Kinect 2
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Trippy Kinect-powered art disintegrates a man
Though many folks are meh on Microsoft's Kinect 2 for gaming, in the hands of a 3D animator it can do wondrous things. Case in point is the Momentum art project from a group called Schnellebuntebilder. Using custom software, they captured a live action actor with a Kinect 2, and convert him into a series of swirling cube particles and light rays, all in real time (see below). The team doesn't explain how it works, but it looks like they modeled the actor beforehand and then mapped his particle-effect avatar onto the live action video. On top of making us trip balls, doing all that in real time is quite the technical achievement.
Kinect 2.0 finds a home on PC July 15
The Kinect 2.0 may have split from the Xbox One, but it will be ready to find new love with PC partners soon. A Microsoft Store listing highlights a July 15 release date for the Xbox logo-less, PC-compatible 3D camera, meaning we can put Xbox head Phil Spencer's belief that people will still buy the Kinect to the test as soon as next week. The PC version of the Kinect 2 boasts a price tag of a not-insignificant $200 - $100 more than the price difference between a Kinect-less Xbox One and an Xbox One with the peripheral pack-in. [Image: Microsoft]
Next-gen Kinect coming to PC
Microsoft says it's bringing the newly unveiled next-gen Kinect to PC as well as the Xbox One. The company disclosed its plans to Polygon and Shacknews. Microsoft Corporate VP of Interactive Entertainment Business Ben Kilgore told Polygon the device will come to PC "at some point down the line," while Kinect Program Manager Scott Evans told Shacknews Microsoft will have "more information soon." The new Kinect features a 1080P HD RGB camera, 30 FPS color, Time of Flight technology, and microphone arrays. It has a greater sense of depth and field of view compared to the original Kinect, and thanks to infrared tech it can see in the dark. Microsoft showed us how the sensor can track two player profiles, each tied to a controller, and also demonstrated how it can estimate players' heart rates. Each Xbox One ships with the device. The console launches later this year.
Next-gen Kinect sensor unveiled for Xbox One, paired with 'every' system
Microsoft unveiled the successor to the Xbox 360's Kinect add-on, and revealed it'll be paired with "every" Xbox One. It features a 1080P HD RGB camera which can be used with Skype, 30 FPS color, and an increased field-of-view. Among other voice commands, which let you instantly switch between playing a game, live TV, wathing movies, playing music, or browsing the web, Kinect's mic lets you turn on the new system by saying "Xbox On."
Rumor: Next generation Kinect specs leak
Alleged specs for the next iteration of Microsoft's Kinect sensor have popped up on VGLeaks. The new Kinect will be included with the next Xbox, according to the report, and it seems to outperform its predecessor in nearly every way. It packs a much larger field of view (70 degrees horizontal by 60 degrees vertical, versus the current 57.5 x 43.5) and a dramatically higher resolution (1920x1080 versus 640x480). The unit also features significantly lower latency (60ms versus 90ms), conceivably giving it a much faster reaction time.It will apparently ditch the tilt motor seen in the current Kinect, as the larger field of view should accommodate most play spaces. For example, the new Kinect should be able to detect a 6' tall person at just over five feet from the television. As previous reports have suggested, it will also be able to recognize more minute details, such as whether a hand is open or closed.For what it's worth, in the absence of verification, the tech wizards at Digital Foundry find the leak plausible, though it may not be the most current information. Furthermore, the information does seem to match up with previous reports, specifically the sensor's improved resolution and its ability to detect much finer details.
Rumor: New Xbox has natural speech detection, speech-to-text
Microsoft's next Xbox, AKA Durango, will have much better speech detection, according to sources at the Verge. That includes natural language detection, which will allow the Xbox to process normal speech patterns, similar to Apple's Siri. So, for example, instead of saying "Xbox, play 3," you might simply say, "Xbox, where can I watch The X-Files?"Furthermore, users may be able to turn the new Xbox on using only voice. Speech-to-text is also a possibility, which would allow users to, say, compose Xbox Live messages using only voice. The Verge also mentions a possible function that would allow the Kinect to detect the number of people in a room and suggest suitable multiplayer games (hopefully not used games).An improved Kinect, possibly bundled with or built into the next Xbox, has been expected for quite some time now. As such, it's not much of a stretch to assume the upgraded device would feature improved voice recognition in addition to improved physical recognition.
Rumor: Next-gen Xbox details spilled in penultimate issue of Xbox World
Xbox World will stop revolving come December, but it plans on going out with a bang. Specifically, the UK publication's second-to-last issue claims to have all the inside deets on Microsoft's next console.The new console's name, for instance, will be simply "Xbox," with no numerical modifiers to speak of, according to the magazine. It'll supposedly ship with a quad-core processor and eight gigs of ram, run Blu-Ray discs and will eventually support some form of head-mounted augmented reality device, in addition to a next-generation Kinect."Xbox World has been at the cutting edge of Durango coverage for over 12 months," Xbox World EIC Dan Dawkins told CVG. "Unless something really dramatic changes, everything we reveal in our penultimate issue will be revealed long before E3 in June."
Rumor: Image from next-generation Kinect sensor leaked
The above image represents the body-tracking capabilities of the next generation of Kinect technology, according to purported Durango devkit owner DaE. Eurogamer declined to comment on the veracity of the image, but claims the owner is known to have a devkit for the next Xbox console.The image shows a more accurate outline of two tracked bodies than the current Kinect can, including the ability to see fingers against clothing. The existence of this image suggests not just that new Kinect technology is being tested – it suggests that new Kinect technology will be bundled with, or sold alongside, the next Xbox. That squares with the leaked "Xbox 720" doc recently unearthed – and with common sense, given Kinect sales.
Alleged Xbox 720 document leak resurfaces, stirs rumors of Kinect 2, native 3D, AR glasses
A document passing itself off as an internal Microsoft presentation about the future of Xbox has surfaced, and is stirring internet chatter with its possible hints at the future of the console. Despite turning up online over a month ago and potentially dating back to 2010, a few things mentioned that have since come to fruition -- like SmartGlass -- are earning it more attention. The proposed developments include cloud-based entertainment, native 3D, augmented reality "Fortaleza Glasses," scalable hardware -- all by 2015. If that's too long to wait, however, the time line also indicates we'd be seeing the next generation hardware in 2013 for $299 (more precise and four-player ready Kinect 2 included). The Xbox 720 package described includes such pie-in-the-sky bullet points as Blu-ray and whole-home DVR features, all from a low-power always-on box built on a "Yukon" ARM hardware platform. Of course, even if this is legit and not just some business student's exercise, all the talk of value propositions, OEM licensing and developer profitability are proposals that could have changed. Need more reasons to be skeptical? Digital Foundry points out the extremely optimistic wattages listed and previous appearances of the illustrations included. Ponder over the full 56-page document for yourself -- taking into account the bored minds on the internet that are capable of cranking out this kind of stuff, like that infamous Nintendo Revolution video -- after the break. Update: The document has been pulled from Scribd, apparently at the request of a Covington & Burling, LLP. [Thanks, Leonard]
Kudo Tsunoda: 'Waiting for the next big thing isn't about waiting for the Kinect 2'
Last summer, try as we might, we couldn't get too much out of Microsoft's creative director for Kinect Games, Kudo Tsunoda, about what's next from the interactive peripheral. More recently, in an interview with Venture Beat, Tsunoda was a little more verbose about what he thinks the next big thing in Kinect is -- and it isn't a Kinect 2. The good news is, he believes that no new hardware will be required, and the innovations will likely come from developers, as they better understand and utilize the capabilities. A combination of voice, tone and facial recognition along with motion detection will likely be the tools that push the experience into the next era -- such as allowing users to participate in a game's story like an actor. Hit the source if you want to read the full interview, but you can be sure we'll be at E3 again this year to beat him, and others, with the question stick once more.
Rumor mill: next gen Xboxes + Kinect 2 to read lips, track fingers, make unicorns real
Pinches of salt at the ready, folks. According to the latest speculation, Microsoft's sequel to the Xbox 360 will actually be two models, a pared down set-top box for casual gamers and a heftier model for the hardcore. Either way, Xbox 720 / Xbox Loop's getting paired up with a revised version of the magnificent Kinect hardware. The digital grapevine's saying that Kinect 2 will be able to read your lips, track your fingers and sense the tone of your voice to determine if you've come over all angry. It can't do that currently thanks to its USB cable, which can only transmit 16MB/s of data -- limiting the camera's resolution to 320 x 240 at 30fps. We don't know what protocol the new sensor bar will use, but we do know that either USB 3.0 (which can transmit 400 MB/s) or Intel's Thunderbolt (700MB/s) would remove such limitations. In related news, 2012's Kinect for Windows is getting a shorter USB cable for better data integrity and a refocused image sensor that will switch to "near mode" to see objects 50cm away -- which means a whole bunch of classic Kinects and Nyko Zooms are gonna wind up as a filling for a New Mexico landfill.
Rumor: Kinect 2 to read lips, make french fries, soak up nasty spills
If sources close to Eurogamer are to be believed, Microsoft has some pretty lofty plans for the next iteration of Kinect. According to said sources, the "Kinect 2" will not only offer improved motion tracking and voice recognition, but will also be capable of all kinds of technical wizardry. Apparently, the as yet unannounced device will be able to read lips, detect the direction a player is facing and recognize his or her emotional state. If your current emotional state is "a little freaked out," we're right there with you. According to the source, the new device will not utilize USB and thus won't be hampered by its relatively antiquated data speeds – a limitation of the current Kinect model. This will allow for the "phenomenally high res data" needed for the previously mentioned features (and perhaps others, presumably). In other words, Dance Central 3 may be able to objectively determine whether players are, in fact, too legit to quit.
