…is the code name for a "controller-free gaming and entertainment experience" by Microsoft for the Xbox 360 video game platform…
No controller required
According to the Xbox website Project Natal “is a revolutionary new way to play: no controller required. See a ball? Kick it, hit it, trap it or catch it. If you know how to move your hands, shake your hips or speak you and your friends can jump into the fun -- the only experience needed is life experience.”
This motion-sensing control system relegates the traditional control pad or joystick layers to games console history. Instead a high-tech camera picks up movement and lets you control the game. The sensor enables gamers to score goals by kicking at a virtual football and fire at enemies by pulling an imaginary trigger.
Understands normal speech patterns
It uses a camera, depth sensor, microphones and special software to build a three-dimensional map of body movement. It can also respond to voice commands, directions, and a change in the player’s tone of voice. Unlike similar systems which work by recognising specific commands, the Xbox 360 system stands apart by understanding normal patterns of speech. Cameras and the development kit have been sent to third-party developers but no launch date for technology has yet been set.
Not a great deal is known about its origins, but according to one source it seems the system relies on technology from two pioneering Israeli companies working on depth-sensitive cameras, 3DV Systems and Prime Sense. Those systems involve technology originally developed for use on ballistic missiles that has been reworked to make it more palatable for use in people's homes.
Facial recognition
Essentially, the camera sensors project radar-like beams that hit objects in the room and bounce back, allowing the machine to build up an accurate picture of what is in front of it.
Such systems have a surprisingly fine level of detail, even able to recognise different hand signals or small movements. Add the capability to incorporate facial recognition, and it's the sort of development that has not only gamers salivating, but also games producers.
“The next step in interactive entertainment is to make the controller disappear,” said Steven Spielberg, the Hollywood film director, who unveiled the new technology at E3, the annual electronic entertainment expo in Los Angeles. “With this device, we’ll see games that bring everyone together through technology that actually recognises us.”
Update your Facebook status from your console
Video game fans will also be able to update their Facebook status directly from their Xbox 360 console, and listen to streamed music on the device via Last.fm, a song recommendation service that enables users to build their own personalised radio stations of their favourite music.
“We are always asking ourselves how to make the TV more social,” said John Schappert, a senior vice-president at Microsoft. “By bringing Facebook, Last.fm and Twitter to the Xbox 360, we’re not only extending the walls of your living room beyond your home to your friends in different corners of the world.
“We’re creating the definitive social network.”
Credit: The Daily Telegraph / The Guardian