Microsoft has revealed IllumiRoom, the latest fruit of its virtual reality research, using Kinect and projection systems to turn your living room into a huge, immersive gaming environment. The proof-of-concept, shown off today at CES, uses projected visualizations rendered in real-time to extend gaming from your TV to your whole environment. “The effects in the video are rendered in real time and are captured live,” Microsoft research says, “not special effects added in post processing.” The system uses a Kinect for Windows camera paired up with a computer-controlled projector, with the sensor bar mapping the geometry of the room and then overlaying the digital graphics on top. None of the visuals are pre-processed, with the whole IllumiRoom system figuring out the skew of the walls and how the images need to be modified to suit in real-time. “Our system can change the appearance of the room, induce apparent motion, extend the field of view, and enable entirely new game experiences” Microsoft suggests.
About Shelly Palmer
Shelly Palmer is the Professor of Advanced Media in Residence at Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications and CEO of The Palmer Group, a consulting practice that helps Fortune 500 companies with technology, media and marketing. Named LinkedIn’s “Top Voice in Technology,” he covers tech and business for Good Day New York, is a regular commentator on CNN and writes a popular daily business blog. He's a bestselling author, and the creator of the popular, free online course, Generative AI for Execs. Follow @shellypalmer or visit shellypalmer.com.