Kinect sensor used to weigh astronauts?

It’s no news that Microsoft’s Kinect has come up as a challenge for many computer scientists and researchers who are anxious to expand the motion sensor outside its primary use, Xbox 360. And some of them have some really interesting ideas when it comes to the motion sensor and the camera array built into the device.
                     
Take Carmelo Velardo for example. The computer scientist works at Eurecom, France and has come up with the idea of using Kinect to weigh astronauts in space. Well, that’s surely something many of us haven’t thought of! Not even for a second.

The motion sensor would be used at the International Space Station and would replace the tracking systems that are currently weighing people in space and that are much larger and more complex.

What Velardo did was to team up with the Italian Institute of Technology’s Center for Human Space Robotics in Torino and to create the 3D model of an astronaut using Kinect’s depth-sensing ability. A statistical model that links weight to body measurements was then used by the team to run their calculation.

The estimates are said to be 97% accurate corresponding to an average error of just 2.7 kilograms. The project is believed to be feasible or at least this is what a NASA scientist says. Still, more tests should be made in order to make sure that the tests on Earth hold true in zero gravity.

Nielsen chart shows how people use game consoles

Game fanatic and addict? How is it that you spend your time on your game console? Well, the Nielsen market research firm has come up with this chart that shows how people use game consoles. What’s interesting is that the way game consoles are used differs from console to console. As one can see in the image below, the survey results involve the three major game consoles: the Xbox 360 coming from Microsoft, Wii coming from Nintendo as well as Sony’s PlayStation 3.

It’s easy to notice that people spend little time watching video on-demand and using streaming services. Thus, the percentage of the time spent using the consoles this way point to 15% on PlayStation and 14% on Microsoft’s Xbox 360. This only means that more work needs to be done regarding the video streaming on the two consoles. The survey was based on a sample of 3,000 people in United States at the end of last year when Xbox Live wasn’t out and about yet.

According to this chart, there was a decrease in the online gaming usage on PlayStation 3 and Wii from 2010 to 2011. In the case of PlayStation, the culprit might be the extended outage of the PlayStation in 2011. The online platforms of the two game consoles should be home to growth and evolution if these numbers are to be changed.

After adding Netflix in 2010, Nintendo has increased its video streaming usage on its Wii. Only 20% of the time spent on the console was dedicated to video streaming in 2010. This changed in 2011 when users spent 33% of their time using the game console for video streaming.

It’s obvious that the main reason we use game consoles is to enter the real of our favorite games. The numbers show that. The second main reason game consoles are used is watching shows. Listening to music or browsing the Internet is still not that much fun when it comes to consoles. However, improvements in this matter might change things considerably. Time will tell!

Xbox 360 banned from imports into the U.S.?

A recommendation issued by an administrative law judge for the International Trade Commission prohibits the import of Microsoft’s 4GB and 250GB Xbox 360 game consoles into the U.S. This ban is just another episode in the battle between Microsoft and Motorola, Google’s latest acquisition.

This recommendation comes up as a result of Microsoft’s infringement of Motorola’s digital video patents. Just a week before this recommendation was issued, the same International Trade for Commission banned Motorola from importing Android devices that infringe on Microsoft’s patents which means that Motorola would have to remove this technology from Android devices or get a licensing agreement with Microsoft.

Microsoft will have to deal with a similar situation if the recommendation issued by the administrative law judge is finalized by ITC. This means that Xbox 360 imports in the U.S. will be banned. Moreover, the same judge recommended that Microsoft should pay a bond equal to 7% of the value of unsold Xbox 360s available already in the United States.

Still, Microsoft says that this recommendation has no “immediate effect on the availability of Xbox 360 in the U.S”. According to a statement coming from Microsoft, the company remains confident that the recommendation will be in Microsoft’s favor and that Motorola will have to make its standard essential patents “available on fair and reasonable terms”.

Worldwide console sales Q112

This year’s first quarter console sales results are here and as we’ve expected or not, there are some changes that might seem surprising to many of us. So, here are the latest financial results regarding the console market and the Q112.

The Q112 sales results show that Sony’s PlayStation 3 was put back atop the worldwide console market. Although PS3 reclaimed the title, it had to deal with a unit sales decline. Last year PS3 managed to sell 2.1 million units but the first quarter of 2012 came up with only 1.9 million units sold. Just another sign that the game console market is going through some tough times.

Things haven’t been that great for Microsoft’s Xbox 360 either. Even if the console won the first place in the worldwide sales race in 2011, this year proved to be rather disappointing as the sales fell almost 50%. Only 1.4 million Xbox 360 units were sold worldwide in the latest quarter. But Microsoft has come up with a solution to juice the Xbox 360 sales a little by offering a 4GB Xbox 360 with Kinect and a two-year Xbox Live subscription for $99.

The first quarter proved to be less lucrative for Wii as well. Nintendo saw its sales fall by 1 million units describing this as its first annual loss. The upcoming launch of Wii U is expected to bring things back to the way they were though.

All in all, it’s not that difficult to see that the console market is facing some hard times. Is that because mobile phones and tablets are morphing into bigger platforms for games? Or because other types of living-room devices are becoming multipurpose machines? Time will most probably tell.

The Kinect shopping cart makes shopping so much fun

With the Kinect software development kit out and about for Windows, developers have started to use their creativity and skills to expand the sensor outside Xbox 360. And there’s a great number of companies that work on all kinds of commercial apps for Kinect on Windows.

Whole Foods has come up with a “shopping cart of the future” concept. Developed by third-party developer, Austin-based Chaotic Moon, and making use of Microsoft’s Kinect sensor for Windows, this concept is said to make shopping a fun and easy activity. Thus, the motorized cart will not only identify the shopper with a loyalty card but will also follow him around the store scanning the items he puts inside the cart.

Moreover, this prototype marks off the list all those items the shopper already placed in the cart and also checks the shopper out in the end. The prototype was showcased during an event on the Redmond campus hosted by Microsoft’s chief research and strategy officer, Craig Mundie, on February 27th.

Still, there’s a lot of work to do before this technology is deployed. But if it’s to come out, many shoppers will probably resort to it. Other demos presented during the aforementioned event include an app that allows kids to interact with a wildlife show and one that offers an immersive tour of a new vehicle.

Microsoft to introduce $99 Xbox 360+Kinect with $15 monthly subscription

Just a month ago, rumors related to Microsoft’s Xbox 360 started to make the rounds pointing the company’s plans to introduce the game console in conjunction with a subscription at a reasonable price. Smart move if we take into account the fact that both online services and software have been sold as subscriptions. It was just about time for the game console to turn to do that.

So, what Microsoft is said to offer is a $99 version of the 4GB Xbox 360 that comes with Kinect sensor and a two-year subscription of just $15 per month. You’ll get access to the Xbox Live Gold service. Moreover, if you opt for this package you’ll get additional streaming content.

We all know that the video-game console market has been going through some hard times. With this move coming from Microsoft, things will probably do nothing else but to make the completion between Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo tighter. It’s no news that Microsoft has outsold the two other competitors.

Though it seems rather interesting, this package is believed to be not necessarily a good deal on the long run. Currently Microsoft is selling the same Xbox and Kinect for $299 with an annual subscription of Xbox Live Gold for $60. This means $420 over two years. You do the math now and see which of the two options is more indicated to go for.

Reviews don’t praise Kinect Star Wars

Microsoft’s Kinect Star Wars for Xbox 360 has been out for some time now. Reviews are here, too. And they don’t praise the company’s long-awaited game. What is that keeps reviewers from extolling this game? Well, they say that among other things the Kinect Star Wars lacks precision in the lightsaber controls and is not that creative.

For example, Kyle Orland writes on Ars Technica that the game doesn’t make the player feel like an autonomous Jedi but rather as a “participant in a really simple game of Simon Says” whereas Brett Molina of USA Today says that the action of the game can become a little dull after some time because the players are not integrated into a unified set of motions. The latter also adds that the action is broken up “with speedracer sequences and moments where a player might man a heavy gun and take out Empire spaceships, but it’s largely basic action sequences.”

The review coming from Stephen Totilo of Kotaku is not that encouraging either. Saying that the Kinect is not the right interface for this game, Totilo underlines that the game doesn’t function the way the player wants leading to frustration which replaces the fantasy of being a Jedi.

In other words, Microsoft has to come up with something better, more creative and challenging if the company wants to keep Xbox 360 somewhere on the upper positions. There must be something more about these games for the motion sensor.