Microsoft formally announces Avatar Kinect
Facial tracking software coming soon to Kinect
Microsoft has announced a new Xbox LIVE experience that uses Kinect's facial-recognition capabilities to project your face and your expressions into a virtual word.
Avatar Kinect will enable players to hang out with up to seven friends in themed environments, from talk-show sets to a tailgate party, projecting everyone's facial expressions and voice.
When it rolls out later this spring, “Avatar Kinect will let you hang out and socialize with seven of your friends in a simulated environment,” said Umaimah Mendhro, a senior product manager for Microsoft Startup Business Group. “The gathering spots will range from the set of a late-night talk show to a tailgate party to a magical forest.”
“The work that we did was taking something that was essentially a demo and turning it into a product,” said Eric Lang, a general manager for Microsoft Startup Business Group. “It’s a huge amount of work.” That work included developing algorithms for facial expressions and making sure the computer vision could work with Kinect, Lang said.
Ten million Kinect sensors have sold since its November launch, including 8 million sensors sold in its first 60 days on market. Kinect sales also have given Xbox a lift – Xbox for 360 is the top selling console in 2011 so far.
Avatar Kinect will enable players to hang out with up to seven friends in themed environments, from talk-show sets to a tailgate party, projecting everyone's facial expressions and voice.
When it rolls out later this spring, “Avatar Kinect will let you hang out and socialize with seven of your friends in a simulated environment,” said Umaimah Mendhro, a senior product manager for Microsoft Startup Business Group. “The gathering spots will range from the set of a late-night talk show to a tailgate party to a magical forest.”
“The work that we did was taking something that was essentially a demo and turning it into a product,” said Eric Lang, a general manager for Microsoft Startup Business Group. “It’s a huge amount of work.” That work included developing algorithms for facial expressions and making sure the computer vision could work with Kinect, Lang said.
Ten million Kinect sensors have sold since its November launch, including 8 million sensors sold in its first 60 days on market. Kinect sales also have given Xbox a lift – Xbox for 360 is the top selling console in 2011 so far.
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