Microsoft unveils their next Xbox add-on, the IllumiRoom

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A while back, we had a look at an interesting new patent that Microsoft was working on, a piece of tech that expanded Augmented Reality into the living room. A fancy idea, it was just that, an idea. And now, Microsoft is going into the proof of concept stage as they revealed the IllumiRoom yesterday.

Using the Kinect and a projector, IllumiRoom adds extra visuals from beyond the TV screen, augmenting a gaming experience. Using a 3D depth camera, the tech projects infrared images that calculate the position of the player.

According to Microsoft via CVG, IllumiRoom can “change the appearance of the room, induce apparent motion, extend the field of view, and enable entirely new game experiences.”

And according to the video above, all those AR effects were captured in real-time, without any post-production special effects added afterwards.

Huh.

I’ll be honest, it looks real pretty. But I don’t see it being an essential piece of tech for Xbox owners, much like the Kinect itself. However, if that IllumiRoom can be more than just pictures, and actually project images towards you that you could interact with, then we’d be talking.

And I’d have a severe case of technolust again.