Checking In On Project Natal

itwbennett writes "A couple of interesting articles followed Robbie Bach's announcement at CES that Project Natal, Microsoft's controller-free Xbox 360 control system, will be shipping in time for the 2010 holiday season, writes blogger Peter Smith. First, Popular Science has a nice look at how Project Natal works, focusing mostly on the software and how 'Microsoft engineers are teaching the Natal 'brain' what various parts of the human body look like so that Natal can tell your ascot from your elbow.' Microsoft is staying mum on the hardware, although Smith notes that we know it involves an infrared camera. 'If you don't care about how the tech works but just want to know if it'll be worth buying,' writes Smith, 'you might be interested in an interview with Robbie Bach in the Financial Post. In the interview Bach claims that 70%-80% of Xbox 360 developers are working on some kind of Natal-enabled gaming software, and he assures us that first-party studios are also hard at work.'"

Comments

Re:Huh?

[Anonymous Coward]

I believe Microsoft is anticipating you wearing clothes while you are playing with Natal. An ascot is a garment worn around the neck and was simply a humorous remark by the author.

Ascot in action:

Re:Natal Brain?

[Anonymous Coward]

Much like the "ascot" bit not being a part of the human anatomy, calling the software running behind Natal the 'brain' is what is called 'artistic license', and this is not a technical reference, but rather it's written as this thing called 'prose'. I understand you look at English majors with disdain as a big important AI researcher, but perhaps you should at least understand the language if you wish to communicate?

Re:Am I the only one

[Doghouse Riley]

Two words: CmdrTaco. Ipod.

Re:Not simply "infrared"

[daenris]

Actually, according to one article, the developer has specifically said it's not a time of flight camera. In the comments for http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20527426.800-microsofts-bodysensing-buttonbusting-controller.html the author quotes Kipman (the lead Natal developer) as saying: ""Our IR does not pulse and it is not based on a TOF system (which usually pulses). Our light source is constant much like you would expect a projection system to work in a conference room."

Re:Sport

[Penguinoflight]

Given that the project leader over at Epic has said the xbox 360 has too many buttons I'd expect them to stay reasonable as far as controls go. Your point is well taken, trendy motion controls don't work everywhere, and even simple games like mario kart can have odd reactions to motion. I'd guess that an infrared camera could be more accurate than the accelerometers from the wii, but caution may still be necessary.