Microsoft Research turns your arm, notepad into an interactive display

Combining Kinect and a Pico projector on your shoulder, Microsoft does exactly what the title suggests withe the OmniTouch.




I've seen the automatic display realignment calibration done before. In fact it was back in 2007 from Johnny Lee, who also worked for Microsoft for a stint. His experimental design though, was before Pico projectors existed and before Kinect (which he had a hand in development) was also available. So now you get portability (Pico projector) in conjunction with a touch interface (Kinect-like short-range camera/sensor). I would expect this technology to need to be much smaller yet before it gets taken seriously, and that is very likely to happen, since this version is using mostly off-the-shelf parts.

Piloting a plane from inside an egg never looked so good. Barco offers complete half-sphere sim display.

This is unprecedented realism. Utilizing 13 Barco LCoS 10 Mega Pixel projectors onto the outside of a 3.4 meter diameter acrylic sphere, the realism happens inside the bowl, where the pilot sits, free of any other visible obstructions. The result is a view that is a complete 360-degree view of the world. The physical stimulation-simulation machinery would be separate, and I would assume that any lateral rotation would need to center its axis with the center of the dish.

More pics and video after the jump

Misc. Gadgets, Peripherals, Wearables Kinect-driven tactile bodysuit makes you tingle in eight different places

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Ubisoft's Rocksmith Teaches You Guitar Through A Video Game Format

"Introducing the Rocksmith bundle! The bundle will include the game along with an Epiphone Les Paul Junior guitar and the Rocksmith Real Tone Cable™. Available at launch and priced at $199.99!"

So with this game, you can use any real guitar and just buy the game w/ special cable for only $80. Don't have a guitar? Just purchase the one that comes with a Les Paul Junior (its full size, just not full strength) for only $120 more! It seems that the game will be available for Xbox 360, PS3, and PC. I LOVE THIS!!! This is exactly where Rock Band 3 wanted to go, but maybe bit off a bit more than it could chew, with the Pro Modes having to be compatible with the existing game format. This is where Guitar Hero players can go and put their skills to real-world use! I've been asking for this ever since the original GH from Harmonix. I just hope that the game is actually good.

I really hope that the future of video game developement becomes more open to the idea of learning real skills through fun interactive software. Its like that idea imploded in the '90s, save for maybe Leapfrog-type of stuff for the little ones.

Microsoft Delivers Kinect SDK For PC

"We've been waiting for confirmation on yesterday's rumor, about Microsoft's motion-sensing Xbox 360 peripheral coming to PCs, and now we have it. MS has just now released a software development kit (SDK) for Windows that will allow .Net developers to write Kinecting apps in C++, C#, or VB. We spoke with some developer representatives from the company to get the full details, including just what you can and can't do with this big bundle of libraries. Follow us after the break for all the info.

At this point the SDK is effectively a straight-port of the same libs that are currently available to Xbox 360 developers. Built on XNA, the Kinect library is standalone, so you won't necessarily need to rely on DirectX being present. The SDK gives full access to everything the peripheral has to offer, including both cameras (VGA and depth-sensing) and the full microphone array. The former can identify up to six individuals or track the full skeletons for two, while the latter can handle advanced echo-cancellation and even sound triangulation."

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