The PC may be finally liberated from the mouse and the keyboard.
On Thursday, Microsoft began recruiting developers to build software that will bring motion and voice control to computers that run Windows 7. "The challenge and opportunity really is letting your imagination become free of constraints of the past," said Anoop Gupta, a distinguished scientist at Microsoft Research in Redmond. Until now, he said, "We've thought how do we interact with the keyboard and mouse? Now you can step away."
The company released a software kit for developers to write programs that connect the Kinect motion sensor to a PC. Microsoft hopes this will bring Kinect, built initially for the Xbox 360 video-game system, to hundreds of millions of people who use PCs. With the Kinect for Xbox, people can play video games by moving their bodies, without using a handheld controller. Microsoft has sold more than 10 million units of the $150 Kinect since it was introduced in November. The company claims it is the fastest-selling device in consumer-electronics history.
Microsoft has been touting the Kinect's central feature — a natural user interface — as the next evolutionary step in computing. A natural user interface uses voice and motions to control computers, most of which are now tethered to the mouse and keyboard. Tablets and smartphones pushed it a step further over the past few years by introducing touchscreens that can be controlled with finger pokes and swipes. Even before Microsoft introduced the developers kit, hobbyists have already been experimenting with the Kinect for purposes that have nothing to do with Xbox video games, such as controlling surgical robots.
At its MIX conference in Las Vegas in April, Microsoft said that the motion-sensor technology would be coming to computers that run Windows 7. At that announcement, Microsoft showed several demonstrations on stage, including navigating 3-D maps of the universe from the Worldwide Telescope with hand movements, using a walking navigation service that helps people with impaired sight, and steering a motorized recliner on wheels with gestures. The company plans to release a commercial version of the development kit later, but did not give a date for when it would be available. (The noncommercial version is for experimentation and the commercial version will be targeted at companies that want to sell products that work with Kinect.)
On Wednesday, Microsoft invited 35 developers from around the country to Redmond for Code Camp, a hackathon in which participants spent 24 hours building a new application on Kinect. One group made an application to fly a drone helicopter with voice and motion. Another group built a video conferencing app so the Kinect camera would sense in a meeting who was talking and automatically zoom the camera in on the speaker. Another Code Camp application was the Kinductor, a program to teach someone how to conduct a virtual orchestra. By standing in front of the Kinect, a student conductor could learn how to move one arm to control tempo, the other to control dynamics, and even target on screen a specific section of an orchestra, such as the violins. The music responded accordingly to the conductor's motions. "This will open up development that people have never seen before," said Jeff Garra, a developer from Zaaz in Seattle who helped develop Kinductor in 20 hours this week. "It's not just limited to the PC. You can use it for security, to help with physical therapy and to teach people, for example
News Source - http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2015343377_microsoftkinect17.html
On Thursday, Microsoft began recruiting developers to build software that will bring motion and voice control to computers that run Windows 7. "The challenge and opportunity really is letting your imagination become free of constraints of the past," said Anoop Gupta, a distinguished scientist at Microsoft Research in Redmond. Until now, he said, "We've thought how do we interact with the keyboard and mouse? Now you can step away."
The company released a software kit for developers to write programs that connect the Kinect motion sensor to a PC. Microsoft hopes this will bring Kinect, built initially for the Xbox 360 video-game system, to hundreds of millions of people who use PCs. With the Kinect for Xbox, people can play video games by moving their bodies, without using a handheld controller. Microsoft has sold more than 10 million units of the $150 Kinect since it was introduced in November. The company claims it is the fastest-selling device in consumer-electronics history.
Microsoft has been touting the Kinect's central feature — a natural user interface — as the next evolutionary step in computing. A natural user interface uses voice and motions to control computers, most of which are now tethered to the mouse and keyboard. Tablets and smartphones pushed it a step further over the past few years by introducing touchscreens that can be controlled with finger pokes and swipes. Even before Microsoft introduced the developers kit, hobbyists have already been experimenting with the Kinect for purposes that have nothing to do with Xbox video games, such as controlling surgical robots.
At its MIX conference in Las Vegas in April, Microsoft said that the motion-sensor technology would be coming to computers that run Windows 7. At that announcement, Microsoft showed several demonstrations on stage, including navigating 3-D maps of the universe from the Worldwide Telescope with hand movements, using a walking navigation service that helps people with impaired sight, and steering a motorized recliner on wheels with gestures. The company plans to release a commercial version of the development kit later, but did not give a date for when it would be available. (The noncommercial version is for experimentation and the commercial version will be targeted at companies that want to sell products that work with Kinect.)
On Wednesday, Microsoft invited 35 developers from around the country to Redmond for Code Camp, a hackathon in which participants spent 24 hours building a new application on Kinect. One group made an application to fly a drone helicopter with voice and motion. Another group built a video conferencing app so the Kinect camera would sense in a meeting who was talking and automatically zoom the camera in on the speaker. Another Code Camp application was the Kinductor, a program to teach someone how to conduct a virtual orchestra. By standing in front of the Kinect, a student conductor could learn how to move one arm to control tempo, the other to control dynamics, and even target on screen a specific section of an orchestra, such as the violins. The music responded accordingly to the conductor's motions. "This will open up development that people have never seen before," said Jeff Garra, a developer from Zaaz in Seattle who helped develop Kinductor in 20 hours this week. "It's not just limited to the PC. You can use it for security, to help with physical therapy and to teach people, for example
News Source - http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2015343377_microsoftkinect17.html
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