindsideofthesun
Oh, and @ choccy:
Dude, you need to check the specs just a little harder to see that it's not that it just has 2 cameras. Kinect has 2 IR sensors and a regular RGB camera that all work together to track your body in all 3 dimensions. That is something the PS Eye just can't do, even with 2 cameras. I'm disappointed, mostly because that comment is just lazy of you to not have at least tried to look deeper.
blindsideofthesun
Pretty sure "Facial recognition" did work, as the guy was able to log into his account over all the others on the 360 simply by standing in front and waving, with Kinect recognizing that it was him. That counts, right?
heltonhammer
http://www.siliconera.com/2009 /07/02/sony-patents-a-motion-c ontrol-system-that-uses-ordina ry-objects-as-controllers/
Possibly?
lucidity
A quick word on patents and strange bedfellows.
Pantents don't prevent you from using something, it only means there is a fee.
One codec used in BluRay for playback is VC1, developed and patented by MS. MS has now sold it.
The cell processor was produced by STI. We know what the "S" stands for...the "T" is the company that produced HD DVD...Toshiba, they use the cell in their high end tvs. The "I" is IBM.
Lastly, the next time your in a Sony store have a look at all the Vaio laptops, what OS do they all come with?
cardinalsfan1122
@Lowkevmic
So u would pay 150 dollars to navigate your home screen by waving your hands instead of clicking an arrow on your controller? One, That's the stupidest thing i have ever heard. And in case you didn't notice, we're in a recession! And some people dont want to pay $150 so they can navigate their home screen with their hand. Plus not everyone went out and bought an "Ipod Giant" They werent sold to everyone. And it is expensive for people who are smart with their money i can afford it but with what it can do whats the point.
Mooninite4life
i have to say that last year kenect wowed me cause it was going beyond what nintendo did, instead of copying it (playstation move) i love the features, saying that im not happy with the 150$ tag but i still want to give it as try. kenect is a step further and we should wait to try it to see if its crap or genius.it would be cool to have the scaner on it, which i think they are still working on, but i looks impresive, and not the same (playstation move)
roughneck1010
Can someone explain to me what the difference is betweem Kinect, the vision camera I bought that is still a glorified webcam and the PS3 EYE?
Why would I dish money out on another camera just to play games the wii already has?
lowkevmic
You know what I love about our free market economy is that just like how anyone has the freedom to make and sell whatever they want. Consumers also have the ability to buy or not buy whatever they want. So to all of you PS3 fanboys and skeptics who have yet to even use or see the Kinect in person, go ahead and shut up until the product is actually in your home to use. If you're that against this product, here's a great idea...Don't buy it!! Besides why does it matter if it can't scan my skateboard for a skating game, or my dinner plate for a racing game?? How dumb would you look carrying around a squirt gun or something of that effect to play a shooting game? Not to mention when they first talked about those possibilites, a lot of people laughed and though the idea was dumb anyway, so chances are they probably scratched that idea altogether. I can see why people have their comments about the PS Move, it's exactly like the Wii, so we already have a pretty good idea of what to expect. Kinect hasn't been done on this level before, and I'm interested in seeing what it has to offer after it's first year. The idea that you can control you Xbox dashboard hands free, was the biggest selling point for me. I am on live a lot watching movies and listening to music, so to know I can control it by simply waving my hands is awesome all by itself. As for the 150 price tag who cares? It's only expensive to those who can't afford it. If it's that expensive, why not pre order it and just pay it off until it arrives in November?? That what 30 bucks a month between now and November??We all know no one had a problem shelling out 400 bucks for the ipod giant, or an annual fee of 200-300 bucks for their iphone as well. Gaming and Tech geeks are so funny to men, you will complain about everything under the sun when it comes to new technology. But once it finally arrives, what do you do, you go out and buy it. The Kinect will be no different
V_Translanka
What? Microsoft putting something out before they're actually finished with the tech? I am shocked.[/sarcasm]
Cid_1314
All of that stuff from last years E3 looks pre-rendered. Just actors doing whatever and they put stuff on the screen accordingly.
ABRaquel
That's because Sony has the Patent for it.
Check this article on Engadget.
http://www.engadget.com/2009 /07/05/sony-nabs-patent-for-ev eryday-object-motion-detection -the-fragi/
II TwentyOne II
Because everyone wants to take a picture of their skateboard with their hands in front of it but it wont show in the game. When i saw this video the first time i knew it was crap. They overplayed their prowess, and now its going to hurt because even the girls hands in kinectanimals (or however its spelled) didnt match what was on screen.
Tis' a dark age for gaming afoot.
choccy
Given that Kinect is basically just 2 cameras, a microphone and software, there's no reason why Sony couldn't implement exactly the same features for free for anyone who has Move. Just plug in 2 EyeToy cameras (they have a mic built in) and some software. They could out-do MS easily.
wh0urdady
@G4Nipper Microsoft will have a new xbox out by the time they understand how to use this technology, and I do not think this technology alone is meant for gaming
lucidity
Seems odd to have to demonstrate the potential of the technology by using an article posted on your own website.
http://g4tv.com/thefeed/blog /post/703957/project-natal-dem o-reveals-gender-detection-cap ability.html
EldritchWarlord
Oh my God! They didn't mention something, it must no longer exist!
^ The logic of this article
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