Previously, 3D motion detection was only possible with specialized equipment, but Fujitsu claims its software will work on a standard webcam.
The new and improved Kinect was one of the only positives people took from Microsoft’s Xbox One reveal event, and Fujitsu may have just made it obsolete with the unveiling of a revolutionary 3D motion detection software that works with a standard PC webcam. “It might not be long before the computer mouse is obsolete,” claims Fujitsu, saying that its software will allow users to flick their wrists and tap the air to navigate through links and menus. We’re getting closer and closer to Minority Report-style holographic computers.
Fujitsu, Japan’s largest IT service provider, collaborated with its Chinese research and development branch to develop the technology. Up until now, motion sensors of this kind only worked in two dimensions, up-down and left-right. 3D motion detection was only possible with multiple cameras or special light emissions to measure depth. However, Fujitsu’s new technology will work with any single-lens camera, meaning you will probably be able to use it with the webcam that is attached to your PC/Notebook right now.
“Everything from clicking on menu items to zooming in and out on a page will soon be possible without so much as touching your computer,” says Fujitsu. The technology apparently works by watching the palm of your hand and how it moves. It is able to work in 3D by detecting the size of your hand: the bigger your hand is, the closer it is to the screen and vice versa. Fujitsu claims the device has “accuracy of about 90%.”
Microsoft recently announced that the next-generation Kinect for Xbox One will also be coming to Windows PCs. This brings with it the possibility of Kinect-featured games on the Windows platform. Kinect’s major advantage over Fujitsu’s technology is its voice activation technology, which is apparently so accurate it was able to mess with some user’s Kinect-enabled devices during the Xbox One reveal event.
Fujitsu hopes to first increase its production of the device, postponing its release to the consumer market until 2014.
Source: Fujitsu (Japanese) via Rocket News 24
