What Is Kinect

With the introduction of Kinect, Microsoft promises a whole new way to play video games. Looking to counter the wildly popular Nintendo Wii, Kinect is a new gaming system that does not require controllers to play games. Instead this Xbox 360 add-on uses sophisticated full motion sensors and voice recognition to recognize up to four players at a time, and allows gamers to control the game with their bodies and voice. This new revolutionary system was unveiled by Microsoft at the 2009 Electronic Entertainment Expo.

Kinect is a 3D camera that works with the Xbox 360. It can track individual’s motions in 3D and comes equipped with a microphone that is capable of voice recognition. The system allows users to play games without the use of controllers. Gamers control the game through their body movements and voice, with all of their information being transferred into the game console.

Kinect includes an RGB camera, multi array microphone, depth sensor and proprietary software. The RGB camera enables facial recognition and tracks some basic colors. The sensor can track full body movement as well as individual voices in 3D. The multi array microphone enables the system to locate voices in a room. The custom processor and proprietary software enables the system to recognize human body parts and motion.

The proprietary software combines all of the data to map out a skeleton of players all in real time. The process allows the system to work even if someone steps in front of the players and also enables the Kinect system to recognize up to four players at any one time.

So far (as of July 2009) Microsoft has shown six games that use Kinect, but many more games can be expected to be released. One game is called Milo. Milo is a virtual boy who can recognize the color of your shirt and respond to emotions and voice commands. Ricochet is a dodge ball type game, where flying balls come at the gamers and can be kicked and hit back using feet and hands. Burnout Paradise is a racing game that doesn’t require a controller. Kinect follows your hand and feet motions for steering and braking.

Currently Kinect is being presented as a peripheral for the Xbox 360, but there is reason to believe that at some time in the future it will be used on PCs as well for home entertainment and business applications. Pricing has not been set and the release date for Kinect is November 4, 2010.