What is Kinect?

What is Kinect?

Kinect for Xbox 360 is described as a controller-free gaming and entertainment experience created by Microsoft for the Xbox 360 video game platform. But it may soon be supporting PCs via Windows 8. Kinect is based mainly around the usage of a webcam-style view for the Xbox 360 console. It lets the gamer control and interact with the console without touching a game controller. This is done through a natural user interface where gestures and voice commands are used. 

            Kinect was introduced on June 1, 2009 at the yearly E3 2009 convention under

the code name "Project Natal". This project was named after the Brazilian city of Natal to

serve as a tribute to the country by Microsoft director Alex Kipman. He was the one who

developed the project and who is originally from Brazil. The name Natal means "of or relating to birth." This, of course, refers to Microsoft's view of the project as "the birth of the next generation of home entertainment".

            How it works:

 The camera of Kinect does two things: generate a three-dimensional image of the objects in its peripheral view and recognizes (moving) human beings among those objects. The camera is able to transmit unseen near infrared light and measures its “time of flight” after it reflects off the objects. Unlike other software, it does a better job recognizing some gestures and postures. It can recognize human movement easier when the person is standing up rather when sitting down.

Basically, you can use arm movement to navigate through menus. You can also watch television and movies, and surf the internet. This kind of revolutionary technology does not come cheap. The camera costs $150.

To identify games that require Kinect, look for a purple sticker with a white text indicating “Requires Kinect Sensor.” There are also games that do not necessarily require Kinect but it can support it nevertheless. You can identify it by searching for a purple bar underneath the header stating “Better with Kinect Sensor.”

            With its full-body motion ability, Kinect will keep you on your toes and will change the way gaming has been for years. Straying away from the conventional joystick with the use of only the hands, future generations will not have as much of inactivity problems unlike our generation of playing and sitting down for hours. Kinect is on its way to creating a new wave of gaming for the future, surpassing even current motion-sensor games. Be sure to get your hands on this when it comes to your town!