mask.of.sanity writes “While Hollywood often fails to portray hacking, one researcher has made the art of exploitation look more like the big screen. Kinectasploit is hacking in the form of a first-person shooter that melds Microsoft’s Kinect controls with 20 hacking tools including Metasploit, Snort, Nessus, John the Ripper and Ettercap. The work in progress can be downloaded from github.”
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
By modifying a Microsoft Kinect sensor, a research project at the Computer Human Interaction (CHI) conference demonstrated how gamers in a wheelchair could interact with motion games.
Computerworld News
What the Leap Motion product (they only have one right now) does is allow you to control your computer with gestures. We’re not talking about just jumping around, but “painting” on the screen with your fingers (or even chopsticks) with fine enough control that Autodesk and other drawing-orientd software vendors are working to make applications compatible with the Leap Motion Controller. And game developers? You bet! Lots of them — and this is for a device that’s not even supposed to start shipping until May 13. But, says CEO Michael Buckwald, they already have “hundreds of thousands of pre-orders,” so it looks like they are developing a large market for developers (over 12,000 are in the Leap Motion developer program — out of 50,000 who applied) so it’s possible that Leap Motion could become a pretty big deal. (You can see the Leap Motion Controller in action at the end of the video.)
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Kinect for Windows is getting a big SDK update on March 18th to version 1.7 — Redmond’s calling it “our most significant update to the SDK since we released the first version” — which includes the long awaited 3D object scanning application Kinect Fusion. Microsoft took to Engadget’s Expand stage today to unveil the features of the SDK update, which included live demos of both Kinect Fusion and Interactions; Fusion creates live 3D models of both people and objects, while Interactions adds a whole variety of recognizable gestures to the Kinect for Windows SDK (“push-to-press buttons, grip-to-pan capabilities, and support for smart ways to accommodate multiple users and two-person interactions,” says Microsoft). Microsoft’ also adding code samples to its Kinect for Windows development site (CodePlex), making this the first such code from Microsoft available in an open-source channel. We’ll have demo videos of the new Kinect for Windows SDK features for you as soon as we can.
Follow all of Engadget’s Expand coverage live from San Francisco right here!
Filed under: Peripherals, Software, Microsoft
How to make a pool table an attention-grabber on a showroom floor full of highly explosive video games? Try a couple of Kinect cameras, some projectors and a sound system. OpenPool’s an open-source project that’s looking to bring a little multimedia action to the world of billiards. The company had some reps on the floor of SXSW’s Game Expo today, showing off the system, which, at the very least, is most probably unlikely any pool game you’ve played.
The system uses two Kinect cameras to detect ball movement, which in turn directs the motion of the projectors — not entirely unlike those floor shows in malls that seem to endlessly fascinate small children. The speakers play sound effects and music in sync with the movement as well, signaling noises when balls drop into the pockets. The company is really excited at the prospect of open-sourcing here, and told us that you should probably be able to set up your own system at home for around $ 10,000, pool table included. For those who aren’t particularly tech-savvy, the Japanese company is working on building full systems for offices and bars. Having Konami as a partner will certainly help it realize that dream. Check out a video of the table in action after the, you know, break.
Physical therapy possibilities from Microsoft’s device.
The “Kinect Effect” is rippling out even further. Michael Peck of Defense News reports that Microsoft is working with the Armed Forces to leverage Kinect technology in the service of physical therapy.
Microsoft has revealed a new Xbox 360 package, the Nike+ Kinect Training Bundle, complete with a console, Kinect sensor bar, and a copy of the Nike+ Kinect Training game. The set – which also includes a month’s Xbox LIVE Gold membership, to whet your appetite – is priced at $ 249.99 after a $ 50 discount holiday
Microsoft has kept its internally-developed Kinect Fusion tool all to itself, but now the firm has announced hot off the heels of Build 2012 that it’s working on baking the software into the Kinect for Windows SDK. Concocted by Ballmer and Co.’s Cambridge, UK research lab, the tool can be leveraged to create 3D models of objects or environments, develop augmented reality applications and even take 3D measurements. By the looks of it, creating a model with the tool is a pretty painless process. When passing an object in front of a Kinect or sweeping the hardware throughout an area, the software will use the continuous stream of data collected by the device’s sensors and compile it into a 3D model. Intrigued by Kinect Fusion? Hit the jump to catch a video presentation made for SIGGRAPH 2011 by the team behind the software.
Filed under: Software, Microsoft
Kinect Fusion tool coming to Kinect for Windows SDK, will help devs create 3D models originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 06 Nov 2012 01:10:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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The company says that the update includes more powerful sensor data tools and more flexibility for deployment. [Read more]
CNET News
Microsoft has rolled out a notable update to its Kinect for Windows SDK today, while also announcing the availability of the Kinect for Windows sensor in China. The new version of the SDK introduces a number of improvements which allow developers greater access to sensor data, plus it adds support for Windows 8, and offers improvement to the Kinect Studio developer tools.
Keyboards are impossible to use for Chad Ruble’s mother. So he used a Kinect and some open-source code to devise a system that lets her wave her hand to select emoticons and function buttons.
[Read more]
CNET News
Here’s a heartwarming story for a Hackathon Saturday: Chad Ruble’s mother suffers from aphasia due to a stroke. She hasn’t been able to use a keyboard for years because she is simply unable to recognize text. In order to help her, he built a Kinect-enabled interface that lets her move her hand around a series of simple icons – happy, sad, upset, etc. – and other icons that signify degree.
After swiping around the screen a bit, she was finally able to send an email using a few simple hand motions. She was overjoyed.
TechCrunch
Xbox 360 owners still on the fence about getting a Kinect might take more interest in the motion-sensing device as Microsoft slashed its price today.
[Read more]
CNET News
New submitter rabok writes “If a Microsoft job posting can be believed, we are set to get a new Xbox on store shelves by March 2014 at the latest. Regardless of when it does eventually arrive, it seems an image claiming to be the output of a Kinect 2 has hit the web by a user on twitter. Kinect 2 is expected to be much more accurate — even able to see individual fingers, read lips, and gauge moods. This image seems to back up that improvement in both depth perception and the ability to distinguish individual fingers.”
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Microsoft has never been shy about its ambitions for Kinect’s depth sensing abilities. A pair of patent applications, however, show that its hopes and dreams are taking a more Hollywood turn. One patent has the depth camera going portable: a “mobile environment sensor” determines its trajectory through a room and generates a depth map as it goes, whether it’s using a Kinect-style infrared sensor or stereoscopic cameras. If the visual mapping isn’t enough, the would-be camera relies on a motion sensor like an accelerometer to better judge its position as it’s jostled around. Microsoft doesn’t want to suggest what kind of device (if any) might use the patent for its camera, but it’s not ruling out anything from smartphones through to traditional PCs.
The second patent filing uses the Kinect already in the house for that directorial debut you’ve always been putting off. Hand gestures control the movie editing, but the depth camera both generates a model of the environment and creates 3D props out of real objects. Motion capture, naturally, lets the humans in the scene pursue their own short-lived acting careers. We haven’t seen any immediate signs that Microsoft is planning to use this or the mobile sensor patent filing in the real world, although both are closer to reality than some of the flights of fancy that pass by the USPTO — the movie editor has all the hallmarks of a potential Dashboard update or Kinect Fun Labs project.
Filed under: Digital Cameras, Gaming
Microsoft patent applications take Kinect into mobile cameras, movie-making originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 02 Aug 2012 18:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Three new Kinect titles for the Xbox 360 have been given pricing and dates today: Kinect Sesame Street TV, Kinect Nat Geo TV, and Nike+ Kinect Training. The first two titles are designed to be two-way interactive learnings experiences, allowing children to “ jump inside” their favorite television programs. Both titles can be expanded as
Game development genius Cliff Bleszinski, known colloquially as “Cliffy B,” has spoken out about his feelings on Microsoft’s motion-sensing peripheral. In a recent interview, he said, “There are not a lot of things that wound up in there. There’s one thing actually that you just reminded me of though, is that we are not supporting
Verizon offers faster FiOS connection speeds, Draw Something could become a game show, and a leaked document shows Microsoft’s concepts for the Xbox 720.
[Read more]
CNET News
A supposedly leaked Microsoft document offers up details on the Xbox 720, the next version of Kinect, and an intriguing Google glasses-like effort called Project Fortaleza.
[Read more]
CNET News
The current gen Xbox may be a year past its halfway point but a purported “leaked” document dating back to August 2010 from a Microsoft presentation details the next gen Xbox 720 in great detail.
Features for the next Xbox, according to the document, will include native Blu-ray playback, full support for HD and 3-D, and beefed up hardware (graphics and processor) under the hood. Other bits and pieces from the doc include PVR functionality, a low power mode setting during media playback and what amounts to an always-on mode. Gates did say years ago that the Xbox would eventually become the nerve center for any living room.
But there’s more.
TechCrunch
E3 just wrapped up last week, and as expected Microsoft provided absolutely no details about the next version of its Xbox product line. However, there are some new supposedly leaked details that shed insight to what the company is working on behind-the-scenes. Based on what has been presented as a confidential series of concept art,
Serving ads based on your emotions. It’s creepy. Or brilliant?
The good people of GeekWire spotted a patent application from Microsoft that envisions using Kinect to figure out your mood, and target ads at you accordingly. The application, filed back when Kinect was rather new (in December of 2010) was made public this week. (It’s not the first Microsoft patent application expressing an interest in tracking users’ moods.)
“It’s just as good as getting a personal instructor,” says basketball coach Julio Agosto, speaking on the Xbox Kinect’s new dribbling game, NBA Baller Beats. Agosto, an Emerald City Academy Basketball coach and father to b-ball Internet phenom, Jashaun Agosto, tells TechCrunch that Kinect’s digital eye is able to recognize and reward enough advanced dribbling skills that the new NBA game could replace human instruction at his basketball camp (at least the dribbling portion). This latest Microsoft development brings one more job closer to the chopping block of skills that can be done cheaper and more conveniently by a computer: sports and fitness coaches.
Baller Beats plays a lot like Rock Band but with a basketball; gamers are rewarded for dribbling to a (rockin’) beat, with the familiar vertical scroll of colorful, raised buttons indicating when users should bounce the ball, and in what direction around the body.
TechCrunch
MojoKid writes “E3 is well underway in Los Angeles, and Microsoft has already made a major splash with its ‘SmartGlass’ technology, game demos, and its announcement that a Kinect-powered version of Internet Explorer will debut on the Xbox 360. This is a marked change from last year, when Kinect was the unquestioned centerpiece of Microsoft’s display and the company’s demos focused on how Kinect-powered games used your full body as a controller. Kinect is in the interesting position of having sold extremely well while failing to move the bar forward in any of the ways Microsoft projected in the run up to its launch. Scroll through the ratings on Kinect-required titles, and the percentages are abysmal. Kinect’s biggest problem is rooted in ergonomics. Gamepads with buttons may be crude approximations of real life, but they’re simple and intuitive. They’re also flexible — a great many games have conditional scenarios that allow the same button to perform different functions depending on what’s going on within the game. Pure Kinect games don’t have a simple mechanism to incorporate these features, and there’s no easy way around them. The motion-controller’s most enduring features may ultimately be its capabilities outside the gaming sphere.”
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
MrSeb writes “It seems Minority Report-style computer interfaces might arrive a whole lot sooner than we expected: A new USB device, called The Leap, creates an 8-cubic-feet bubble of ‘interaction space,’ which detects your hand gestures down to an accuracy of 0.01 millimeters — about 200 times more accurate than ‘existing touch-free products and technologies,’ such as your smartphone’s touchscreen or Microsoft Kinect. Unfortunately Leap Motion (the company behind the Leap) is being very tight-lipped about the technology being used, but it’s probably some kind of infrared LIDAR (radar, but using light), or perhaps a high-resolution version of Kinect (which only uses a 640×480 camera). It’s available to pre-order for $ 70 — and developers can register for a free device + SDK.”
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Last summer, try as we might, we couldn’t get too much out of Microsoft’s creative director for Kinect Games, Kudo Tsunoda, about what’s next from the interactive peripheral. More recently, in an interview with Venture Beat, Tsunoda was a little more verbose about what he thinks the next big thing in Kinect is — and it isn’t a Kinect 2. The good news is, he believes that no new hardware will be required, and the innovations will likely come from developers, as they better understand and utilize the capabilities. A combination of voice, tone and facial recognition along with motion detection will likely be the tools that push the experience into the next era — such as allowing users to participate in a game’s story like an actor. Hit the source if you want to read the full interview, but you can be sure we’ll be at E3 again this year to beat him, and others, with the question stick once more.
Kudo Tsunoda: ‘Waiting for the next big thing isn’t about waiting for the Kinect 2′ originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 20 May 2012 10:54:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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And if so, is there anything it can’t do?
At the University of Minnesota’s Institute of Child Development in Minneapolis, Microsoft’s Kinect is being put to a novel use: detecting autism. New Scientist reports that researchers have equipped a nursery with five Kinect cameras, which, together with computer vision algorithms that can detect unusual behavior, may be able to speed the diagnosis of autism.
Microsoft has announced a new Xbox 360 Celebration Pack to celebrate all things British. Microsoft stopped short of saying the special-edition Xbox wearing the Union Jack has anything to do with the Olympics, but we all know the big thing this year is a London Summer Olympics. Officially, it is called the Xbox 360 Special
Bethesda Studios today announced that the Xbox 360 version of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim will be receiving an update enabling Kinect support. The update will be available for free later this month. Bethesda say that they’ve added 200 voice commands into the game, including support for dragon shouts. Instead of scrolling through an endless
In a new interview with MCV, head of Kinect development Kudo Tsunoda has said that a future version of the motion-tracking unit may be able to detect the tone of your voice, as well as body language. Tsunoda says the Kinect team is “really interested right now is creating experiences that help you develop real
Bloomingdale’s, Kinect for Windows, and Bodymetrics team up for body scans that will connect you with the best jeans for your individual shape.
[Read more]
CNET News
Yeah, streaming Skyrim on a Tegra 3-powered Ice Cream Sandwich tablet is nice and all, but what about folks who want a more immersive experience with their beloved time sink? One tech-savvy gamer took matters into his own hands — conjuring a bit of electronics alchemy by throwing together Sony’s HMZ-T1 head-mounted display with a Kinect sensor, a TrackIR5 for head tracking and voice recognition software. The result is an experience that allows any wannabe adventurer to press onward into Tamriel’s frozen north by marching in place while imbibing in a true, head-mounted first-person perspective. Admittedly, stomping around and flailing one’s arms may lack the elegance and playability of The Gadget Show’s $ 650,000 Battlefield 3 simulator, but at $ 1500, it’s a homegrown virtual reality experience that’s actually within reach. Now go forth and explore the video after the break.
Continue reading Kinect makes pact with head-mounted display, virtual reality Skyrim ensues
Kinect makes pact with head-mounted display, virtual reality Skyrim ensues originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 17 Mar 2012 14:20:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Continue reading Microsoft releases Robotics Developer Studio 4, bring your own Kinect
Microsoft releases Robotics Developer Studio 4, bring your own Kinect originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 10 Mar 2012 12:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Engadget
Is that a Kinect on your shoulder, or are you just pleased to see me? Microsoft Research has indulged in a little motion-tracking experimentation and come up with the Wearable Multitouch Projector, the 21st-century equivalent of a pirate’s useful parrot. A combination of a Kinect sensor bar and a portable projector, the wearable PC can
Like the Nintendo Wii before it, Microsoft’s Kinect has been braving the storm of new peripheral adolescence, awkwardly shuffling users through jump, wave, lean and jiggling gameplay, typically at a leisurely pace. Sure it’s had its moments on the dance floor, but aside from being a good listener, the spatially aware sensor hasn’t exactly redefined core gaming. Almost a year and half after its launch, however, the often hacked device is taking another crack at reaching the hardcore. We dropped in on Xbox’s spring showcase this weekend to find out how that effort is going — see what we found after the break.
Continue reading The best Kinect to come: Microsoft’s Xbox 360 spring showcase
The best Kinect to come: Microsoft’s Xbox 360 spring showcase originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 05 Mar 2012 09:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Tower defense games have been done in damn near every way possible: on consoles, mobile apps, and online flash-based games. However, there’s a new Kickstarter project, called Doodle Defense, that’s putting a new spin on that simple gaming idea using some open source algorithms, a whiteboard, computer, Kinect and a projector. The game works by projecting the battlefield and bad guys on the whiteboard, while users can draw in obstacles using a black marker and towers of varied attack abilities in red, green, and blue. Kinect tracks where your drawings are onscreen, and reroutes the invaders accordingly, while also keeping track of how much ink you have left to use. Check out the video after the break to see the game in action, and if you want to pitch in to the inventor port Doodle Defense to the iPad, hit the source link below.
Doodle Defense game uses Kinect to turn white boards into displays, dry-erase markers into weapons originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 16 Feb 2012 23:06:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Kinect hacks previously brought gesture and voice control to Boxee and XBMC, and now that the Kinect for Windows hardware has been released we’ve got a solution for Windows Media Center. The aptly named Kinect for Media Center brings all the normal playback controls (for WMC and add-ins like Netflix) to your fingertips and lips, at the cost of $ 6.99. While its control scheme seems to be fully featured there are unfortunately some limitations — it doesn’t work with the Xbox 360 Kinect due to Microsoft’s restrictions, and it also doesn’t work with WMC extenders. What is included are filters to keep your content from accidentally triggering the voice controls (something some of us have had problems with on the Xbox 360), and configurable settings for right or left hand dominance or sensitivity. You can check out a video demo of the beta version (compare to a demo we saw last year from the makers of the Amulet voice control remotes) embedded after the break, or head directly to the site to try it out yourself if you’re sure that finding the remote has simply become to much of a hassle.
Continue reading Kinect for Media Center released, why not wave and shout at your HTPC?
Kinect for Media Center released, why not wave and shout at your HTPC? originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 15 Feb 2012 01:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink The Digital Lifestyle | Kinect for Media Center, The Media Center Project (Facebook) | Email this | Comments
Engadget
New submitter albinobee writes “The Kinect for Xbox 360 isn’t only about gaming; it can also be used to help compensate for impaired vision, as a team of Indian engineers is working to prove. A device called viSparsh, still in its nascent stage, is a motion sensing belt that can help alert the blind to obstacles that lie in their path.”
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
As I’ve said numerous times on these pages before, I’m deeply concerned by motion gaming. I think it’s holding the gaming business back and helps to make the space seem “gimmicky” — something I thought we were trying to move away from. My issues with motion gaming have prompted me to turn my back on [...]
SlashGear
Today is the day fine folks — Kinect for Windows is here. The official, and commercial, version 1.0 of the SDK just hit the interwebs for a price of $ 250, or $ 150 for qualified educational customers. The tool has picked up a number of new features since the last beta, including support for up to four Kinects being used simultaneously and near mode for monitoring motion from just 40cm away. For more info and a complete list of improvements hit up the source link.
Microsoft Kinect for Windows version 1.0 available today originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 01 Feb 2012 10:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Kinect belongs to the world; the world belongs to Kinect.
The Daily’s Matt Hickey continues to mine what seems like a loose-lipped source at Microsoft, reporting that Kinect tech may be coming to laptops. (Hickey had previously reported on efforts to bring the Kinect motion sensor to televisions and to set-top boxes.)
An anonymous reader writes to point out reports that Asus is “working on a new laptop that will include Kinect gestures and will be compatible with Windows 8,” and adds, “What does this mean for the consumer? Portable gestures in Windows 8!” Wired has an article based on the same report, which mentions also the prospect of devices incorporating alternative gesture-tracking software from SoftKinectic and others.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
The Windows release of Kinect is coming up in a couple days, but for most people that won’t be a major event: the Kinect they have is sitting on their TV or in a drawer, waiting to be taken out for an impromptu Dance Central 2 party. Of the 10 million Kinects out there, the only ones connected to computers are the ones being fiddled with by the various hackers and students making science projects out the things.
But according to the Daily, Microsoft is hoping to remedy this particular situation by building Kinect sensors right into your laptops. TechCrunch alum Matt Hickey got to handle a pair of prototypes, which were confirmed to be official, not just one of the many experiments that hide within Microsoft’s various lairs.
TechCrunch
All those long, long drives to Florida in the family station wagon seemed worth it at the time, but now that we’ve found out that those lucky South Koreans have another crazy theme-park, we might just change our minds. Located near Seoul, Live Park uses 3D video, holograms and augmented reality, interacting with RFID wrist bands and Kinect sensors to stitch together a continuous immersive story. You (and your avatar!) have 65 attractions, over seven themed zones, and the world’s biggest interactive 360 degree stereoscopic theater to wave, jump and shout your way through. Two years and $ 13 million in the making, Live Park’s creator d’strict is now looking to license the concept out internationally, with locations in China and Singapore already earmarked. We’re not sure we could handle that long of a family drive just yet, but with a Hollywood entertainment “powerhouse” reportedly nibbling, maybe we won’t have to.
South Korea’s Live Park uses RFID and Kinect to bring your Holodeck fantasies one step nearer originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 27 Jan 2012 01:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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clinko writes “Microsoft has announced that the new Kinect for Windows hardware and accompanying software will be available on February 1st, 2012 in 12 countries, at a suggested retail price of US $ 249 ($ 149 for edu). Microsoft has chosen a hardware-only business model for Kinect for Windows; they will not be charging for the SDK or the runtime. These will be available free to developers and end-users respectively.”
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Microsoft's motion-sensing Kinect technology will be available for Windows PCs in a few weeks and is destined for a lot more than just gaming, CEO Steve Ballmer said at the Consumer Electronic Show in Las Vegas Monday.
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