by Kari – GEV.com
According to a recent press conference of Intel at the CES 12, laptops are being considered to come pre installed with Kinect like sensor. The Windows 8 powered laptops and tablets still in their prototypes, show a sensor that works exactly the same way as the Kinect, replacing the traditional webcam. During the CES conference, Intel demonstrated a game that featured a catapult, and you could operate it using your hands and gestures. What seemed like common laptops instantly turned attention to the question, who is going to this technology on a laptop?
Possibilities are limitless, as those who are unable to type on a traditional keyboard, might find a motion sensing camera very helpful. Imagine you could also combine your gestures with the keyboard to launch programs or use the screen like a touch screen, without touching it. You could of course still use the motion sensing camera to control games, media and switch between different applications using hand gestures.
The only thing that might get a little tricky would be the sensing radius. If you have used the Kinect controller on a Xbox 360, you already have an idea what I mean. Kinect on the Xbox 360 requires people to stand several feet away from the sensor itself to effectively register the movement of the player. Third party software on a PC could easily tweak the radius of the sensor, but does that also mean they would be able to improve the actual accuracy vs. range?
Playing some games with Kinect, I also figured out that during a brightly lit room on a sunny day, the sensor can have trouble reading me when there is too much light. If it was to make its way to a laptop, how would it be outdoors? I have tried and tested many games on the Kinect, and based on my experience, the accuracy of the controller can be a very annoying issue. I can’t seem to understand how other companies will be able to improve this technology, when it is being installed on something as small as a laptop.
