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Intel's 3D camera technology detects emotions and eyes, gives Kinect some competition
We know that Intel sees 3D cameras as the future of computing, and the company's Anil Nanduri just provided a few hints of what that future may involve. He tells Network World that the depth-sensing technology can recognize emotions, such as happy smiles. It can also track your gaze; a camera can detect when readers are stumped by unfamiliar words in a book, for example. The technology's shape detection is accurate enough that it can even scan objects for 3D printing. We won't get a true sample of the technology's potential until Creative ships its Senz3D camera before the end of the current quarter. Nonetheless, it's already evident that Microsoft's next-generation Kinect for Windows will have some real competition on its hands.
Intel announces Creative Senz3D Peripheral Camera at Computex 2013
Intel's just announced the Creative Senz3D Peripheral Camera at the company's Computex keynote in Taipei. The camera lets users manipulate objects on the screen using gestures and is able to completely eliminate the background. It appears to be an evolution of the Creative Interactive Gesture Camera we recently played with at IDF in Beijing. This new 3D depth camera is expected to become available next quarter and Intel plans to incorporate the technology into devices during the second half of 2014. "It's like adding two eyes to my system," said Tom Kilroy, VP of marketing. The company's been talking about "perceptual computing" for some time and this certainly brings the idea one step closer to fruition.
Hands-on redux: Creative's Interactive Gesture Camera at IDF 2013 Beijing (video)
At IDF 2013 in Beijing, Intel is again making a big push for perceptual computing by way of voice recognition, gesture control, face recognition and more, and to complement its free SDK for these functions, Intel's been offering developers a Creative Interactive Gesture Camera for $149 on its website since November. For those who missed it last time, this time-of-flight depth camera is very much just a smaller cousin of Microsoft's Kinect sensor, but with the main difference being this one is designed for a closer proximity and can therefore also pick up the movement of each finger. We had a go on Creative's camera with some fun demos -- including a quick level of gesture-based Portal 2 made with Intel's SDK -- and found it to be surprisingly sensitive, but we have a feeling that it would've been more fun if the camera was paired up with a larger display. Intel said Creative will be commercially launching this kit at some point in the second half of this year, and eventually the same technology may even be embedded in monitors or laptops (remember Toshiba's laptops with Cell-based gesture control?). Until then, you can entertain yourselves with our new hands-on video after the break. %Gallery-185293%
Intel's Perceptual Computing demonstrations hands-on (video)
We've just spent time with Intel's Mooly Eden, who is spearheading the chip maker's push into what it's calling "perceptual computing," which is using natural and intuitive interactions to control your PC. The company has partnered with Creative on a Kinect-esque 3D depth-camera that can be used to control applications and play games, do faux-green screen broadcasting and collaborate with colleagues. While Microsoft's motion-tracker is designed to encompass a whole room, Intel's has a shallower depth of field that's more suited for close-up work. We got to play with the company's demos away from the noise of the show floor, as well as playing a gesture-based version of Portal 2 by Sixsense that's shorn of the controllers that Eden used to demonstrate it in 2011. Interested in seeing what's likely to appear in what the company promises is the very near future? Head on down past the break.