At
CES 2012, three companies demonstrated their new technology with motion
sensing cameras that allow you to control your PC with body movements.
These motion sensing cameras are definitely an evidence for the
dominance of technology in future.
These cameras
are already made popular by the Microsoft Xbox 360 gaming console. Now,
this technology is free to be used on the other devices. However, this
camera is not ready for to reach the mass market still.
The
companies have exhibited these cameras so that the software developers
and the gadget makers will work with their technology and also
incorporate this in their devices. For the us, this technology is just a
taste of what will come in future.
These cameras
are another challenge for the keyboard and mouse that are already
getting eroded due to the touch screens. If you are in front of a motion
sensing camera, it does not require you to touch anything to control
it. You can browse and play using hand gestures alone just like a mouse.
The
camera will tell how far away the things are held as far as they are in
their field of vision. The technology sends an invisible pattern of
light and then registers how it gets deformed as it hits the objects.
Right
now, this technology will benefit only the software developers and so
it will not be useful for you. Moreover, the motion sensing range is
currently limited to 12 feet and at the end of the range the accuracy is
not guaranteed. This also means that the finger gestures made across
the room may not be picked by the camera.
Microsoft will start selling the Kinect for Windows from February 1st
2012 for a price of $249. Even Asus has started to sell the Xtion in
December last year for a price of $149 and the same applies to
SoftKinectics whose camera is available for $449.
