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ASUS updates Xtion Pro motion sensor, makes it even more like Kinect
Remember the Xtion Pro and Wavi Xtion motion sensors that ASUS showed off at CES? Well, fast-forward six months and there's already an updated model on the market: the Windows- and Linux-compatible Xtion Pro Live. The new version complements the original's IR and depth sensors with a Kinect-like VGA webcam and a pair of microphones, while also jacking up the bill to a distinctly un-Kinect-like 175 Euros ($300). That price tag won't make us shift our living room furniture around anytime soon, especially since Kinect is already officially heading to the PC. However, that isn't really the point: the Pro Live edition is primarily meant to help developers design better games and apps for the more consumer-focused but as yet unreleased Wavi. Soon as they develop a game that rewards rather than punishes us for dancing like Tina Turner, we'll be right there. [Thanks, TheLostSwede]
ASUS Wavi Xtion motion sensing control system demoed at CES (video)
ASUS may not be anywhere close to ready for its Wavi Xtion to hit retail shelves (we're hearing Q2 of 2012), but that didn't stop our brethren over at Engadget Spanish from stopping by for a hands-on demonstration at CES. We'll spare you the details on how it works, but in practice, we learned that it's quite similar to Kinect. Not shocking considering that PrimeSense is behind both boxes, but the primarily difference seemed to be the reaction time. ASUS' solution wasn't quite as snappy as the Kinect, being slower to recognize and translate motions in testing. Of course, we wouldn't expect a product that's 18 months out from mass production to be completely on top of its game, but feel free to head on past the break to see exactly what we mean.
Kinect hack turns you into a punching, waving MIDI controller (video)
If you're looking for an awesome, impractical way to make music with your computer (and who isn't?) please direct your attention to the following Kinect hack. Shinect, the brainchild of a YouTube user named Shinyless, uses motion detection to turn you into a MIDI controller! The current implementation gives the operator two virtual pads that can be activated by the old Jersey Shore fist pump -- and if that ain't enough, the sounds can be pitchshifted by raising / lowering the other arm. Pretty sweet, huh? This thing uses OpenNI, and while he's demonstrating it using FruityLoops it should work with any MIDI device. Things are pretty rough'n ready at the moment, although he promises big things in the future. In the meantime, check out the proof-of-concept in the video after the break.
Kinect Hacks: Real-time (fake) X-ray
X-ray glasses are so 2010. We present for your consideration this Kinect hack from Technical University of Munich researchers, led by one Tobias Blum, who have created a "magic mirror" that lets you see your own skeleton. Okay, so it's not actually your skeleton, but data from some anonymous patient's CT scan, being mapped to your movements to create the spine-tingling effect. Still, make no bones about it: this is one of the more impressive Kinect hacks we've seen to date.
DIY telepresence robot uses PrimeSense Kinect drivers for extremely awkward push-ups (video)
From enhancing your WoW game to putting you in Tom Hanks's shoes, DIYers the world o'er really do seem to love Kinect. And what do we have here? Taylor Veltrop's Veltrobot remote telepresence 'bot uses the PrimeSense open source Kinect drivers for tracking the user's skeleton, with a modified Kondo KHR-1HV mirroring the operator's movements (which are received via 802.11n WiFi). Right now he is only controlling the arms, but with any luck we should be seeing complete control over all the robot's movements soon enough. Once the thing is finalized, Veltrop plans on releasing an open source development kit. And then? That's right: robot avatars for everyone!
PrimeSense and ASUS team, bring Kinect-like Wavi Xtion to your living room TV (update)
PrimeSense provides some of the brains behind Microsoft's Kinect, and wants a bigger piece of the pie; ASUS has a reputation for announcing wonderfully wacky peripherals every year. At CES 2011, the Wavi Xtion will check off both boxes nicely. In a nutshell, the Xtion is a PrimeSense 3D depth camera built exclusively for PC, but with an important twist -- it connects to a pair of ASUS Wavi boxes, which wirelessly streams its data to your living room PC between your TV and a Windows PC over the 5GHz band. Oh, and should ASUS attract enough developers, it will even pull down applications from an Xtion online store. ASUS says we'll see the package commercially available around the world in Q2 of next year -- with a UI and selection of apps and games on board -- but they'll release an Xtion PRO developer kit in February to tempt all you Kinect hackers into coding magical things for the platform. No more details for now, but there's an event in Vegas this week where ASUS is all but guaranteed to show it off. PR after the break. Update: Did we say HTPC? Turns out it doesn't quite work that way -- the Wavi are actually a pair of boxes that wirelessly sling data between them. You put the Xtion sensor on top of your TV, connect it to Wavi #1, then plug Wavi #2 into a PC up to 25 meters away. Mind you, it looks like the Xtion may not be quite as capable as Microsoft's unit, as there's only infrared hardware inside -- it might be fine for gesture control, but don't expect any augmented reality lightsaber fights. See some mockups below! %Gallery-112375%
PrimeSense and Asus announce Kinect-style device for living room PCs
PrimeSense, the company that created the motion-sensing technology for Kinect, has teamed up with Asus to create a new controller-free interaction device -- this time for PC. The WAVI Xtion device is designed to enable gesture control of media center PCs in living rooms. It's similar to Kinect in a few ways, but focused on the multimedia control features instead of the game stuff. There might still be games and other assorted programs: sometime after the Q2 launch, Asus will open an "Xtion Online Store" through which developers can sell apps designed in the Xtion PRO platform. The PRO development technology will be released in February. The WAVI Xtion device itself will be unveiled during CES, which runs from January 6 to 9. Update: PrimeSense issued a correction regarding the linked press release. The line "The WAVI Xtion media center for the PC leverages ultra-wide band wireless link and PrimeSense 3D sensing solution to provide controller-free interaction experiences in the living room" should read "The WAVI Xtion media center for the PC leverages wireless HDMI technology and PrimeSense 3D motion sensor technology to provide controller-free experiences in the living room."
KinEmote: Kinect gesture control for Boxee and XBMC media centers now available (video)
We've seen plenty of Kinect hacks over the last few weeks -- trouble is, beyond the initial wow factor they're just not very useful on a daily basis. That situation just changed, however, with the release of KinEmote, a free public beta that lets Windows users navigate XBMC and Boxee menus using nothing but hand gestures. Better yet, the software is built around OpenNI and NITE middleware from PrimeSense, the company behind the Project Natal reference gear. It certainly looks impressive in the video after the break. Good enough that we suspect many of you will hit up the source link below instead of finishing up your last minute holiday shopping -- hey, Santa can wait, this is progress!
Kinect rumored to have PC support in waiting
There's been no shortage whatsoever of PC control schemes using Kinect, but up until now, every bit of it has been without Microsoft's official blessing. Of course, the company eventually caved to the massive amount of hacking going on and confessed that it didn't have any hard feelings for those giving it a whirl, but is it really fixing to take things one step further with bona fide PC support? That's the talk emanating from South Korea, where game developer GamePrix has reported that at least one of its titles (Divine Soul, if you must know) is "scheduled to support Kinect." Continuing on about the game, the company's Jason Lim was quoted as saying that "Kinect will soon be available as a new PC controller," but naturally, we've our doubts. For starters, why wouldn't Microsoft be working with a more major developer if honest-to-goodness PC-Kinect interactions were planned? Secondly, there's a definite possibility that GamePrix could really be referring to unofficial support, which would make everything seem a lot more sensible. Either way, we'll definitely be keeping an ear to the ground for more, and with GDC under three months away, we ought to know the truth sooner rather than later. [Thanks, Rashad]
Kinect admits itself to hospital, treated for gesture control of medical images
At this point, we all have a serious question to ask: is there anything the Kinect can't do? While Microsoft has managed to move quite a few of the camera-laden tubes, a good amount of 'em have been put to use in applications not named gaming. Take the Virtopsy Project, for instance. This particular setup uses the Kinect camera bar to control a PACS system (OsiriX, in this case), and it relies on software based on "ofxKinect, libfreenect and open frameworks." That's a lot of technobabble for sure, but as they say, the proof is in the YouTube video. Ever dreamed of swirling medical images around with hand gestures? Head on down and mash play -- fantasyland awaits.
PrimeSense's Tamir Berliner on the future of natural interaction
Many gamers might not know it, but 2010 has been a big year for PrimeSense, and it's thanks to Kinect. The depth sensor might be a Microsoft product, but there's plenty of PrimeSense tech inside making it tick. As a company devoted to natural interaction (NI) interfaces, it must be pretty gratifying to see one of the first major NI devices selling over 2 million units in its first month of availability. Kinect, however, is just the beginning for PrimeSense. Earlier this month, the company helped found OpenNI, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to promoting "the compatibility and interoperability of Natural Interaction (NI) devices, applications and middleware." So far, the organization has released the OpenNI Framework, including open source drivers and skeleton tracking middleware for NI devices. Although the software was created to support PrimeSense's own 3D sensor development kit, the community quickly (and unsurprisingly) adapted it to work with Kinect as well. We recently spoke with PrimeSense's Tamir Berliner about the creation of OpenNI. As might be expected, he foresees a bright future for natural interaction.
PrimeSense's OpenNI provides the best Kinect drivers yet, from someone who would know
We've been so wrapped up in Kinect hacks lately that we actually missed a Kinect non-hack that emerged last week. PrimeSense, who built the initial Project Natal reference hardware for Microsoft, has released its own open source drivers for the Kinect. PrimeSense is working with Willow Garage (best known for its open source ROS robot operating system), and Side-Kick (a motion gaming startup) through a new OpenNI organization it set up, and the trio will be combining their powers for good. The OpenNI framework will cover low-level hardware support (drivers for actual cameras and other sensors), and high-level visual tracking (turning your body into a 3D avatar that kicks ass in a virtual world). This should be a boon to an already vibrant Kinect hacking community, and if the video above is any indication, we aren't far from Kinect-level interaction and gameplay on our lowly PCs. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
PrimeSense releases open source drivers, middleware that work with Kinect
The global hacking community has already done an admirable job of exploiting the technology inside Kinect, but now would-be motion control designers can get the tech straight from the source. PrimeSense, the company that created the motion-sensing tech inside each Kinect, has released open source drivers that will work either with Kinect or its own dev kit, which Develop notes is "smaller and lighter" than a Kinect unit. PrimeSense has partnered with two other companies to create OpenNI, a not-for-profit organization set up to "promote the compatibility and interoperability of Natural Interaction (NI) devices, applications and middleware." The drivers are available on the OpenNI website, as is the NITE motion tracking middleware. OpenNI binaries are available for both Windows and Ubuntu. With some pretty amazing Kinect projects already out there, we can't wait to see what comes of this officially backed software release. Check out a quick demonstration of the software's skeleton tracking capabilities after the break.
Microsoft buys Canesta, continues camera-based domination of our interfaces
It seems that Microsoft's taken the camera to heart following its dismissal of the pen -- the company bought 3DV, collaborated with PrimeSense on Kinect, and today it's apparently finalized a deal to acquire 3D CMOS camera chipmaker Canesta as well. In case you've already forgotten, the latter company is the one that made an paid actor look particularly smug last year, by allowing the gent to control his television with a flick of the wrist. Things have progressed a good bit further than that, however, as you'll see in a demo video after the break, and Canesta president and CEO Jim Spare says he expects the company's stuffs to "see wide adoption across many applications that embody the full potential of the technology" under Microsoft's reign. Press release after the break.
Microsoft pulls apart a Kinect camera, tickles your non-gaming fetish
Tease as much as you want, Sony, but things get real serious when you flip to the other side and look at the magic behind Microsoft's Kinect camera. Recently, T3 was able to get behind the scenes for a quick lesson on how this Xbox 360 peripheral works, and as part of the tour, it also saw the innocent sensor sitting bare naked in the lab. As pictured above, this little device actually has a lot to pack in -- namely a RGB camera for facial recognition plus video capturing, a depth sensor (an infrared projector paired with a monochrome CMOS camera) for movement tracking, four downward-facing mics for voice recognition, a quiet motor in the bulky base for rotation, and all the circuitry components to link them up. Head over to the source link for a detailed briefing -- but we all know you're just gonna go straight to the gallery of Redmond's naughty pics.
Microsoft's Kinect patent application goes public, reveals gobs of fine print
Not like it matters much now -- after all, Project Natal has had time to incubate and come out as Kinect -- but those wondering about the inner workings of the motion sensing system now have more one outlet to investigate. A patent application filed on February 23, 2009 was just made public today, describing a "gesture keyboarding" scenario where users can make gestures that are caught by a "depth camera" and then converted into in-game controls. Of course, those paying close attention could've read between the lines when we toyed with a camouflaged PrimeSense demo at GDC, but here's the fully skinny in black and white. And a bit of blue, if you count the buttons. Give that source link a tap once you're settled in. %Gallery-98933%
Kinect tech destined for TV-embedded greatness in 2011, HTPC integration later this year
From Tel Aviv unknown to Xbox gaming wunderkind, PrimeSense has already had quite a run, but the camera-control tech that powers Kinect is destined for new applications before long. VP Adi Berenson tells us the company's already signed deals to put PrimeSense inside HTPCs by the end of the year, and has at least one cable company ready to launch a gesture-controlled set top box by summer 2011. The end goal is to provide natural human control over TV-based media consumption, said Berenson, who's working to get cameras in TVs themselves sometime late next year. Like Kinect, these solutions will have a pair of 640 x 480 camera sensors to measure user position in 3D space, but don't expect them to have motorized tilt functionality or voice recognition -- PrimeSense said it won't be able to make those available for manufacturers, as they're all Microsoft ideas. The gesture recognition has reportedly evolved, though, and we're eager to check that out soon. See what it used to look like in our GDC 2010 preview. Update: Just to be absolutely clear, this is not Microsoft's Kinect that's slated for an HTPC and set-top-box near you, but rather PrimeSense, the 3D camera sensor technology behind it.
Kinect: The company behind the tech explains how it works
PrimeSense was at E3 this week showing off the raw technology that it licensed to Microsoft for what officially became Kinect this past Monday. The company developed the method and core software that Microsoft's forthcoming camera/controller uses to read human bodies and gestures, and had it running on a prototype unit live in the booth. Unfortunately, company reps weren't able to comment on specifics of the licensing deal, and were very quick to point out that much of what has been done so far with Kinect is Microsoft's own software -- PrimeSense only provides the raw tech behind the visual gesture system, not any of the menus or games that are actually appearing on Kinect. But they were able to explain the core technology to me, and shine a little light, so to speak, on what Kinect is capable of.
PrimeSense 3D-sensing tech licensed for Project Natal [update]
digg_url = 'http://www.joystiq.com/2010/03/31/primesense-3d-sensing-technology-licensed-for-project-natal/'; In February of 2009, it was revealed that Microsoft had purchased a 3D motion-sensing camera company called 3DV. In June, the company showed off Project Natal, leading most to assume the two were connected, though Microsoft countered, saying "we built [Natal] in house." That brings us to today, as (a company you probably haven't heard of) PrimeSense has announced that its 3D motion-sensing tech is being utilized for Project Natal. "Xbox 360 Hardware Engineering teams developed the 'Project Natal' sensor based on the PrimeSensor reference design to support the special requirements of Project Natal," said Aviad Maizels, PrimeSense president and founder. What we don't know at the moment is just how much Microsoft's baby relies on PrimeSense. As you can see in the video after the jump (which had to have been directed by Tommy Wiseau) and in Engadget's demonstration, the company's focus has been on gesture control for UI navigation, so it's possible PrimeSense could just be supplying a way for users to interact with the Xbox Dashboard and Guide with motion commands. We'll let you know what we can find out. Update: Microsoft's product manager for Xbox 360 and Xbox Live, Aaron Greenberg, dropped us a line to further explain the Microsoft-PrimeSense partnership where Project Natal is concerned. "Regarding your question, this was primarily a hardware partner announce," Greenberg said. "Bottom line, we've worked closely with PrimeSense to design the best 3D-sensing technology component for 'Project Natal.' Microsoft is fully responsible for the design and development of the 'Project Natal' sensor, including its depth sensor, RGB camera, multi-array microphone and software."
PrimeSense fesses up: it's the magic behind Microsoft's Project Natal
Up until now, we haven't actually been able to find out too much about the ins and outs of Project Natal. For all we knew, it's a technology designed in the back stall of a unicorn barn, and the final name will somehow involve diphthongs from both "lasers" and "Robot Apocalypse." All jesting aside, this really does mark the first bona fide announcement about the nuts and bolts behind Microsoft's forthcoming motion sensing add-on for its Xbox 360, and lo and behold, the revealing is being done by the same company we sat down with earlier this month at GDC. Quite a few of you assumed that PrimeSense's webcam was indeed Project Natal in camouflage when we posted up our original hands-on, and while we couldn't confirm or deny those suspicions at the time, we can today. So, what's this mean for you? It probably means that PrimeSense is actively looking to get its 3D-sensing technology (which has obviously been tweaked quite a bit by Microsoft, to its credit) into as many living room scenarios as possible, so what you're seeing in Natal might just appear elsewhere in the very near future. Did your imagination just run wild? No? Have a look back at our GDC experience and try again.
