Microsoft Making Kinect More ‘Gesture-Friendly’

The Kinect motion technology has been around for a while. Users can wave their hands to operate the Kinect devices, which has made it a great option for games like Xbox 360 to deploy. Microsoft, though, have gone one step further by working to make the technology read and recognize more bodily gestures apart from the wave. The folks in Redmond are working on expanding the library of gestures which will be added to the next generation Kinect devices.

More Hand Gestures Added

Microsoft recently demonstrated how the technology runs and the gestures which people can make to use it. Now, they would be able to make a fist and pinch their fingers. Finger pinching enables the users to scroll up and down the screen or pan the view for any app. Combined with the hand waving these gestures would allow people to increase interaction with the device. This is the closest anyone has come to creating the technology seen in the movie ‘Minority Report’.

How Kinect Works

It is incredible the way Kinect recognizes your body motion and maps it on the screen for you to enjoy a different kind of experience than what you are used to. The device comes with special audio and motion sensors. There is a camera which captures your movements for the device to process. The technology included in the new Kinect picks up motion from 48 different points of the body. The sensors and camera have been programmed to track the movements you make at those points.

The great thing is that you can get voice recognition, gesture recognition and facial recognition through the same device. Microsoft has ensured the added technology does not dilute the quality of the visuals you see on screen. Your movements are tracked and displayed at a rate of 30 frames per second. The hardware pretty much remains the same and there is no word from Microsoft about any software they might have installed to make it possible for Kinect to read your hand movements.

Throw the Mouse and Remote Out

What this does in terms of the user experience is remove the need for using a mouse or remote control for operating the Kinect. You can simply wave, point or clench your fist and the device would track your movements and perform the desired action. It remains to be seen how easy it is for people to learn the specific gestures which they need to know to use Kinect optimally. Otherwise, the user experience is going to be enhanced to a great extent.

Availability Still Some Time Away

Though Microsoft has apparently completed their work on the technology, it could be some time before it is made commercially available for use in any future Kinect models. According the company, it will take time for the researchers to come up with a way to make gesture recognition practical and feasible for the users. Else, the customers are going to face a hard time trying to figure out how they have to move their hands.

[Image via xboxkinectfans]