Friday, December 3, 2010

Cool Technology of the Week

I'm not a gamer, but I have a great appreciation for the technologies incorporated into gaming systems.   Sometimes, technologies using in gaming can have an impact on healthcare education, such as in physical simulators and virtual patient tools.

The Microsoft Kinect controller, introduced in November, is likely to be one of those technologies.

The device features an RGB camera, depth sensor and multi-array microphone  which provides full-body 3D motion capture, facial recognition and voice recognition capabilities. The depth sensor consists of an infrared laser projector combined with a monochrome sensor, and allows the Kinect sensor to see in 3D under any ambient light conditions.

What are the possibilities?   This New York Times article highlights some of the creative ways Kinect has already been used to control robotics, create immersive 3D renderings, and control movement of virtual objects.

Microsoft would be wise to offer a Software Development Kit and embrace a community of innovative developers, just as iRobot has done with its iRobot Create variant of the Roomba consumer cleaning robot.

3D motion capture, facial recognition, voice recognition and depth sensing for $150.00.   That's cool!

No comments:

Post a Comment