Future of Engineering

The video gaming industry is poised to overtake the music industry in the US, with global spending on video games surpassing music spending as soon as this year, according to consulting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers. Though the market is booming, the major players have a tough task at hand. That is to captivate the audience and keep them glued to a game. The customers are spoilt with choices. It is no longer easy to take a gamer by surprise with graphics and animation.





The key to making a real difference in the gaming experience lies in the control. Sony acknowledged that,and launched EyeToyTM. Microsoft followed with their own camera, VisionTM. Nintendo took it a step further, introducing WiiTM. But the revolution is still around the corner. We are yet to experience whole body gaming which is still in the research stage.


Now Softkinetic, a company based in Belgium, is working to let video-game players use a wider range of more-natural movements to control the on-screen action. Using depth-sensing cameras, the software determines a player's body position and motions. This technological advancement eliminates the need for remote controllers or other accessories. All you have to do is to stand in front of the camera in your room and start playing. It's as simple as that. Cool isn't it?


Limitations in earlier experiments

Power Glove:
In the late 1980s the Power Glove, an accessory for the original Nintendo Entertainment System was introduced. But such bulky accessories didn't help in having a better gaming experience. The infamous VR-wannabe Power Glove, and the Robotic Operating Buddy (R.O.B.) was just a gimmick to sell the NES to stores that hated video games.





It was clearly not a hit with the gamers who weren't pleased with the ineffective nature of controls. Basic actions such as jumping or using an item may be very difficult or impossible to pull off reliably.


Wii Controller





Then came the hugely popular Wii controller. Sources indicate that development of the Wii Remote began in or around 2001, coinciding with development of the Wii console. It surely was a huge success. Gamers could play using their hands effectively. But therein lies the handicap too. Some of the motions it requires can sometimes feel stiff and unnatural, and it's sensitive only to gestures made by the hand in which it's held.

Depth-sensing Cameras






Then came Depth-sensing cameras, which can pick up gestures made by a variety of body parts. Picking up the motions of a gamer is easy but designing programs that work with the cameras, however, is difficult. For a software should not only intelligently pick up the gestures made by a gamer but also eliminate the gestures or movements made by the rest of the people who are visible to the eye of the camera. This is where Softkinetic comes in.


Softkinetic's technology

Initially intelligent cameras sense depth by using infrared light in one of two ways. First, the camera might send out infrared light and receive the reflections of that light off objects in a room. The sending and receiving information can be compared to determine details of position and depth around the camera. Alternatively, the camera could project a grid of infrared light onto a room, and calculate the positions of objects based on how the grid is distorted.

The best part is that the company's software is built to work with the four major depth-sensing cameras on the market, including the ZCam from 3DV Systems. This feature helps game designers in a big way. They can now avoid retooling their applications to work with each of the cameras. For the are already compatible.





Thus Softkinetic's technology that started out as research at the University of Brussels, in Belgium has paved the way for an exciting future for the gaming industry.