Next-Gen Kinect Will Read Lips, Says Sources
Kinect 2 will be so accurate, it will read your lips and determine if you're angry.
The next version of Kinect will reportedly be so accurate, that it will be able to read lips. At least, that's what "sources" have told Eurogamer.
According to the report, Microsoft's Kinect 2 will offer improved motion sensing and voice recognition over the current model including the ability to determine which direction they are facing. It will track the pitch and volume of player voices, and even track facial characteristics to measure different emotional states, including anger. Data will likely be sent via a charge-coupled device to avoid the bottleneck caused by using a USB controller interface and multiple USB-based devices.
"It can be cabled straight through on any number of technologies that just take phenomenally high res data straight to the main processor and straight to the main RAM and ask, what do you want to do with it?" an unnamed source told Eurogamer.
The news follows previous reports that Microsoft may launch two models of its next-generation Xbox console in 2013: a cheap "set-top box" version acting as a Kinect-themed gaming portal, and a fully-featured machine packed with an optical drive, a hard drive and backwards compatibility for a higher price point. Kinect 2 will reportedly come bundled with all future Xbox consoles.
Last week also brought reports that Microsoft is currently working on a new version of Kinect for Windows PC. Yet there's a slight possibility that it's the same Kinect 2 device reported by Eurogamer, as the motion-sensing device described in Microsoft's blog will feature firmware allowing the depth camera to see objects as close as 50 centimeters in front of the device without losing accuracy or precision.
"We have optimized certain hardware components and made firmware adjustments which better enable PC-centric scenarios," said Kinect for Windows general manager Craig Eiser. "Coupled with the numerous upgrades and improvements our team is making to the Software Development Kit (SDK) and runtime, the new hardware delivers features and functionality that Windows developers and Microsoft customers have been asking for."
Looking back, the team stated that "there will be new Kinect hardware especially for Windows," and that it will build on "the existing Kinect for Xbox 360 device." Given that the next Xbox console will be based on Windows 8, and that the next Kinect device will likely launch around the time Windows 8 arrives on the market, there's a good chance this device and Kinect 2 are one and the same.
Microsoft is expected to reveal the next Xbox console during 2012.
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no need to read the rest of the article
Interesting, but so far Kinect 1 hasnt exactly set the world on fire. Something to keep an eye on, I suppose.
If it can capture at 720p at 60 FPS, then it'll be amazing
Interesting, but so far Kinect 1 hasnt exactly set the world on fire. Something to keep an eye on, I suppose.
Well.. It has helped a lot, like with that 3D Hologram article posted earlier this month/late last month, used for walking robots.. help the blind etc..
Honestly Kinect was a very good idea, it has applications many people don't really see. If they come out with a higher-resolution model as Alikum was hoping then it would be pretty damn good for a lot more things.
Kinect pretty much captures the data needed to recreate everything it can see as a real-time 3D model.
Now a new application if they do release a higher-res version would be a cheap 3D scanner!
I see myself getting thumbed down for some odd reason.
Forgot to add, a cool use for kinect:
youtube.com/watch?v=JHL5tJ9ja_w
I'll be happy if Kinect were to work better for wheelchair users, like myself. I've heard it doesn't do such a good job of that. From what I understand, the current line of games require foot movement, which is obviously impossible in my case.
Give it time, I imagine those that have to do physical therapy will benefit from the Kinect. Think about it. If you have a limited range of motion in areas and you're going through exercises to increase that, using the Kinect for these exercises might be able to store data collected from home as to progression/digression for a doctor's use. Or maybe use a Kinect to record sleeping patterns. I'm sure the possibilities are endless.
What? That's not what a CCD does...
First, make good games for the kinect I already own. Then I will be interested in kinect 2.
i dont care if it can read lips, CAN IT SEE FURTHER NOW? or do i stil need to stand 2 meters away from it? if it can sense further(5-10Meter) then it is truly worth it. other then that....its not even a minor improvement for me.
it will also do a retina scan, and upload your bitometrics to a CIA database.
The next version of Kinect will reportedly be so accurate
The next version of Kinect will reportedly be so accurate
it will know your thoughts and prevent you from posting the remainder of your comment!
First, make good games for the kinect I already own. Then I will be interested in kinect 2.
Please note the article is noting the usage of Kinect 2 for the PC, not for the Xbox
Great, so the consumer is forced to buy a accessory with the actual product that will no doubt force the prices notably higher. There is still a giant portion of console gamers that are not interested in motion controls at this time and this is simply giving the consumer a reason not to buy the product.
@Parrish: Please clarify this:
AFAIK, a CCD is the device used inside a digital photo or camera to convert an image into a bitstream. I've never heard of it being used for information transmission between devices, and the implication of it being used for that purpose is that you would need line-of-sight between the Kinect 2 and the XBOX 720 / Windows 8 PC. So please explain what you meant by that, or how that communication is expected to work.
@NuclearShadow
I can remember when the mouse first started to appear on PCs. While on the Mac it was a necessary tool, for most PC software it was a semi-useful afterthought, at best. Why use a mouse when shortcut keys, function keys and alt-activated menus could do everything you needed to do anyway? Why even take the time to move your hands away from the keyboard? Today, a significant portion of software is unusable without a mouse or other suitable device.
The Kinect - or more accurately, a computer-user interface that monitors finger, hand and body movements - represents a paradigm shift for human interface devices. Implemented with sufficient hardware, and with the right software, it can replace a keyboard, a mouse, a joystick, a steering wheel, a living room remote control, a "wii-mote" and a touch pad, all at the same time. I like the idea of not having any more AA- and AAA-consuming handheld IR remotes floating around the living room, and performing those tasks with a Kinect-like device instead. I like the idea of being able to interact with my HTPC by typing on a 3D-projected keyboard that isn't actually there, allowing me to surf, search, edit, and communicate without needing a physical keyboard or cumbersome on-screen point-and-click keyboards. I like the idea of not needing a physical mouse, touch pad, touch screen or other pointing device, while still being able to accurately point, click, drag, swish, and swipe (Crapple bogus patents notwithstanding).
There will still be uses for existing HIDs. If you type for a living, a touch pad-based keyboard device such is an iPad is a miserable user interface on which to work. If you are playing a RTS or FPS game, a keyboard and touchpad might be usable, but perhaps are not efficient enough to compete. There will always be a purpose for specialized hardware including the above-mentioned HIDs and numerous others. But the fact that a non-physical device can be used to replace them with fair performance, and also support a host of new user interface is extremely exciting.
Great, so the consumer is forced to buy a accessory with the actual product that will no doubt force the prices notably higher. There is still a giant portion of console gamers that are not interested in motion controls at this time and this is simply giving the consumer a reason not to buy the product.
my understanding is the kinect device is good for more than just motion controlled games. I've been told it improves surround sound and is used to control your dashboard, your live account, access pictures and songs on your xbox hard drive, and play movies.
Reading lips! That's a good joke. Even expert lip readers can only do so under optimal conditions, and even they make mistakes.
This should be fun to see.
The killer-app will be when the SDK lands full speed and someone gets a sign-language reader for it, so deaf people can convert sign-to-text, even good for creating subtitles as sign could be faster than typing
no need to read the rest of the article
No shit. lol. This alone has convinced me to build a new box to be ready for Windows 8 and Kinect2. Now I need 3 sweet monitors. Minority report anyone?
Reese witherspoon won't be able to use it.
come on people!
not a single HAL-9000 joke in all these comments?
Reading lips! That's a good joke. Even expert lip readers can only do so under optimal conditions, and even they make mistakes. This should be fun to see.
Everyone reads lips to a certain degree in normal face to face conversation. I expect the kinect lip reading aspect is just to supplement the voice recognition and make voice recognition a little more accurate.
mostly all it will be reading from lips is "oh damn my xbox just red ringed again"