When Microsoft revealed the original Kinect we were treated to a PR stunt of epic proportions with Cirque De Soleil, huge promises were made and very very few of them were ever realised with the Kinect now being relegated to fitness games and kids party games.
That being said the kids party games are a lot of fun and the Kinect maybe gets a little too much hate from the core gamer but Microsoft can only blame themselves for that.
However it looks like Microsoft has learned a lot from that debacle and with the Kinect 2 they have thrown out all the fanfare and over the top PR parties and are rather showcasing the actual features live to journalists.
And it is amazing, it really is. Kinect 2 can track up to 6 individual people and has the following list of amazing features
- It can detect your heartbeat
- It can see you even if your lights are turned off
- It detects which part of your body is currently carrying load.. in real time
- Obviously quick facial recognition
- Can pick up individual fingers
- Facial movements
- It noticed when you change controllers with another player,
- Far superior voice detection
- Full 1080p video capture
- and more
As much as we’ve given the Xbox One a severe hiding over their dreadful E3 showing you can’t help but be impressed at some of the technology that they are packing into the device.
Watch this video and tell me that you aren’t impressed… at least a little bit.
Last Updated: June 25, 2013
Admiral Chief Groot Wors
June 25, 2013 at 11:10
3. Currently carrying load
“Excuse me sir, your balls are full”
HAHAHAHAHA
Sir Rants-a-Lot Llew
June 25, 2013 at 11:13
Sir perhaps you would like to change hands…..
Admiral Chief Groot Wors
June 25, 2013 at 11:16
“Sir, might I recommend the following movies? Since your ‘friends’ called you this in the latest CoD match, I have the following recommendations for your new sexual orientation”
#AlwaysWatching
Trevor Davies
June 25, 2013 at 11:13
I was thinking almost the same thing. It’s difficult to be modest if the Kinect keeps zeroing in on my massive load.
It’s pretty creepy that it detects your heart beat though.
Admiral Chief Groot Wors
June 25, 2013 at 11:15
“Sir, I detect that you are enjoying the spaceballs 20k movie, shall I increase the volume?”
Lord Chaos
June 25, 2013 at 11:33
Good Guy M$, helping us understand our better halves.
“Fine, do whatever you want.”
“Sir, I recommend staying in as I detect elevated aggression.”
Admiral Chief Groot Wors
June 25, 2013 at 11:35
Why do I have a JARVIS voice in my head when I read this?
Lord Chaos
June 25, 2013 at 11:35
You’re not alone.
Sir Rants-a-Lot Llew
June 25, 2013 at 11:16
Ok the active IR is very impressive
Ultimo_Cleric N7
June 25, 2013 at 11:16
“XboxOne off”
“I’m sorry, I cant do that Ultimo”
Argentil
June 25, 2013 at 11:18
I find it very difficult to acknowledge kinect as more than a gimmick. The tech you’ve highlighted is interesting also, but outside of jumping/swatting/hand-hovering, there aren’t many actual cool applications of the technology.
Voice control is iffey, but one of the better features. Accents destroy that a bit.
Facial recognition is limited outside of logging a player in, which they should get up and running ASAP.
With improved recognition, finger gestures are a possibility, but that is something you would use in conjunction with a controller setup, and is a small (but neat) addition.
Until I see Kinect in action, tracking 6 people, I’ll remain skeptical. I could see that working if Kinect dropped it’s recognition down to Kinect 1.0 levels.
Is there any solid contribution this technology will bring this gen? Outside of more kids/party games?
Gavin Mannion
June 25, 2013 at 11:21
Measuring your emotional responses to the game and changing the gameplay to match? Scary games that only surprise you when you aren’t ready for it
Sir Rants-a-Lot Llew
June 25, 2013 at 11:24
That would be awesome haha. Measure heart rate for when you are most calm and BAM! Everything goes for a ball of sh*t.
Captain Minion TallTwit
June 25, 2013 at 11:24
Well that will really up the ante on horror games. 🙂
Sounds almost promising.
Argentil
June 25, 2013 at 11:26
Depending on how the Kinect recognises load distribution, it could be VERY effective for fitness games, which would excite a market that isn’t me. Still a neat application of the tech. Yoga Moms would go nuts.
Argentil
June 25, 2013 at 11:24
Kinect isn’t quite Skynet just yet. I don’t see Kinect recognising your emotions unless you are pulling heavily exaggerated expressions of anger or sadness. Don’t fall for the nonsense, remember the original Kinect reveal. 80% of what they showed off was nowhere near real. In the context of sensing your emotions, if it can detect your heart-rate, and you’re playing a Survival Horror game, then sure, it could detect when you’re anxious or scared. Outside of that, I don’t see it sensing emotions.
Gavin Mannion
June 25, 2013 at 11:43
Remember the difference here is that they are showcasing it directly to journalists.. and it’s picking up their heartbeat.
Argentil
June 25, 2013 at 11:49
That tech is possible with any camera, as it’s software-based. It’s also not proprietery. It’s not a Kinect feature.
Gavin Mannion
June 25, 2013 at 12:14
you need a very good camera… the only console with a camera good enough will be the Xbox One.. that makes it a feature surely?
Argentil
June 25, 2013 at 12:19
From my understanding of the tech, anything better than a 480 camera will suffice. I can’t find a source though. If anyone has details, I’m all ears.
DarthofZA
June 25, 2013 at 12:22
Its more than just a camera. If it wasn’t, the seeing in the dark part wouldn’t exactly work.
Argentil
June 25, 2013 at 12:26
The tech requires ‘only a camera’ of 720p or higher. Most cameras nowadays fit the bill. It also requires the subject stand dead still for 10 seconds. It can even pick up the heart rate on recorded footage.
Happy Hamster
June 25, 2013 at 11:31
Letting your Kinect tell you when you have shyte your pants while playing Silent Hill Part VVVVIII
Argentil
June 25, 2013 at 11:33
That would be more useful than you think. It might give me a little more courage to sit through nightmare-inducing games. Maybe if it plays soothing music when I get skehwewd :<
Ocelotty1
June 26, 2013 at 07:59
Scientific uses of Kinect are fairly wide ranging: Kinect Provides the Seeing Eye in a Robotic Guide Dog for the Blind, Using the Microsoft Kinect to Detect Autism, Kinect Will Save The Indigenous Rock Art Of A Paraguayan Tribe, Archaeologists Use a Hacked Kinect To Create 3-D Scans of Dig Sites; The Kinect as a low cost high resolution small scale LiDAR for water surface and shallow subsurface measurements etc. etc. and with this latest version it will become more useful still, so as a toy Hmm… but beyond that …….
Martin du preez
June 25, 2013 at 11:24
I already know what part of my body carries a load.
Happy Hamster
June 25, 2013 at 11:27
Birds Chirping , Sun Coming out ,Coffee in hand and walking past the tv to let the dogs out then with high volume the xbox sound comes on sooooo coffee’s in the air , your body automatically adjusts to Kung Fu mode and the squeek from your voice to the intruder “i kill you” to realise that damn kinect is on
Admiral Chief Groot Wors
June 25, 2013 at 11:29
HAHAHA
Admiral Chief Groot Wors
June 25, 2013 at 11:32
Look, jokes aside, that looks like awesome tech if it delivers what is marketed!
Sir Rants-a-Lot Llew
June 25, 2013 at 11:34
That’s the catch really isn’t it. MS has created the framework but will devs actually utilise the features?
Happy Hamster
June 25, 2013 at 11:36
At least with the new one you dont have to stand in the neighbors lounge for it to pick you up in your lounge
Admiral Chief Groot Wors
June 25, 2013 at 11:39
I can only imagine it saying
“NOT THE FACE SIR, PLEASE”
When I whip this thing out…
Happy Hamster
June 25, 2013 at 11:42
Knowing my luck as soon as i stand in front of one its either
Hello Your Current Weight Exceeds the camera Limiter ,Please join a Gym
OR
Hello Did you fall from a tree and hit every branch on the way down
Tbone187
June 25, 2013 at 11:37
Meanwhile South Africans will place this at their front door for would be intruders…At least you’ll know how many of them there were and whether or not they were smiling while stealing your stuff…
Admiral Chief Groot Wors
June 25, 2013 at 11:40
“Intruders detected, releasing poison gas, attack gerbils, and shrapnel staplers”
Lord Chaos
June 25, 2013 at 11:41
“LEGO trap ready for deployment.”
HvR
June 25, 2013 at 12:17
“Display Lazygamer man lady ION”
Happy Hamster
June 25, 2013 at 11:48
Burglar 1 to Burglar 2 while admiring the Kinect: Tjeeeeee Tjomma Check thees kamera out ekse is big Bucks
Kinect: Errol ek gaan tjou ma se dat djy is in ander mensies se huis ne sy gat jou m**r , voetsek
English Subtitles: Errol im going to tell your mother she will beat you to a bloody pulp , buggeroff
Brady miaau
June 25, 2013 at 13:24
awesome idea.
perhaps can hack some tools in, record to disk that sort of thing.
HvR
June 25, 2013 at 11:37
Accidental limitation revealed at 5:28.
One of the photographers steps in the close enough for the sensor to pick up but it is clear that the sensor has severe limitation coupled to range, he stands still while his is skeleton model goes ape shit.
Khulani Ndlovu
June 25, 2013 at 12:06
Not bad, really improved a lot, 😉
FoxOneZA - X-Therminator
June 25, 2013 at 12:12
Impressive but how it will be implemented keeps me skeptical. PrimeSense, the company originally behind Kinect, said that it’s now possible to create micro Kinect-type cameras on a chip and have them in mobile devices.
Jim Lenoir (Banana Jim)
June 25, 2013 at 12:30
Sounds more like frightening features…. I’m not a fan of facial recognition, especially on a device that’s not localized. The fact that this thing can use your biometrics and then upload that data elsewhere is a big no no.
No thank you, Spycam!
Natty Dave
June 25, 2013 at 21:30
considering that Snowden is currently the subject of an international manhunt by the U.S. government for leaking information about how the cia and nsa has been spying on the world, hacking and monitoring phone calls, I think you’re correct to find this frightening, as should everyone else. they are selling you in home surveillance with a lot of entertainment features to make you feel at ease in front of the camera. everyone smile and look busy, big brother may be watching…and listening.
John Van Rensburg
June 25, 2013 at 13:38
“The airlock door is open, Dave”
MingFun
June 25, 2013 at 15:56
lol @ kinect 2 level of advancement.
____________________
Mirrors Edge
MrC
June 25, 2013 at 16:56
Wow …. impressive…. but , correct me if Im wrong …. its still on 24 hours a day, watching you, SPYING on you
Galbedir
June 25, 2013 at 17:41
The perfect spy device…but still, rather impressive!
Skyblue
June 26, 2013 at 09:19
“Xbox One a severe hiding over their dreadful E3 showing”
I disagree with that statement. M$ had a terrible reveal event but their E3 presentation was stronger than $onys when it came to the games. The big talking point was DRM which took all the focus off the games.
As for the Kinect 2, they’ll need some killer apps to prove it’s worth.