Kinect is a new controller-free gaming system for Xbox 360. The gameplay is based on body movements, either with or without props, and voice commands. While this is all very interesting, it still brings up the question of how it all works. Here is some basic technical information about the Xbox Kinect that can better explain how the system works.
The sensor that is part of the Kinect system is a horizontal bar that is connected to a small base that includes a motorized pivot. The Kinect sensor should be placed below the video game display in a lengthwise position. Features of the device include a multi-array microphone, depth sensor, and RGB camera. These features are what provide the voice recognition, facial recognition, and 3D full body motion capture of the Kinect.
The microphone array allows for features such as head-set free chat using Xbox Live by enabling the Xbox 360 to conduct ambient noise suppression and acoustic source localization. The Kinect sensor is able to see in 3D in any ambient light conditions due to the combination of a monochrome CMOS sensor and infrared projector. It has an adjustable sensor range, which is determined by the physical environment and gameplay.
The Kinect system is based on range camera technology and software technology. The software part of the Kinect technology, which was developed by Microsoft, is what enables the voice and face recognition as well as the recognition of gestures. The Kinect is able to track up to six people at one time while providing motion analysis and feature extraction of 20 joints per player for two active players. Depending on the distance, the Kinect is even able to track individual finger movements.
The Kinect sensor:
*Outputs video at a frame rate of 30 Hz
*Features an RGB video stream at 32 bit color VGA resolution
*Has a monochrome video stream used for depth sensing at 16-bit QVGA resolution
*Practical ranging limit/ 1.2 to 3.5 meters or 3.9 to 11 feet
*57 degree horizontal angular field of view/ 43 degree vertical angular field of view
*Motorized pivot can tilt sensor 27 degrees up or down
*Features four microphone capsules as part of the microphone array
The Kinect sensor and technology is something that has never been seen before. While many are waiting with great anticipation for the release of Kinect sports games, Kinect dance games, and Kinect fitness games because of the great fun and interactive gameplay offered by the system, lets not forget that without the advances in technology that this type of video game experience would never be possible.
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