What's Inside Microsoft's Kinect, Anyway?

[Vladislaus]

[citation][nom]Maxor127[/nom]That's exactly what it is. An overhyped EyeToy. Until I see it play something other than dance games or other "family" games that make you flail around like an idiot, then how is it not like an EyeToy? It's going to at least need extra peripherals to play any serious games. I don't think the shovelware companies are even going to waste time on it.[/citation]
Can an eyetoy track the movements of your body in 3d? No. The eyetoy is just a webcam nothing more, nothing less.
The ps move on the other hand is a complete rip-off of the wii-mote.
Most of the games on wii are family games. Compare how many consoles nintendo has sold with microsoft and sony.

 

[Hupiscratch]

Why this tiny motor? Does it move or something like that?

 

[Pawessum16]

[citation][nom]Vladislaus[/nom]Can an eyetoy track the movements of your body in 3d? No. The eyetoy is just a webcam nothing more, nothing less.The ps move on the other hand is a complete rip-off of the wii-mote.Most of the games on wii are family games. Compare how many consoles nintendo has sold with microsoft and sony.[/citation]
Just to set it straight, Sony came up with the motion idea before the wii even came out; way back in the ps2 days. They were just not adventurous enough to implement it.
http/www.youtube.com/watch?v=JbSzmRt7HhQ&feature=related

 

[NuclearShadow]

[citation][nom]pawessum16[/nom]Just to set it straight, Sony came up with the motion idea before the wii even came out; way back in the ps2 days. They were just not adventurous enough to implement it.http/www.youtube.com/watch?v=JbS [...] re=related[/citation]

However Sony did not come up with the motion idea on the consoles like you claim.
Likely your not old enough to have experienced the power glove for the NES.
That was released back in 1989. Sure it was terrible and I mean TERRIBLE.
But to my knowledge it was the first console motion tracking device.

I think its clear that Nintendo never really dropped the possibility of implementing
the concept back into gaming but didn't want a repeat of the horrible power glove and
so they waited until hardware caught up to their then innovative idea. You would be surprised on the things that have been attempted before that are now being marketed today as new.
For example the Sega Master System even had 3D glasses. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sega_Master_System#SegaScope_3-D_Glasses

 

[Vladislaus]

[citation][nom]pawessum16[/nom]Just to set it straight, Sony came up with the motion idea before the wii even came out; way back in the ps2 days. They were just not adventurous enough to implement it.http/www.youtube.com/watch?v=JbS [...] re=related[/citation]
First that is not a motion controller. the camera only tracks the color of the wand. Since cameras lacks depth it can only track basic movements. Also the wii as been in development since 2003.

 

[Guest]

A Kionix MEMS KXSD9 accelerometer is probably used for inclination and tilt sensing, and possibly image stabilization.

 

[jasonpwns]

[citation][nom]hiruu[/nom]I think this is amazing...I remember some sony drones saying this was just an overhyped eyetoy...lol...yeah, and eyetoy with as more memory and processing power than a Wii. I love my kinect, and I would highly recommend it to anyone looking for something unique in the motion gaming space...it's not revoltuinary (not like the Ipad, wink wink), but it is very unique, and the potential is there to really deliver a experience unlike any. I've played 3 games on it, Fighters Uncaged, Dance Central, and Kineect Adventures, and Dance Central is simply a must try/have title. Even if you're not into dancing, there is something really cool about having an avatar track you so closely. Fighter's Uncaged is pretty good as well, but the tracking isn't anywhere as good as D/C. The bundle software is okay, but as it's no wii sports. Overall, I'm looking forward to what gets released over the next 6 months for Kinect.[/citation]

The wii has 88MB of memory, so how can this thing have more memory than the wii? Sorry but I also doubt it has the processing power either unless you are talking about it using the 360's power.

 

[mauller07]

i think the motor and the accelerometer are to allow the camera to orientate itself so it is level along the horizontal to allow it to track to its best, people tend to stand upright and not off at odd angles, the camera could be setup at an odd angle causing problems with tracking.

personally i still think it is a bit of a gimmick, precision pointing like on the wii remote is great for fps but i am not completely sold on the motion body tracking as just the only input method, will have to wait and see how someone adapts this from party games to something serious.

 

[ulysses35]

Where is the "wont work with dark skinned people" device ?

 

[cookoy]

those iTearIt guys have all the fun

 

[Yargnit]

I'd really like to know if/how the kinect would work if the sensor was placed somewhere besides directly above/below the tv. Such as mounted to the celing pointed down, or behind you looking toward the screen. (To give more distance from the sensor for people with limited space).

If I could put at 8 feet up it would buy me the extra 2-3 feet if room I'd need to meet the reccomeneded 6 foot minimum distance.

 

[shin0bi272]

[citation][nom]chick0n[/nom]you sir are the biggest retard of the day, if not the year.I don't even have xbox but i just have to call u that.cuz u deserves it.[/citation]

hmm funny when I call people names I get banned for 3 days... but when you call someone names defending the author I guess it's ok... hypocrites!

 

[SteelCity1981]

What MS doesn't want you to know is part of it is to gether infomation about what you look like and put it on ther data base asnd send it to the FBI to track you.

 

[letsplaytoast]

wait? there's a Montana quarter inside there? I'm gonna tear mine apart now to find it.Talk about ROI. #sarcasm

 

[bboysil]

"Accelerometer???

man that's creepy. What is this thing gonna do, grow legs and start walking around?"

It's probably to detect the inclination of the device so it can rotate the image before sending it to the xbox... or maybe the camera itself.

 

[nexus9113]

[citation][nom]blueboy01[/nom]Why would this need a 3 axi accelerometer. Dosen't it just sit above your TV watching you and stuff...[/citation]

Actually it levels itself on your TV, and will follow you somewhat to maintain as clear a picture of you as possible. Like some webcams.

 

[sidran32]

[citation][nom]blueboy01[/nom]Why would this need a 3 axi accelerometer. Dosen't it just sit above your TV watching you and stuff...[/citation]
Because at calibration, it needs to know how it's oriented (if it's level with the ground or not) to be able to get accurate spatial data. If it gets bumped or knocked over, it detects that and you need to recalibrate it, or reposition it so it's back the way it was. That's what the accelerometer is for.

 

[Guest]

First off, the kinect will calibrate when you first start a game. It'll scan down then up and adjust to the best angle to keep your whole body within it's frame (this is for taking photos and video of you or your friends playing).

Next, kinect offers video chat. You can walk around the room and it will track you as you move. This feature is likely being targeted away from the gaming community. I, for one, would not want to video chat with someone who beat me in Forza 3 multiplayer.

As for the other bits of hardware, well time will tell what is in store for this device.

 

[decepticon]

It has 512mb of ram not 64mb.

Hynix H5PS5162FF 512 megabit DDR2 SDRAM

I really want one of these after playing with it extensively this past weekend. My only issue is space...recommended 8ft for two players....I am on the cusp of 7ft of total space available in my living room. Kinect has left apartment renters out in the cold unfortunately.

 

[JPHD]

I envy those with time to actually play with cool stuff like this. I only have a PS3 and I can rarely find the time to play the games I bought because of work. Dang.... you lucky sob's

all work and no fun makes jack a dull boy