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This golf robot uses a Microsoft Kinect camera and a neural network to line up putts
At least Golfi won't fly off the handle like Happy Gilmore when it misses.
Ten years on, Kinect’s legacy goes beyond Xbox
Kinect may not have become the essential gaming tool it was tipped to be, but ten years later it's found a niche everywhere else.
A Kinect mod for 'Super Mario 64' provides a fun pandemic workout
Well, if you’re YouTuber SuperLouis64, you’d make a Kinect mod and, together with a Nintendo Switch Joy-Con, use your own body as a controller for Super Mario 64.
Recommended Reading: The internet sleuths who caught the Astros cheating
How the internet helped crack the Astros' sign-stealing case Joon Lee, ESPN One of the biggest sports stories of the year has already broke, and it's barely mid-January. If you haven't heard, Major League Baseball determined the Houston Astros used various methods, including video feeds, to steal signs from the opposition during the team's 2017 championship season -- including the World Series. MLB found that it continued to do so during the 2018 season, too. So far, three managers have lost their jobs due to their involvement. ESPN explains how internet detectives examined footage for clues over the last several months, and how that work helped blow the case wide open.
Microsoft patent application describes a vibrating floor mat for VR
Microsoft has filed a patent for a floor mat that could prevent you from crashing into furniture while you're exploring new worlds in virtual reality. It's also an indicator the company is still interested in bringing VR to the Xbox ecosystem, after it axed virtual reality plans for Xbox One.
Microsoft contractors listened to what people told their Xbox consoles
Microsoft contractors reportedly listened to Xbox owners too. Earlier this month, we learned that contractors heard audio snippets from Skype calls and Cortana interactions. Now, Vice reports that Microsoft contractors also listened to audio picked up by Xbox consoles. The device was only supposed to capture audio after voice commands, like "Xbox" or "Hey Cortana," but contractors claim recordings were sometimes triggered accidentally.
Microsoft resurrects the Kinect, but for business
Wha? Even before a Hololens sequel could grace Microsoft's stage at MWC, the company has revived the Kinect, but in a buttoned-downed business sense. Nearly a decade since the Kinect first launched, the Azure Kinect combines a depth sensor, high-def camera and a spatial microphone array. It's got an "intelligent edge", in that it sees and hears in high levels of detail, but also interprets those inputs. The new camera module has a depth sensor with wide or narrow views, depending on the use case.
Watch Microsoft's Build day one keynote in under 15 minutes
If you were hoping to hear about the future of Windows at today's Microsoft Build keynote, well, we have some bad news. CEO Satya Nadella and a large cast of Microsoft spokespeople spend much of their time talking about the massive cloud computing power in Azure, which powers the company's AI and machine learning efforts. Of course, there were plenty of interesting tidbits -- like how the Kinect is being repurposed to help with development in both AI and machine learning. And there were a few consumer-focused announcements, as well -- if you've ever wanted to get your Android text messages on a Windows PC, you're in luck. Microsoft will have plenty more announcements tomorrow, but for now, check out what the company showed off on Build 2018, day one. Click here to catch up on the latest news from Microsoft Build 2018!
Microsoft Build 2018 by the numbers
During a marathon presentation at the annual Build developers conference, Microsoft executives laid out their vision of a smarter, more responsive IoT-driven future. The company is leveraging AI to better serve those with physical disabilities, repurposing the Kinect to boost its Azure development, and investing heavily in its developer community. Numbers because how else would we have realized the keynote went on for longer than Infinity War?
Microsoft's AI future is rooted in its gaming past
The Kinect will never die. Microsoft debuted its motion-sensing camera on June 1st, 2009, showing off a handful of gimmicky applications for the Xbox 360; it promised easy, controller-free gaming for the whole family. Back then, Kinect was called Project Natal, and Microsoft envisioned a future where its blocky camera would expand the gaming landscape, bringing everyday communication and entertainment applications to the Xbox 360, such as video calling, shopping and binge-watching. This was the first indication that Microsoft's plans for Kinect stretched far beyond the video game industry. With Kinect, Microsoft popularized the idea of yelling at our appliances -- or, as it's known today, the IoT market. Amazon Echo, Google Home, Apple's Siri and Microsoft's Cortana (especially that last one) are all derivative of the core Kinect promise that when you talk to your house, it should respond.
Microsoft repurposes Kinect to boost AI and Azure development
Kinect didn't die, it just changed forms. Today at its annual Build developers conference, Microsoft announced Project Kinect for Azure saying that the sensor array will have all the capabilities we're familiar with, but in a smaller more power-efficient package. Meaning, time of flight depth sensors, IR sensors and more, now with Azure AI. "Building on Kinect's legacy that has lived on through HoloLens, Project Kinect for Azure empowers new scenarios for developers working with ambient intelligence," Microsoft said.
Microsoft stops selling the Xbox One Kinect adapter
You knew Kinect peripherals weren't long for this world when Microsoft stopped producing the Kinect in October, but it's still a sad day. The company has stopped making the Xbox Kinect Adapter that lets Xbox One S, Xbox One X and Windows PC users attach the depth-sensing camera without the presence of the original Xbox One's proprietary port. Microsoft wants to focus its efforts on "higher fan-requested gaming accessories," a spokesperson told Polygon. In short: there wasn't exactly rampant demand for an adapter to support a peripheral that had effectively been declared dead.
'Untrained Eyes' explores how computers perceive you
If you search for "man" on Google, most of the image results you'll get are of white males looking confidently at the camera. "Woman," meanwhile, brings up pictures of women that appear to have been taken from a male gaze -- and yes, you guessed it, they're also predominately white. That lack of inclusion in machine learning is what "Untrained Eyes," an interactive art installation, aims to shed light on. The project, created by conceptual artist Glenn Kaino and actor/activist Jesse Williams, comes in the form of a sculpture that uses five mirrors and a Kinect to get its point across. Stand in front of it, wave and, within seconds, you'll be presented with an image that will "match" your appearance.
'Untrained Eyes' puts an AI spin on looking at yourself in the mirror
What if you stood in front of a mirror and saw someone who barely looked like you? That's exactly what happens in Untrained Eyes, an interactive sculpture debuting today at the Engadget Experience, a one-day event that showcases exhibitions which mix art with technology. Untrained Eyes, created by conceptual artist Glenn Kaino and actor Jesse Williams (Grey's Anatomy), doesn't require a headset to be experienced. Instead, the project uses your face, a mirror, a Kinect and machine-learning to show you pictures of people whom you may look like -- or not.
Kinect: Seven years of strange experiments
Kinect is dead. The writing has been on the wall for years, at least since Microsoft de-bundled the motion-tracking system from the Xbox One in 2014, knocking $100 off the price tag and making the system more competitive with the PlayStation 4. The Kinect debuted in 2010 with the Xbox 360, and it had a good run, overall: Microsoft sold roughly 35 million devices in total. However, across its iterations and upgrades, the Kinect never quite found its market -- the one application that would turn the hardware into an essential piece of home technology. It wasn't a conversational, connected, voice-activated system like Google Home or Amazon Alexa, and game developers lost interest in the device as virtual and mixed reality rose to the fore. The Kinect was a product out of time.
Kinect's value to artists overshadowed its gaming roots
The Kinect is officially dead. But the reality is that Microsoft signed the do-all sensor's fate years ago. Faced with slumping hardware sales in 2014, then-new Xbox chief Phil Spencer had a decision to make. Microsoft could either drop the price of the Xbox One, or continue letting Sony and the $400 PlayStation 4 eat its lunch. So it stopped bundling the Kinect with the console and cut $100 off the asking price. It worked. Microsoft doubled sales the next month, and this move has set the tone for Spencer's tenure: reversing the string of bad decisions Microsoft made leading up to Xbox One's debut. To illustrate the sensor's waning importance to Microsoft, the Xbox One S didn't have a dedicated Kinect port on the back when it was released in 2016. It's the same with the upcoming Xbox One X, except Microsoft isn't offering a free USB adapter anymore. The writing has been on the wall for a while now. If this week's news was surprising, you probably haven't been paying attention. The truth is that Kinect's greatest successes had nothing to do with gaming. Hackers adopted the sensor with open arms, using it for everything from interactive art installations to motion capture and even trippy stage shows for massive bands like Nine Inch Nails. Why? Because for the tech that's on board, Kinect was relatively inexpensive and easy to use.
Microsoft ceases production of the Kinect
Microsoft has been slowly chipping away at the Kinect's usefulness and features across its platforms, yet today's news still comes as something of a shock. The company announced today to Co.Design that manufacturing for the motion sensor input device has been shut down.
Microsoft powers a DJ’s live show with a Surface Book and Kinects
When it comes to live shows, the visuals are key to making a lasting impression. I'd even argue that what you see is just as important as the quality of the music. It is a performance, after all. Touring musicians employ all kinds of A/V gear in an attempt to offer a unique experience for concertgoers. For years, some acts have turned to Microsoft's Kinect camera to capture movement live, translating that to graphics on a video display, among other things. To make the camera-based setup more portable, Microsoft teamed up with DJ Alison Wonderland to create a simplified Kinect-driven system that runs primarily on a Surface Book.
Kinect is pretty great at scanning dino bones
When your fancy high-tech tools aren't suited for the job, it's time to call the tinkers. The Field Museum of Natural History had a certain famous Tyrannosaurus rex skull they wanted examined with 3D imaging systems, but their dental scanners couldn't fit around the dinosaur's massive jaw. They contacted MIT Media Lab's Camera Culture group, which scanned the whole five-foot fossil with a $150 makeshift setup featuring a Microsoft Kinect.
Skype's 'all-new' Windows 10 app makes the trip to Xbox One
Although Microsoft isn't promoting its Xbox One camera add-on nearly as much these days (and using one on new systems requires an adapter just to plug it in), it has acknowledged the Kinect with a new version of Skype for the console. This "all new" edition is based on the Universal Windows version available on other platforms but redesigned to work in the living room. While Snap picture-in-picture chatting is no longer available, it has a new look, controller shortcuts and now features manual zoom control to go along with its automatic zoom capability. Despite a number of attempts, living room video calling has yet to take off, but if you're properly equipped then the new version should be available on your Xbox One now.
