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Microsoft’s ‘RoomAlive’ transforms any room into a giant Xbox game

N

Newline

Member
Prophet Steve said:
Failed PhD project? It would be a great success. The proof of concept seems to work very well.

The goal of this research is not to create a commercially viable product and that is something everyone should be aware of.
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When the research project is funded and produced by Microsoft it can be assumed that it will eventually ascertain a pragmatic and commercial product. These projects are funded in the hope that they will one day lead to profit, much like the kinect. That's just not going to happen with this.
 
K

Krilekk

Banned
EmptySpace said:
this looks stupid and impractical.


so this is what fortaleza is going to be like? vr > ar.
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it
I'm pretty sure Fortaleza is dead. With the power difference between One and PS4 and the Kinect CPU/GPU reserve made available to counter that I don't see any realistic scenario where Fortaleza will be a product on Xbox One. They would not only need the Kinect reserve (to track the player), they would also need additional reserves for the glasses. And we all know how people love them some glasses. Fortaleza was created when the 3D hype was at its top, it could've been interesting if it came with every Xbox One but as an addon it will never be successful. And thus is probably dead. I think the original plan was to release the glasses this year.
 
I

ironcreed

Banned
If they can figure out a way to do it without needing all of the projectors hanging from the ceiling, then sure. As it stands, it is just a neat concept. But I am excited to see that they have plans for at least some type of augmented reality.
 
A

Ape

Banned
Horrible. You get in the way of the projectors and block the images, that's just about when you should cancel a project.
 
B

Bsigg12

Member
Cool proof of concept. Nothing will come of it but it's an interesting look at what Microsoft is researching.
 
RowdyReverb

RowdyReverb

Member
Krilekk said:
it
I'm pretty sure Fortaleza is dead. With the power difference between One and PS4 and the Kinect CPU/GPU reserve made available to counter that I don't see any realistic scenario where Fortaleza will be a product on Xbox One. They would not only need the Kinect reserve (to track the player), they would also need additional reserves for the glasses. And we all know how people love them some glasses. Fortaleza was created when the 3D hype was at its top, it could've been interesting if it came with every Xbox One but as an addon it will never be successful. And thus is probably dead. I think the original plan was to release the glasses this year.
Click to expand...

If Fortaleza was on the roadmap, the console's hardware was likely designed with it in mind. I don't see why it should be less capable of AR now than before launch.

The AR glasses, if they exist, will probably end up being more simplistic and less demanding than full VR. I imagine it being more like Illumiroom, but somehow projected onto your retinas instead of your room. Perhaps it would just show simple things like indicators for offscreen enemies (I like this idea), ammo counters, or XBL notifications. I would be willing to make the 10% GPU reserve tradeoff for useful new features like these if they work well enough. In fact, if true it would give some context that makes research projects like this make sense.
 
P

Prophet Steve

Member
Newline said:
When the research project is funded and produced by Microsoft it can be assumed that it will eventually ascertain a pragmatic and commercial product. These projects are funded in the hope that they will one day lead to profit, much like the kinect. That's just not going to happen with this.
Click to expand...

It is not as simple as that they want to create profit out of a product with this. They can improve their position against competitors.

If they have something useful they can patent it, if a different company bring a similar product on the market they can compete too and they can use this to develop further technologies, like this is deviated from Illumiroom.

Like all of this seems deviated from the new Kinect, which has improvements over the old Kinect.
 
M

Master Yoshi

Member
Peterpan said:
I dislike the idea of being locked away from the world. Its bad enough games are a escape, we don't need people stuck in VR machines running away from reality and responsibilities, I have a huge problem with VR, but that's my IMO. I think its a really cool concept, but I can see the major issues in society as a whole if it becomes huge, especially with people, with no constrain, might be wrong. I prefer this tech from Microsoft though.
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I don't see the difference in VR tech as opposed to this. Seems to me if someone is avoiding reality, there's an endless list of ways they can do it. Some people use books to escape. The majority of the population uses television and cellphones. VR may well be an addicting method of escapism once it hits big, but I find is discouraging that there are so many naysayers before it is even widely available to the public.
 
L

loaf of bread

Member
I can't take anyone seriously who thinks AR is better for gaming than VR. Maybe in 40 years that'll be an argument, but now? Not even close.
 
Alx

Alx

Member
Collingwood said:
Not many people in this thread seem to know how R&D works.
Click to expand...
Exactly. The proof of concept is fine, and I can see it being used as a stepping stone for complex AR scenarios, where multiple Kinects are replaced by wearable depth sensors, and projectors by AR displays.
 
O

Ol No Bones

Banned
Room alive? They should have called it living room.

MS weren't joking about taking over the living room. They want every square inch.
 
N

Newline

Member
Prophet Steve said:
It is not as simple as that they want to create profit out of a product with this. They can improve their position against competitors.

If they have something useful they can patent it, if a different company bring a similar product on the market they can compete too and they can use this to develop further technologies, like this is deviated from Illumiroom.

Like all of this seems deviated from the new Kinect, which has improvements over the old Kinect.
Click to expand...
Fair enough, I doubt they'll be seeing much in the way of competition though.
 
P

phanphare

Banned
this seems more appealing than VR head sets to be honest

still rough around the edges but I definitely see a lot of potential with this kind of tech
 
K

Krejlooc

Banned
Because there are tons of posts comparing this to VR - relax. Microsoft is doing research in the field of VR as well. I run a group of VR developers out of houston and we hold monthly meetings and we even considered using microsoft as a meeting ground for our meetings because of their research in the field.
 
G

Galactic Barret

Member
Keep working on it to increase fidelity and lower cost.

This could be the solution the "VR is anti-social" crowd has been looking for. Maybe.
 
Z

Ziffles

Member
phanphare said:
this seems more appealing than VR head sets to be honest

still rough around the edges but I definitely see a lot of potential with this kind of tech
Click to expand...

Dude it uses 6 projectors with Kinects taped onto them. "Rough around the edges" is an understatement.
 
P

Pie and Beans

Look for me on the local news, I'll be the guy arrested for trying to burn down a Nintendo exec's house.
Seems like such a dead end. Awkwardly map visuals over entire room, or map visuals straight into the eye?

I guess its a novelty to see, but just very little application for market or even for wow factor really. Poor demos perhaps, but nothing was even remotely impressive.
 
Haunted

Haunted

Member
I liked the concept of Illumiroom as an extension of the gameworld into the living room more than these standalone projector-based games.

But I'm sure the former is still achieveable with the same tech.
 
B

blakep267

Member
I think something like this would be pretty cool in a few years for museums. Like Imagine if a section of the louvre was projected onto a white hallway. Im not going to France anytime soon, so it'd be cool to be there without being there ( projectors would have to be upgraded more than what they are now of course)


also kinda OT, but Im one of those people who have no desire to wear anything on my head/face during gaming so VR is lost on me
 
W

whitehawk

Banned
Neat, but Microsoft should realize that the public is more interested in virtual reality than augmented reality. I imagine this will not be released, similar to illumiroom or whatever it was called.
 
L

Louis Cyphre

Banned
Looks cool but not practical at all for consumers. I could see it used in like a Disneyland room or some arcade but who's going to buy everything to be able to get the proper atmosphere?
 
N

Norml

Member
Sony did something like this awhile back

t0cs6w.gif


In the past, projection mapping worked only from a single, static view point, and thus was very limited. By attaching the PlayStation Move to the camera, we can track projections to screens in real time, enhancing the effect of spatial deformation and false perspective on the projections and allowing viewers to look round (virtual) corners, bend walls, create a hole in the wall, or remove the walls altogether to reveal vast expanses of virtual worlds.
Click to expand...
 
M

MrFrankFontaine

Banned
This reminds me of something my kids used to like to play with at the mall where there was a projected image on the floor and the kids used to play soccer. Not really that impressive.
 
P

PrincessDan

Neo Member
Was the guy pretending to die at 2:54? And what about the players shadow? And why was this filmed like some recently uncovered vhs footage from 1991
 
B

benzy

Member
Needing all of those projectors will be expensive, not to mention the hassle of installing them. Doesn't look to be worth all that.
 
O

Om3ga

Member
I could see this being used in family arcades like D&B or C'E'Cs, but for the home, Kinect + VR would be more practical.

I like the application though. glasses less VR.
 
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