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Microsoft reveals staggering hand tracking tech utilizing Kinect 2

Microsoft are a company that spend ridiculous amounts on R&D. Microsoft Research are tasked with finding solutions to complex problems, and whether or not those solutions can be commercialised.

Digitizing hand gestures has been a holy grail of the tech industry ever since the futuristic interfacing tech was theorised in movies like Minority Report and The Matrix, but none have really hit that level of reliability such a system would need in order to replace the precision of touch, and furthermore the classic mouse.

Microsoft Research recently showed off their new Handpose algorithm, which enables gesture tracking fidelity far beyond anything I've seen so far.

4238d ago Replies(4)
kassler4238d ago

The story of Kinect. Amazing tech that cannot be implemented into gaming, in a successful way.

Foehammer4238d ago

D4 says "Hello"...78 on meteoritic

Dance Central also says "Hello"

Remy_Chaos4237d ago

Didn't know those two games were self aware and could speak...

calis4237d ago

"D4 says "Hello"...78 on meteoritic

Dance Central also says "Hello"

Lol wow...you sure put people in their spots with those two high quality games.

EZMickey4237d ago

That's a good point. Never played D4, but Dance Central is a huge seller. I also think The Gunstringer is quite underrated.

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Kivespussi4237d ago

It can be implemented, the problem is it isn't. You could do a lot with Kinect but the devs are afraid to try new things.

boing14237d ago

Because new things rarely sell well.

mcstorm4237d ago

Kivespussi your spot on. Kinect had some good and very well working games. Kinect sports, joyride, Kinectimals, dance central, just dance, forza horizon/forza 4, Fable, FIFA and Steel battalion (but you did have to have the right setup for it to work)

With Kinect 2 we have seen some improvements in games like horizon 2, forza 5, Kinect sport rivals dance central D4, FIFA and NHL.

The biggest issue with Kinect is as you say the developers adding it to there games and with a lot of games being multi platform they just get tagged on where the exclusives is where they tend to stand out as the game is made with Kinect in mind.

For me the best part about the new Kinect is the voice commands it has really changed the way I use my TV/media system but as for gaming its only as good as the developers make it.

There is no doubt though that Kinect as a peace of technology is capable of doing some amazing things.

rainslacker4236d ago

It's actually kind of hard to pull off complicated game play mechanics with motion control. Mostly because it requires too much physical activity on the users part, not for the inability of the motion controllers to be able to handle it.

Motion controls in general aren't inherently bad, but even motion intensive games tend to have short duration where you are actually playing. Anything more and the player just stops playing due to fatigue.

This is more why there isn't a ton of innovation in the MC market, and most controls are spent on simple gestures hopefully spaced out enough to keep the player from getting tired.

Outthink_The_Room4237d ago (Edited 4237d ago )

It's even more sad if you think about it this way.

If this tech video is really as accurate as it appears to be, developers of almost any size could actually use a multiple setup of Kinects for Motion Capture...

....in a game that won't actually use Kinect.

poppinslops4237d ago

You can already do motion-capture with a single Kinect...
Project Spark lets you create animations for your characters (as well as dialogue and sound-effects).

Outthink_The_Room4237d ago

@poppin

Yes, but not to the extent which was shown. Basic animations are done, including moving your mouth with some facial reactions, which is cool.

Though, this demonstrates a significantly higher capture for the hands than Project Spark.

Markerless MoCap is very much on the rise in terms of smaller studios. If this hand tracking accuracy could be applied to full body and facial capture, it's a different story and I'd be inclined to agree.

But as of now, I don't see this working outside the realm of offline workflows.

Bigpappy4237d ago

What is even more amazing, is the ability of people on this site and the internet in general, to accurately predict wow and where these features will be used even before M$.

There is definitely a problem with people not willing to wait for accurate information. They prefer to fill in the blanks and submit their predictions as facts.

2cents4237d ago

How very true.

And then suspect gaming sites run rumour based articles on it that then gets the whole internet in a tizzy which then just explodes into an all out fanboy war in the comments section.

By the time MS then come out with an official statement, everyone somehow seems to think that all the rumours were actually released by MS and now they are just liars. lol.

On topic: the tracking does look impressive, as well as the speed. Could be good for navigating the dashboard, minority report style :)

Pleeeease MS, incorporate this into the xbox one user interface!

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4238d ago Replies(2)
TheNew14237d ago (Edited 4237d ago )

Wait, is this like a future update for the current kinect?

poppinslops4237d ago

Potentially...

The software was running on a PC and will likely be integrated into Windows 10...
I'd imagine Kinect will eventually be updated in the same way the Xbox is with DX12.

Fishy Fingers4237d ago (Edited 4237d ago )

The aviators are essential.

Show all comments (42)
30°

Top Racers Need Top Gear – Introducing the Forza Horizon 6 Limited Edition Controller and Headset

Omar writes: "With the Horizon Festival coming to breathtaking Japan, you’ll need the essential gear to prove you’ve got what it takes to become a Horizon Legend as you cruise, drift and explore an open world full of spectacular driving experiences. That’s why we’re happy to announce the newest Limited Edition Xbox Wireless Controller and Wireless Headset collection, featuring inspired designs from Forza Horizon 6. The bright cyan and lime colorways celebrate the Horizon Festival’s recognition of iconic cars and hit music, with special features that are sure to impress any collector."

Read Full Story >>
news.xbox.com
Killer2020UK21d ago

Oh my, that is one gaudy design

40°

EasySMX D05 review

You can get Hall effect controllers slightly cheaper, but you'd struggle to find as feature-rich a package without some heavy, heavy sales.

70°

"It's Just So Lame" - RTGI Modder Thinks DLSS 5 Is Impressive But Shares AI Slop Sentiment

Pascal Gilcher calls DLSS 5 impressive but shares the "AI slop" sentiment, explaining the likely tech behind it and why he dislikes it.

Read Full Story >>
wccftech.com
CrimsonWing6948d ago

I fail to see how this is AI shhhhlllloooop. Looking at the different games they showed, this has made many of them look far better.

isarai_lee47d ago (Edited 47d ago )

It's AI slop because it ignores the artists intent and changes the details ESPECIALLY when it comes to character faces. The scariest part of it is introducing it as the next stage of DLSS, a feature where the current iteration already has controversy surrounding it and for quite a lot of games cannot be fully disabled. So reasonably the precident is already set for what path this could take, and it's not good

blacktiger47d ago

In case you didn't watch the video then let me point just one part. It overrides the lighting. Then the question of what is the point of ray tracing cost and so on. Many of the lighting deletes shadow, including shadow on the face like eyes even chin.

Chard47d ago

Why stop at art when it comes to human input - why not just have AI play the game for us, remove human input altogether

theshizer48d ago

If you don’t like it, just don’t enable it. Personally I think it looks great from the videos I have seen.

isarai_lee47d ago

And what about when you can't? Cause there's plenty of games where you cannot fully disable dlss already, i mean we're well into an era where it's a major crutch for developers to cover up their cut corners, why would this be any different?

blacktiger47d ago

You are playing with people's money and allow Nvidia to scam you.

In case you didn't watch the video then let me point just one part. It overrides the lighting. Then the question of what is the point of ray tracing cost. This is all lie to raise the cost of the graphic card.

Andrew33648d ago

Making characters look more realistic not ok because we want the developer to decide on how the game was intended to look. - Internet

Change entire game through mods thus changing how the developers intended the game to be is ok. - Internet

isarai_lee47d ago

Something consumers can do to a product after they have purchased it, entirely optional and can always be undone with a fresh install

VS

The leading gaming hardware manufacturer making this the next iteration of the main AA/Upscaling technique that is heavily relied upod by modern devs and is not optional in most games.

Not at all the same but nice try

jwillj2k447d ago

At the moment you need 2 5090’s just to get an image on the screen so this is all vaporware until proven otherwise.

Andrew33647d ago

The good news is you can just not use it as well.

Christopher47d ago

It's all about choice in the end. But, I would say that calling it 'more realistic' is quite a stretch. It looks like AI art, and that's rarely realistic.

Urrakia3447d ago

All the comments I see are reminding me of how we got to the current state of gaming when microtransactions were first introduced: "It's completely optional guys, we promise! If you don't like it just don't buy it!"

I think we all know how that ended up.

Popsicle47d ago (Edited 47d ago )

I had the same exact thought the first time this was brought up in a separate article about a week ago. Took me straight back to the conversations surrounding “horse armor.” Just don’t buy it they said. Years later, many IPs I previously enjoyed are so infected with monetization schemes that I don’t even consider purchasing them anymore.

DLSS 5 and the like are the same thing wrapped in a different package. History rhymes but many of us never learn from it.

blacktiger47d ago

Biggest Scam. Overrides lighting and shadow. So why keep Ray tracing? It's all a scam to raise graphic card. We now see Nvidia with Microsoft downturn anything against them. Sony is next!