Tag: KINECT

Microsoft’s New Prototype Can Charge a Smartphone Wirelessly Using Lasers

Wireless charging is efficient and convenient but it requires you to keep the phone on a particular surface. Microsoft wants to make your life even easier. The company has created a prototype device that can charge your device without the need of a charging dock or surface.

The technology is called AutoCharge and for now it uses Microsoft’s motion sensor, Kinect. The AutoCharge setup is placed overhead from where it constantly scans the surface of smartphone shaped objects. Once it recognises that the smartphone is in view it, sends out a beam of light on the surface of the phone. The phone surface is made of photovoltaic panel that will absorb the light to generate electricity.

AutoCharge uses Kinect to detect the phone that needs to be charged.

To make sure that AutoCharge recognises the smartphone and assess if the device needs charge, the device is provided with a microcontroller and a LED light. The light blinks in a specific pattern to indicate the amount of charge in the device. Once the device is all juiced up the LED, blinks in a different pattern and tells AutoCharge to cease charging.

The team behind the project has agreed in their paper that this technology will take a while to reach the hands of the consumer. There aren’t many devices either which have photovoltaic films on them yet. The biggest disadvantage of wireless charging is that you need to keep it on the specific surface. A system that lets you use the device however you choose, while charging, would really help the customers. But you have to agree that the good old wired charger works great. Wireless charging has a long way to go before it matches up to the convenience like that.

January 20, 2015
Microsoft will ship Standalone Xbox One Kinect with One Bonus Game

Microsoft’s standalone sensor for the Xbox One increased the console’s price to an unreasonable level, prompting Microsoft to drop it and make it an optional purchase. Now Microsoft gives you an option to buy a standalone Kinect.

Microsoft announced that it will ship a standalone Kinect sensor for the Xbox One on Oct. 7 at $150. However, to make the deal little sweeter they have added a free game with its Dance Central Spotlight, the latest in the dance series from developer Harmonix, which will be available as a digital download.

The standalone Kinect sensor follows Microsoft’s decision to make it an optional peripheral, releasing the Xbox One on its own, without the sensor, earlier this year with an RRP of $599. According to Microsoft, the unbundled console saw Xbox One sales double in the United States.

Buying the complete Xbox One bundle is still the cheapest way to get the console and Kinect sensor, but the standalone Kinect gives people the option of getting the base console and then adding the sensor at a later date if they so desire.

In April, Microsoft said it had sold 5 million Xbox One consoles to retailers, while Sony said it had sold 7 million PlayStation 4 units to consumers. Earlier this month, Sony said it had sold 10 million PlayStation 4 consoles to consumers. Microsoft has not released an Xbox One sales figure since April.

Microsoft has already made a series of price cuts, including bundling top games and Xbox Live Gold membership into the price of its console. Then in June, Microsoft unbundled the console and sensor, selling the Xbox One without Kinect for $399. Sales of Xbox One more than doubled in the U.S. after Microsoft unbundled that console and sensor, the company said in July.

The Kinect sensors allows users to control their Xbox One consoles and play games using voice and gesture commands. Microsoft earlier this month announced India availability of the Xbox One console on September 23, and made it available for pre-order it Rs. 39,990 without Kinect, and Rs. 45,990 with Kinect.

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August 28, 2014
Microsoft to Kinect Up the Next Windows Phone

The Verge has reported that Microsoft is in the process of inducting Kinect features in its next Windows phone, code named “Mclaren”. The Mclaren was introduced to the world through phone tripsters EVLeaks.

The phone will be a successor to the Lumia 1020 and will boast propriety technology like 3D touch and Real Motion. These features will assist in interaction with the phone without actually touching the display.

Kinect is now integral to the Xbox experience

Kinect was reveled at the 2010 E3 conference. Kinect made sense on a large screen system like the Xbox. Its features which made technology invisible was appreciated by people. The question that everyone seems to be asking is whether a phone version of Kinect will actually have some benefits or will be just another gimmicky add-on.

Some of the reported features include the ability to answer a phone call by just bringing it to your ears or cutting a call when the phone is dropped back in the pocket. The phone can also be put on a table to start an speakerphone conversation. These features have to be utility based or else they will end up as the Air Gestures in the Samsung phones.

The phone will also be fitted with pressure sensing instruments on the sides to detect changes in grip. They want to make external buttons completely obsolete. One of the way this can be used is gripping the phone can power on the device. Even the Camera can be zoomed in and out just by doing the usual pinching motions near the device.

These features were originally intended to be used on the Windows 8.1 powered Nokia Goldfinger phones. This phone is now being pushed back for a later release, while the Mclaren is being given priority. This is one more way in which Microsoft is pushing the Nokia name off the edge. Some have said that Nokia’s innovations are being stripped for profitable parts in Microsoft’s research labs.

The new UI will be inspired by Zune Mixview

The phones will also have a tiny UI renovation with the Kinect induction. When pointed above a tile it will open multiple floating tiles. This is inspired by the Zune Mixview. The tech makes sense on a big screen where there was minimum learning curve, but in a small screen it will be a whole different story. Microsoft would have had to go back to the drawing board to make the technology featurable on a handheld device.

Now as these are still leaks and we’d have to wait for the device to come in our hands before we comment on the functionality of these features. This of course will be a good experiment to look forward to. Microsoft Xbox’s Kinectic abilities suit it well for a home entertainment system, but it has to take some real efforts to convince people that hovering fingers over your phone is as good as having a touch response.

June 10, 2014
Microsoft’s Xbox One Finally Set to Launch in India

Well the wait is over, Microsoft has officially confirmed that Xbox One will be available in India on 23^rd Sept 2014 starting at INR 39,990. They will also launch Xbox One with Kinect at INR 45,990. Both bundles will include the Xbox One console with a 500GB hard drive, Xbox One Wireless Controller, and a free 14-day trial of Xbox Live Gold for new members.

Microsoft had announced a rough September timeline for India launch (along with 25 other countries) back in March. Conspicuously, Sony launched the PS4 in India (at the same Rs. 39,990 price) in January making Microsoft lag behind by 9 months.

The owners of Xbox One with Kinect will be able to experience a number of games and entertainment experiences special to Xbox such as gesture controls, biometric sign-in, controller paring, Skype video calls, direct personalization, instant scanning of QR codes, and improved features only available with Kinect in games such “Kinect Sports Rivals,” “Dead Rising 3,” and “Project Spark.”

Both the Microsoft Xbox One and Sony PlayStation 4 use an incorporated CPU-GPU design by AMD, including an 8-core low power x86-64 AMD “Jaguar” CPU. The Xbox One’s CPU cores runs at 1.75GHz, compared to the Sony PlayStation 4’s 1.6GHz. Although, it doesn’t make any tangible difference.

Xbox One is packed with features like the Game DVR/Upload which lets you capture and record your greatest game moments and through ‘Upload Studio’ you can easily edit and share clips with your friends and community. It also offers many apps such as Skype which is specially designed for Xbox One, Internet Explorer, OneDrive, Twitch, Machinima and IGN integrated flawlessly with your games and TV experience.

Back in 2013 when it was launched in USA, Microsoft sold approximately 2 million units of Xbox One gaming consoles in its first 18 days on sale. It is too early to say that Microsoft will match its success in India, but it surely will give a tough competition to Sony’s PS 4.

June 10, 2014
Apple Confirms Buyout For PrimeSense, Get Ready For Motion Controlled Future

Apple has confirmed its acquisition of the Microsoft’s Kinect maker, Prime Sense. Last week, an Israeli news source Calcalist confirmed that Apple has acquired PrimeSense for $345 Million.

Now in an official statement to All Things D, an Apple spokesperson said: “Apple buys smaller technology companies from time to time, and we generally do not discuss our purpose or plans”. The deal is said to have been completed on Sunday and the total cost involved was around $360 million.

Apple’s intentions behind this acquisition is not clear, but one can sense a motion controlled future ahead. Apple is also believed to use this technology for its rumored iTV. Like many other Apple rumors, only time will tell what Apple will do with this tech.

[via]

November 25, 2013
Apple Buys Kinect Co-Creator: PrimeSense

Apple has just acquired Kinect Co-Creator PrimeSense for a whopping sum of US $ 345 Million, according to Israeli news source Calcalist.

If the news is true, this could mean that Apple’s future devices may have motion sensing technologies. Alternatively it could mean that Apple could make displays with this technology built in. Maybe Apple’s rumored iTV will have this tech inbuilt to interact with the hardware. According to reports, the last time Apple tried to acquire PrimeSense, the deal was scrapped due to legal woes. However this time around the company was eager to acquire the ex-kinect maker to improve on the Apple TV.

[VIA]

November 18, 2013
Microsoft : Xbox One Kinect Won’t Fetch Data For Advertisments

The development team at Microsoft says that it currently has no plans to use the motion tracking and identification powers of the Kinect sensor to power personalized advertising that intrudes on a user.

Albert Penello, one of leaders preparing the launch of the next-gen console, says that his team has more pressing concerns linked to the upcoming launch.

In a previous interview, Penello suggested that because the Xbox One’s Kinect can read facial expressions and determine levels of engagement, Microsoft could provide this data to advertisers.

“This is the point that seems to draw some controversy,” Penello said.

However, “nobody is working on that” kind of technology at the moment, Penello said. “We have a lot more interesting and pressing things to dedicate time towards. It was an interview done speculatively, and I’m not aware (emphasis original) of any active work in this space.”

If such an advertising initiative were to come to fruition, Penello said users can be sure that it would not happen without people having full control over it. “Period,” he said.

Penello proceeded to illustrate how Microsoft is protecting users’ privacy on Xbox One. “First, Kinect can recognize your face and log you in automatically. There could be some cool features we could enable if we stored that data in the cloud, like being able to be auto-recognized at a friend’s. I get asked for that feature a lot. But, for privacy reasons, your facial data doesn’t leave the console.

“Second: You’ll see us do some things around Skype that freezes the video when Skype is not in focus (meaning, it’s not the primary app). If you go back to the home screen, or launch another app, we actually stop the video stream. We do this so the user can’t even ACCIDENTALLY have the video stream going on in the background.

“I’ll say this – we take a lot of heat around stuff we’ve done and I can roll with it,” he concluded. “Some of it is deserved. But preventing Kinect from being used inappropriately is something the team takes very seriously. Hope that helps.”

[Via]

October 5, 2013
Microsoft Abandons India and other Asian Countries, Xbox One to come Late 2014

In what feels like a painful abandonment of enthusiastic gamers of Asia, Microsoft has delayed the launch of its new console the Xbox One in Asia by a whole year. Alan Bowman, Microsoft’s Regional VP for Sales and Marketing in Asia, says that the new console will launch in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea and India around late 2014.

This delay even after Microsoft has declared these countries as gaming high-growth areas, with sales of consoles and games booming in 2013. Alan Bowman also said that the new Kinect sensor will require less space as compared to this generation’s Kinect and will fit right in with Asian countries “where there is a lack of living room space” (we wouldn’t be too sure of that)

in any case for all those who cant wait, there is always Palika Bazaar and Lamington Road for those imported consoles!

[VIA]

June 11, 2013
Microsoft confirms that the new Xbox One will have a very sensitive Kinect controller.

All rumors prior to the launch of the new Xbox One related to Kinect seem to be right on the bullseye. The new Kinect controller is uber sensitive and can capture quite a lot of movement. The next-generation Kinect model is capable of tracking motions as minute as wrist rotations, and Microsoft’s Marc Whitten said the new Kinect would even be able to read users’ heartbeats when they’re exercising or when players shift their weight.

The new Kinect’s main camera is capable of recording 1080P RGB video at 30 frames per second and the new Xbox One Handles roughly 2GB/sec of live data from the new Kinect with ease.

Microsoft SVP Yusuf Mehdi showed a demo on stage that shows of the promptness and accuracy of this new sensor towards not only gestures but also voice commands. You can control the console, multitask and even open layer within the console with just voice commands, you will also get pinching, swiping and rotations in the natural format incase you don’t wish to do the talking.

May 21, 2013
Microsoft Launches Kinect For Windows In India At Rs 19,990

Kinect for Windows sensor, which aims to harness Microsoft’s Natural User Interface in a bid to ‘revolutionise’ computing, is now available in India along with the Software Development Kit (SDK). The Kinect for Windows sensor is available at Rs 19,990 while the SDK is available for free download at http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/kinectforwindows/.

The Xbox 360’s Kinect accessory has been quite a hit among casual gamers. Its list of accomplishments doesn’t end there though, as developers and scientists have modded it to carry out some complex tasks.

Microsoft is hoping that developers and businesses will take advantage of the cutting-edge features of this motion sensing technology like improved skeletal tracking, , enhanced speech, seated mode tracking to create innovative applications.

Kinect for Windows will include Studio – a tool which allows developers to record and play back Kinect data; Human Interface Guidelines (HIG) to guide developers on best practices for the creation of Natural User Interfaces and the Face Tracking SDK, which provides a real-time 3D mesh of facial features tracking the head position, location of eyebrows and the shape of the mouth.

August 7, 2012
Sony Playstation 4 coming in 2012 ?

CONCEPT PS4 Image

[dropcap]I[/dropcap]f a report from market hardware news watch website Digitimes reports that, Sony’s manufacturing partners will begin building the Playstation 4 by the end of this year for a launch schedule of quarter 2 2012. There are no specific details , but most rumors talk about a kinect type motion sensing technology to replace the current generation PS3 Move.

Sony has always held in strong opinion that physical controls are essential for gaming. Dropping that claim would be very convenient for the company and possibly beneficial. Foxconn and Pegatron, the two manufacturing firms charged with assembling Sony’s PlayStation 3, will build the new console according to DigiTimes’ sources. Also mentioned in the report, shipment volume for 2012 is set at 20 million.

With the Wii U and the next Xbox coming next year, if was only expected that the third giant upgrade their flagship console.

July 6, 2011
Microsoft releases SDK for Kinect for Windows

A huge number of developers rejoiced as Microsoft on Thursday announced the new SDK for Kinect on WIndows. What this means is that the already hacked and exploited Kinect will now bring a full Sdk to be used for gestures and computations while in an open framework officially supported by Microsoft themselves.

This will also begin a new era of Gesture controlled PC games . If you want to download and develop using the SDK head on over to the link mentioned to kick-off.

[Microsoft Blog]

June 17, 2011
Mass Effect 3 to hit your console in March 2012

Casey Hudson, the project lead for Mass Effect 3, announced that the game would be available on store shelves sometime in March 2012, during the MS keynote at E3. Ray Muzyka, BioWare’s chief executive officer, cited the fact that the game would use the new Kinect motion controllers. A small demo shows how players will be able control the squad using just their voices.

Aah now we just want to play this game!

June 9, 2011
Halo 4 and Kinect Sports Season 2 Announced at E3

During the Microsoft press conference at E3 in Los Angeles on Monday, Microsoft took the liberty to announce and show a sneak preview of Halo 4 Trilogy. Microsoft didn’t discuss much else about the game, but it did also announce that Xbox 360 owners will soon be able to get their hands on Kinect Sports Season 2, which will include golf, baseball, skiing, tennis, and football. Kinect Sports Season 2 is expected to land in time for the holiday season this year. That means not only will there be a limited edition of Halo this year but new Kinect Games to make you shale your bottom.

June 9, 2011
E3: Microsoft Kinect support added to many new games : Mass efect, Minecraft coming to Xbox
Microsoft has added a bunch of EA titles to their list of Kinect supported games
- Madden NFL
- FIFA World Cup
- Tiger Woods PGA Tour
- Mass Effect 3
- Forza Motorsport 4
- Fable: The Journey
- Ghost Recon
The following games will also be coming to Xbox 360 with Kinect Support:
- Minecraft
- Disneyland Adventures
- Kinect Star Wars
June 6, 2011