At this year's Gamefest in Seattle, WA, Microsoft showed off
its new XBOX 360 Live Vision camera. The camera will allow gamers to video
conference with one another, perform face mapping with DigiMask technology and
play gesture-based games thanks to GestureTek technology.
The editors at Gamasutra
were able to get a hands-on look at the Live Vision and have detailed many of
the camera's features including the ability to email pictures to other Live
users and the ability to use your own photo for your gamertag (only viewable to
gamers on your friends list due to legal issues). There was also a
gesture-based game on display called TotemBall
that comes free with the Live Vision. Other games that will take advantage of
the Live Vision's capabilities include Uno, World Series of Poker and Rainbow
Six Vegas. GestureTek technology, which will be used in a
number of upcoming game titles, was also featured at Gamefest:
Building on its face
tracking technology, GestureTek has also developed a solution for tracking
individual, non-facial objects on-screen, such as handheld peripherals. This is
done in a remarkably simple manner. The tracker looks at an object's color and
shape, and is able capture and track it in a number of ways. Objects can be
moved around rapidly, such as in the face tracker technology. They can be
rotated and moved with relative ease. They can also, by way of tracking an
objects size, be detected spatially: that is, theoretically, a peripheral's
distance from the screen can be tracked in real-time, which is more than mildly
reminiscent of Nintendo's Wii controller.
The XBOX 360 Live Vision camera will be available on
September 19 and will be priced at $39.95.
